EPUB, 112 pages
Español language
Published April 5, 1943 by Salamandra.
«El principito» (en francés: «Le Petit Prince»), publicado el 6 de abril de 1943, es el relato corto más conocido del escritor y aviador francés Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Lo escribió mientras se hospedaba en un hotel en Nueva York y fue publicado por primera vez en los Estados Unidos. Ha sido traducido a ciento ochenta lenguas y dialectos, convirtiéndose en una de las obras más reconocidas de la literatura universal. El principito habita un pequeñísimo asteroide, que comparte con una flor caprichosa y tres volcanes. Pero tiene «problemas» con la flor y empieza a experimentar la soledad; hasta que decide abandonar el planeta en busca de un amigo. Buscando esa amistad recorre varios planetas, habitados sucesivamente por un rey, un vanidoso, un borracho, un hombre de negocios, un farolero, un geógrafo…
I read this book when I was a kid, and a few other times after that. Each time the book becomes a different one and each time is a wonderful read.
I'm proud to have finished Le Petit Prince because it is the first book I have read entirely in French since my A Level exams over twenty years ago! Admittedly this is a children's book and it took me the best part of two weeks, but it's an encouraging start!
I hadn't read this story before so wasn't prepared for how surreal it is. On one hand this was great for me because I thought it an entertaining tale and Saint-Exupery's imaginative details frequently had me laughing out loud. It's vitally important to keep your volcanoes well swept! On the other hand though, bizarre plot ideas often had me doubting my translation skills. I was sure 'Dessine-moi un mouton' meant 'draw me a sheep' but that made no sense. Nonsensical however is what Le Petit Prince is all about so sheep were indeed drawn!
Saint-Exupery veers from surreal …
I'm proud to have finished Le Petit Prince because it is the first book I have read entirely in French since my A Level exams over twenty years ago! Admittedly this is a children's book and it took me the best part of two weeks, but it's an encouraging start!
I hadn't read this story before so wasn't prepared for how surreal it is. On one hand this was great for me because I thought it an entertaining tale and Saint-Exupery's imaginative details frequently had me laughing out loud. It's vitally important to keep your volcanoes well swept! On the other hand though, bizarre plot ideas often had me doubting my translation skills. I was sure 'Dessine-moi un mouton' meant 'draw me a sheep' but that made no sense. Nonsensical however is what Le Petit Prince is all about so sheep were indeed drawn!
Saint-Exupery veers from surreal to overly-sentimental and is often repetitive. Had I read the story through just in English, I probably would have been irritated by this, but for language study purposes it was useful to have new words reoccurring in later pages. Whether I will ever again need the words for someone who lights streetlamps or a man who manually changes railway points is another matter. The French did often seem overly flowery and I notice Arvel's translation sometimes paraphrases to simplify this. Overall I enjoyed this book and it is a fun tale, albeit a completely mad one!
