Book Title: Le Petit Prince | Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery | Publisher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama | Published Year: Ninth Print, February 2018 | Book Thickness: 120 pages. | ISBN: 978-602-032-341-1
I read this like going back to my childhood. Fairy tales that are presented and told are simple but have a portion that is enough to jolt our minds to maturity. This is not an ordinary children's fairy tale, but a lesson for adults that is packaged in terms of children's stories.
Perhaps we remember, when we were young, fairy tales were only read when we were going to sleep or when we were practicing reading. Reading fairy tales is a measure of whether the child can retell and understand the meaning of the story or not. As for adults, fairy tales can be a flick to understand complicated things from the eyes of children.
Likewise with the book Le Petit Prince which I bought out of curiosity. This book was discussed by many people after the appearance of the film and also from an exhibition about childhood in Jakarta. I was so interested because some friends read this book and they said the book is not at all as simple as it seems.
A white-covered book with an illustration of a child—a little prince—with yellow hair standing on the moon, might be an attractive simple cover. Why is he standing on the moon? Why not on earth? Is he from the moon kingdom?
Once upon a time, an aviator fell in a desert. His plane was damaged and he met the Little Prince. Starting from a childhood memory when the pilot saw a snake swallowing its prey whole, then he began to draw. The image is as simple as it looks visually.
When he asked the adults for the picture, they thought it was a hat, not a snake with a big elephant in its belly. He was then disappointed and began to think that he had no talent for drawing.
His meeting with the Little Prince could not help but bring her many childhood memories. The simple things the prince brought made him think that adults were questioning too much.
“Adults love numbers. When you describe a new friend to them, they never ask you the important things. They never ask, 'What does it sound like? What's his favorite game? Do you collect butterflies?' Instead of asking that question, they demanded 'How old is he? How many brothers and sisters? How heavy? How much does his father earn?"
The things that are simple in the minds of children sometimes become complicated when they are adults, even though these thoughts can still be juxtaposed to facilitate the mindset and enjoy life. The same goes for enjoying this book. Although the story is simple, sometimes it makes me think a lot. Though we should just need to read and enjoy it.
One thing that I like apart from the interesting content of the story, the book Le Petit Prince is equipped with illustrations that are also interesting for me. It's like reading a whole children's book. However, in general, this book is more suitable for adults to read to simplify thinking. There is nothing wrong with thinking simply like children. Not that we're going back to being childish, but there's a lot out there that you should enjoy without overthinking it.
This book will always be my favorite. It's always a pleasure to read stories like this.
That's it. Enjoy your Saturday night and keep reading books. See you!