|
The Little Prince | 
 enlarge | Creators: Antoine De Saint-exupery, Richard Howard
Publisher: Harvest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $10.00
Buy Used: $0.99
You Save: $9.01 (90%)
New (62) Used (65) Collectible (5) from $0.99
Rating:  279 reviews
Sales Rank: 3380
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 96
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.3
ISBN: 0156012197
Dewey Decimal Number: 843.912
EAN: 9780156012195
ASIN: 0156012197
Publication Date: May 15, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: ships out next day, click expedited for faster shipping
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Antoine de Saint-Exupery first published The Little Prince in 1943, only a year before his Lockheed P-38 vanished over the Mediterranean during a reconnaissance mission. More than a half century later, this fable of love and loneliness has lost none of its power. The narrator is a downed pilot in the Sahara Desert, frantically trying to repair his wrecked plane. His efforts are interrupted one day by the apparition of a little, well, prince, who asks him to draw a sheep. "In the face of an overpowering mystery, you don't dare disobey," the narrator recalls. "Absurd as it seemed, a thousand miles from all inhabited regions and in danger of death, I took a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket." And so begins their dialogue, which stretches the narrator's imagination in all sorts of surprising, childlike directions. The Little Prince describes his journey from planet to planet, each tiny world populated by a single adult. It's a wonderfully inventive sequence, which evokes not only the great fairy tales but also such monuments of postmodern whimsy as Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. And despite his tone of gentle bemusement, Saint-Exupery pulls off some fine satiric touches, too. There's the king, for example, who commands the Little Prince to function as a one-man (or one-boy) judiciary: I have good reason to believe that there is an old rat living somewhere on my planet. I hear him at night. You could judge that old rat. From time to time you will condemn him to death. That way his life will depend on your justice. But you'll pardon him each time for economy's sake. There's only one rat. The author pokes similar fun at a businessman, a geographer, and a lamplighter, all of whom signify some futile aspect of adult existence. Yet his tale is ultimately a tender one--a heartfelt exposition of sadness and solitude, which never turns into Peter Pan-style treacle. Such delicacy of tone can present real headaches for a translator, and in her 1943 translation, Katherine Woods sometimes wandered off the mark, giving the text a slightly wooden or didactic accent. Happily, Richard Howard (who did a fine nip-and-tuck job on Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma in 1999) has streamlined and simplified to wonderful effect. The result is a new and improved version of an indestructible classic, which also restores the original artwork to full color. "Trying to be witty," we're told at one point, "leads to lying, more or less." But Saint-Exupery's drawings offer a handy rebuttal: they're fresh, funny, and like the book itself, rigorously truthful. --James Marcus
Product Description
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. Richard Howard's new translation of the beloved classic-published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's birth-beautifully reflects Saint-Exupery's unique and gifted style. Howard, an acclaimed poet and one of the preeminent translators of our time, has excelled in bringing the English text as close as possible to the French, in language, style, and most important, spirit. The artwork in this new edition has been restored to match in detail and in color Saint-Exupery's original artwork. By combining the new translation with restored original art, Harcourt is proud to introduce the definitive English-language edition of
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 274 more reviews...
 Inspiring for all November 7, 2001
Esquire (PA, USA)
58 out of 63 found this review helpful
This little book is certainly one of the best-known and most popular in French literature. Though at heart a children's story, it is rightly considered a classic in its own sense and is even found within respected French literary anthologies. Its author, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, is also famous for other works of fiction ("Vol de Nuit" etc.). Like the narrator in "The Little Prince," St-Exupery was a pilot as well. He apparently crashed or was shot down flying as a WWII pilot towards the end of the war and was never found. His likeness, along with that of the little prince and his pet lamb and the famous drawing of the elephant in the boa-constrictor, are all on the French 50 Franc note.
The story can basically be split into two parts: The first part is the short introduction dealing with the narrator and his view of the world when he was a child and how adults could never understand the real meaning of things or perceive truth in the world--only the superficial and the usual. This is generally one of the main ideas of the book; "blessed are the children...". The rest of the book is the story of the little prince, whom the narrator discovers in the Sahara when he is trying to fix his downed airplane and is in fear of his life. The narrator and the reader slowly come to know the prince's story and learn about friendship, love and truth in a touching way. My favorite parts are those dealing with the prince's relationship with his beloved rose left on his planet and the prince's relationship with the wise little fox, who offers the prince his philosophical secret on life.
I have not read the book in translation so I cannot comment how this or other translations compare. Though considered a book for children, the French can still be a bit demanding if you want to try it in the original.
