The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry {Srishti's Review}

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.                                         Pages: 96                                                     Genre: Classic                                           Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupèry                   My rating: 5/5

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I received this book for my tenth birthday. I absolutely loved it and it will definitely remain one of my favourite books. The book is filled with thoughtful moments. It is inspiring and beautiful. It is definitely a must read. 

I absolutely love Saint-Exupéry's work. He was a French aviator, writer, aristocrat and poet. He has wrote several books and poetry; he is mostly known for The Little Prince and for his lyrical poems in Night Flight, Wind and Sand and Stars. Saint-Exupéry miraculously survived a crash in the middle of the Sahara with a fellow pilot. Unfortunately, his water supply was cut short and his friend and him endured severe hallucination and dehydration for four days. A Bedouin on a camel rescued them and they escaped death. It is believed that he wrote many of his work inspired by this tragic and miraculous memory. He was recruited in the French Air Force against the invasion of Germany during WW2. He then joined the Free French Air Force in North Africa. He disappeared in his last mission in 1944 where he is believed to have died over the Mediterranean. He has won many literary awards such as the French's highest literary award and the US National Book Award.      

It is a quick read with several illustrations. It is a captivating story with extraordinary ideas. I would never have ever thought about such ideas. The book has been interpreted into many different things. Such as plays and animation movies. I have been lucky enough to read, see the play and movie in french. All of which I loved.

The book starts by the author and narrator telling us about his perspective of adults. He talks to us, readers, as he would talk to a young child. The book then brings us to his meeting with the little prince after a crash in the Sahara. The little prince then asks him to draw a sheep. The author draws him several sheep and each time he gives him an excuse as to why he didn't like it and asks him to draw another one. Out of annoyance the aviator draws a simple box with three holes to let the sheep breath, the aviator presents it to the little prince and tells him "This is the case. The sheep that you want is inside." To the aviator's surprise the Little Prince is very happy and thanks him. The book then tells the stories the Little Prince tells the aviator of his encounters with quite strange people. The aviator also learns that the Little Prince left behind three volcanoes and a rose (believed to be inspired by the authors wife) where he comes from, asteroid B-612.

The book is filled with allegory of the human nature which are used to describe with the encounters with the strange people.

The King 

The conceited man

The businessman 

The drunkard 

The lamplighter 

The geographer 

The book is simply mesmerizing and captivating. I recommend it to all people who which to travel as it takes you some place else. It makes the world around you look different and more joyful. I nearly cried at the end of the book as it was so refreshing and beautiful.  

Lots of Love, 

Srishti 

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