3 ms·
Very surprised and sad to see so many dismissive comments of the book. It's a really popular one in France for a very good reason. It's so creative, poetic and
by aweb 10mo ago
Very surprised and sad to see so many dismissive comments of the book. It's a really popular one in France for a very good reason. It's so creative, poetic and touching that I doubt you can read it and stay indifferent.
If you've never read it, do yourself a favor and do so! It's quite short, and I hope you'll like it.
- soulofmischief 10mo agoThe book has been extremely transformative for me at multiple points in my life as I've aged. If I could only recommend a single piece of fiction, it would probably be The Little Prince. I also highly recommend the 2015 animated film adaptation. It has a rock-solid cast, and presents the classic story within entirely new layers of interpretation that speak to multiple generations at once. It's a real tearjerker that only gets more potent with age. I'm also not sure why so many commenters here seem confused or negative towards The Little Prince. It is a timeless, culture-invariant treatise on the most precious and important facets of human existence.
- zppln 10mo agoI my case, it is precisly said animated film. I don't remember why, but I found it incredibly off-putting for some reason. I think back on it every time someone brings up The Little Prince.
- soulofmischief 10mo agoI'm curious what you found off-putting about it, if you don't mind elaborating :)
- dvh 10mo agoYou want each emotion with assigned numerical value from 0 to 10, I presume...
- soulofmischief 10mo agoI'm not sure how I am supposed to interpret your comment, what did you mean by that? My aim was to start a positive dialogue with zppln about why the book didn't land with him or why it was off-putting. I'm happy to discuss it with you as well, but if your comment was just meant to be negative then I'll pass.
- dvh 10mo agoApparently nobody read the damn book. There is a section where he describes how adults only understands numerically measurable quantities.
- myko 10mo agoI must admit, that went right over my head–but you're right and what a great connection
- soulofmischief 10mo agoI actually did consider that this is what you were referencing, but truly wasn't sure how to interpret your comment. Sorry I ruined the joke!
- madcaptenor 10mo agoI missed hearing about the 2015 version and will seek it out now. Thanks for the pointer!
- soulofmischief 10mo agoI'll let the accolades speak for themselves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince_(2015_film)#Box_office https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince_(2015_film)#... But don't read about the plot! Go in as blind as possible. The experience is much more meaningful if you don't know the story beats.
- madcaptenor 10mo agoI know the book - is it different from the book?
- soulofmischief 10mo agoAll I will say is that you have to watch it to understand how it relates to the book. :)
- forinti 10mo agoThis book got a bad reputation in Brazil because a famous actress (who supposedly isn't very bright) once said it was her favourite book. When I finally decided to give it a try, I found it to be a very interesting read. So, you can bet people who show disdain for it probably haven't read it. Or they have weak character and are afraid to be considered dumb by association.
- kijin 10mo agoThere are probably more people around the world who know about The Little Prince from the distinctive illustrations that show up everywhere, than there are people who have actually read the book. It's like Peter Rabbit. Everyone instantly recognizes the illustrations, but often has a hard time explaining what the book was about.
- kikoreis 10mo agoYour comment made me think of Charli XCX's recent post https://itscharlibb.substack.com/p/the-realities-of-being-a-pop-star https://itscharlibb.substack.com/p/the-realities-of-being-a-... Who was the actress?
- dkga 10mo agoI grew up in Brazil and never heard that the Little Prince had a bad reputation there. Quite the contrary, at least in my circle of people.
- hs586 10mo agoAnd outside France too! I would add that there is something in it for all ages. I have read it many times, between ages 6 and 25 and in different languages. The later readings were for language learning without any expectations but each time I finished it, I was deeply touched. With that it’s also a great one to read with kids.
- lolc 10mo ago> And outside France too! Soleure, that's the French name of the city where the museum opened. The place might just be in France if you don't look too close.
- polotics 10mo agoWell... enough bad memory of some teacher wanting us all to read and ponder this thing in class, seemingly with the confused notion that this would be some kind of lesson in psychology. I think the author would be very surprised if he'd been there to see what amount of fluff has been generated around his nice and simple quasi-autobiographical codebook.
- kijin 10mo agoThis problem plagues so many well-known works of literature. Modern American classics like The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird have also been forever tainted with unpleasant memories of high school classes.
- ffuxlpff 10mo agoWe were read parts of it in kindergarten. I was fascinated by the desert, at the time I loved deserts, even if I saw one only as an adult. Two years later I borrowed it from the school library. My friends teased me because they thought it is girly. I read it and found a bit confusing and boring. Later it got more popular and adults found all kinds of deep things. It was so sentimental I've never got back to the book if I hadn't read it first as a children's book. In my mid twenties I got my own copy from a girlfriend who saw me as a little prince. Now about a week ago I reread it again. Well, you can find all kinds of things in it but I think you should read it as a kid first time. Children need to learn a lot of things they understand only as adults. It builds a real connection to the stories and ideas. Adults cannot absorb new thoughts anymore. They try but it's too late. Like if you haven't read Nietzsche and Dostoevsky first time at the age of say 16 or 18 you will never be an intellectual. You didn't get the right impulses at the time. You cannot built on shallow experiences you can have after the childhood and youth.
- elric 10mo ago[flagged]
- graemep 10mo ago> Very surprised and sad to see so many dismissive comments of the book I cannot see that many dismissive comments. Those I can see are things like dismissing it purely because its not recent, or because the commentor has not read it which really say more about the person being dismissive than anything else. It is very popular (in translation) in the UK (and other Engli8sh speaking countries) too.