A Heart-Expanding Look at the World November 10, 2000
Donald Mitchell (Boston)
39 out of 42 found this review helpful
This book is an all-time classic and deserves more than five stars!The story of The Little Prince can be read at many different levels of meaning. In fact, the wider your mind and heart, the more you will appreciate the story. But the narrower your mind and heart, the more you need this story. On the surface, it is a bizarre tale of an aviator stuck in the middle of the Sahara who encounters a small blond boy who tells him far-fetched stories about travel among the planets. At this level, you need to suspend disbelief and simply go with the story to consider the ways that becoming more child-like are valuable to the aviator. It makes him more understanding and open. He has wanted to maintain connection with his child-based self, and does so. It does not matter if you want to believe that the child actually travels amongst the planets or not. You can also read the aviator as having been affected by the heat and dehydration, so that he is imagining the Little Prince in his delirium. From that perspective, we are dealing with an internal dialogue of the aviator in evaluating what is most important to him in life, as he considers the possibility of losing his. At a different level, you can see the Little Prince's travels to other planets as an allegory for all of life. What are we seeking for? How do you know when we have found it? How can we lose what is important? The examples of self-absorbed adults, beginning with the aviator, provide many cautionary tales. Beyond that, you can read this as science fiction. How would an alien see humans? How would an alien react to humans? Would an alien want to stay or go home? A religious person can see an allegory to the life of the spirit. Christians will see a Christ-like figure in the Little Prince. People of other religious beliefs will see instead God in each person. Someone with a profoundly humane perspective will see the story as being about orienting ourselves towards caring for and loving each other and nature. An existentialist will see this as a tale of the futility of much of what we do, much like The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. I could add many more interpretations, but do not want to burden you. These illustrations are here to simply help open you to the idea of reading (or rereading) the story. Most people read this when they are too young to capture its broader meanings, and it is one of those books that changes as you age. As a child, you identify with the Little Prince. As an adult, the aviator becomes more important. At some points in your life, you may identify even more with the people on the tiny planets described here. So this is also like holding up a mirror to yourself to see how you have changed. That is also a very valuable thing to do. Many will argue that the fox's lesson is the core of the book. While I agree that that is one logical reading, I think that how one draws a sheep that will live a long time and not eat a flower is the core lesson here. That part of the story comes near the beginning. Be sure to pay attention to it and think about it as you go forward. I will say no more here about it. After you have finished reading and thinking through this wonderful fable, I suggest that you determine if those you love have read it lately. If they have not, this would be a good time to get them a new copy and encourage them to begin or renew their acquaintance with Saint-Exupery. During the process of reading the story again, I happened to also find an abridged audio tape by Louis Jourdan at the library that I highly recommend. Your understanding of the book will be greatly enhanced by this great, magical reading. It is one of the best audio readings I have heard. If you can listen to the tape and reread the story, that is the best combination. Keep drawing from your mind!
 Howard's "New" translation purges meaning, not worth the money August 30, 2005
K. Jones (Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
30 out of 37 found this review helpful
Richard Howard's "NEW" translation, gives a falseness to one of the most sincere stories ever written. Katherine Woods' translation is the only English translation that does The Little Prince justice.
Howard's translation lacks beauty, and is at times unintelligible: It simply does not make sense. Since Howard has no apparent understanding of the truths expressed in The Little Prince, it is not to be wondered at. One important example says it all: The fox's "secret" told to the Little Prince in parting ---
Wood's translation: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." <1> This translation uses the beautiful rhetorical mode: "What is essential..." If Richard Howard wanted to make the statement "clearer" it would have to read: "That which is essential is invisible to the eye." Wordy, and prosy, but it keeps the meaning. Also, Howard thinks "the eyes" is clearer; it is a literal translation, but "the eye" is another beautiful English poetic device, so much more expressive.
Then you have Howard's translation:
"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." <2> Huh? "Anything essential is invisible to the eyes"? Far from expressing Antoine de Saint Exupery's meaning, this generalization means, in effect, nothing. And it is obviously not true: Water is essential, and you can see it.
Katherine Woods' translation captures the essence of this line for the English reader. "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." Quintessential, no line in the book is more important. It is ironic that, in translating The Little Prince, Howard should lose "that which is essential," and that he should be unable to "see with his heart."
Amazon.com's Editorial Review says that "Katherine Woods sometimes wandered off the mark,
giving the text a slightly wooden or didactic accent. Happily, Richard Howard...has streamlined and simplified to wonderful effect." This would have been better written thus:
"Katherine Woods uses poetic devices and a didactic accent to wonderful effect, capturing the essence and meaning of Antoine de Saint Exupery's classic in a timeless translation. Unhappily and unfortunately, Richard Howard...has streamlined and simplified in a words-only translation, and he wanders off the mark, obscuring what were otherwise truths both simple and profound, giving the text a slightly wooden effect."
To get the Katherine Woods' translation, make sure you are buying ISBN: 0-15-246507-3. This is the simple and beautiful translation is the essential, the one that has been remembered and quoted by millions of English speaking people since 1943. As for Howard's translation, "NEW" is not better; it's just "new."
----------------------
Sources:
<1> NY: Harvest/HBJ Book, Harcourt, 1971, p. 87. (Katherine Wood's translation)
<2> San Diego, CA: A Harvest Book, Harcourt Inc., 2000, p.63. Richard Howard's translation.
For those who want to compare, here's Antoine de Saint Exupery's original French text:
"...on ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invsible pour les yeux." (Le Petit Prince. NY: Harvest/HBJ Book, Harcourt, 1971, p. 87; ISBN: 0-15-650300-X). "L'essentiel" is in the same mode as is "Les Miserables" -- neither translate exactly into English. "Les Miserables" may be translated as "The Miserable Ones," with less poetic effect. Likewise, "L'essentiel" might be rendered literally "The essential things" or put in the rhetorical form "What is essential..."
Horrific translation May 23, 2006
MFP (Atlanta, GA USA)
29 out of 33 found this review helpful
Why in the world did the publisher accept this horrific and unnecessary new translation. Judge for yourself. From the 1943 Katherine Woods translation: "'As for me,' said the little prince to himself, 'If I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water.'" The new Richard Howard translation: "'If I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked,' the little prince said to himself, 'I'd walk very slowly toward a water fountain.'" I mean ... really.
 translation cause story to lose some beauty June 3, 2007
A reader (Midwest)
28 out of 29 found this review helpful
I grew up reading this lovely story and when the pages fell out of my original I went to Amazon for a new one.
However, the new translation took the beauty out of the story that I had felt in earlier readings, in my opinion.
The story remains a wonderful one, but I would suggest reading the Katherine Woods translation for comparison. The language in the original translation is beautiful, creative and inspiring. I felt the newer translation was less poetic.
|
|
|
|
| |
