"On est un peu seul dans le désert."
"On est seul aussi chez les hommes", dit le serpent.
"It's a little lonely in the desert."
"It's lonely when you're with people, too", replied the snake.
I've heard many times about the story "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry but for some reason never followed up why it seems to be so popular. Well, now I have and now I know.
It is a short novel written when Saint-Exupéry was exiled in the USA during WWII, telling the story of a pilot stranded in the desert who meets a prince who has fallen to earth from an asteroid and it is full of wonderful observations about life.
It is the most translated and most widely read book in the French language and this card, though coming from Belarus, had the translation in Russian. I think I prefer the original illustrations, watercolours by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry himself, but I'm a little old fashioned that way. [And I'm really not keen on that snake at all, but it IS the Year of the Snake I suppose.] As soon as I've accumulated enough Amazon tokens, I'll buy myself a copy.
A post for Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by Beth Niquette on The Best Hearts are Crunchy.
I read it when I was about 17 and at the time I didn't get it or get into it, I was also reading 'Vol de Nuit' (same author) for a French class, which again passed me by. I was enjoying other authors, like Zola, so I wasn't completely against literature studies.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this--Now I must find that book and read it. It sounds like a story my Dad used to tell us when we were little. I loved the postcard, too--so soft and colorful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting, and happy PFF!
My daughter has this book and she bought when she was in France! Yes, it's in French!
ReplyDeleteegads, more snakes.........!!
ReplyDeleteI read this book as an adult and still missed a lot of the nuances, but I do have a collection of three copies in English, French and Dutch. I also prefer the original illustrations. besides, that boy certainly has an awful lot of hair :)