The Little Prince

I just read this book for the first time. Such a beautiful, wise, magical little book! When I picked it up at the library the other day, all I knew was that it was a popular French classic. Based on the cover and after flipping through the illustrated pages, I assumed it was a children's book. After reading it, however, this is definitely one of those "children's books" for grown ups. The most elemental themes of love, loss, joy, sorrow, innocence, and understanding are explored through the most simple observations of the little prince. The Little Prince conveys the childhood knowledge and acceptance of the rules of life that we tend to forget as we get older and "wiser." To love someone or something will inevitably lead to pain, because everything we love we will one day lose, one way or another. We will either leave or be left. This is a fundamental truth that we spend every minute of our daily lives denying. I found this story both deeply moving and somewhat disturbing. Only disturbing because it plunges into the depths of those very truths we would prefer to forget and ignore. Ultimately, however, the story is one of hope. The promise of a world beyond the physical world inhabited by the ephemeral shell of our bodies is comforting. This is a brilliant, inspiring book; one to be read and shared over and over again.