Categories: Books

Book Review: “The Little Prince”

The magic of this tale is contained in its simplicity, in showing us as adults, that we were all once children, but that upon growing up, we forgot all about the values and the dreams that used to be so important to us. Also, in this book we are reminded, through the eyes of a small and innocent Little Prince, about the irrationality and uselessness of the adult world.

The plot

A pilot is forced to make an emergency landing in the vast and desolate Sahara desert. He finds himself alone, surrounded by sand, and high in the sky, a blanket of stars. Suddenly a voice starts asking him to draw a sheep. The voice comes from the Little Prince, a resident of a tiny asteroid called B612, a planet so small that it can follow the sun simply by moving his chair. His only company is represented by a capricious and demanding rose, that forced him to leave.

The Little Prince begins his journey by visiting different planets. The characters encountered during his journey are bizarre and extravagant, and each of them teach the Little Prince an unknown version of the world.

All these characters represent several bad virtues found in the adult world, without no exception. From every planet the Little Prince visits, he has the impression that adults are very strange, but he also learn something new from each and every character.

But it is only on planet Earth that the Little Prince understands that sometimes, we learn the importance of those who we love, only when they are gone.

It is here on planet Earth indeed when the Little Prince meets the pilot lost in the Sahara desert and busy in the repair of his plane, that a close friendship forms between them, which will keep them always close despite their geographical distances.

At the end of the story, the Little Prince returns back to his planet, but before going back, he leaves a gift to the pilot and to all of us: his smile, his message, and an stars to watch, knowing that up there, somewhere, a little prince is taking care of his rose.

This is a timeless and ageless book for all of those who believe in simple and true friendships and relationships. A book for kids, but also a book capable of bringing back childhood memories to grown ups, and last but not least, a book capable of teaching us that what is essential in life, is almost always invisible to the naked eye.