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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-Exupéry 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-Exupéry's drawings offer a handy rebuttal: they're fresh, funny, and like the book itself, rigorously truthful. --James Marcus
The translator, Richard Howard, is the author of eleven books of poetry, including Untitled Subjects, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1970, and most recently, Trappings. He is the translator of more than 150 works from the French, including The Charterhouse of Parma. In 1984 he received the American Book Award for his translation of Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal. Mr. Howard lives in New York City.
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. 'The Little Prince' is a classic tale of equal appeal to children and adults. On one level it is the story of an airman's discovery, in the desert, of a small boy from another planet - the Little Prince of the title - and his stories of intergalactic travel, while on the other hand it is a thought-provoking allegory of the human condition. First published in 1943, the year before the author's death in action, this translation contains Saint-Exupery's delightful illustrations. AUTHOR: Antoine de Saint Exupery (June 29, 1900 July 31, 1944) was a French writer and aviator. He is most famous for his novella 'The Little Prince' and is also well known for his books about aviation adventures, including 'Night Flight' and 'Wind, Sand and Stars'. On one level this work is the story of an airman's discovery of a small boy from another planet in the desert and his stories of intergalactic travel, and on the other hand it is a thought-provoking allegory of the human condition. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781853261589
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9781853261589
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Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. On one level this work is the story of an airman's discovery of a small boy from another planet in the desert and his stories of intergalactic travel, and on the other hand it is a thought-provoking allegory of the human condition. Seller Inventory # B9781853261589
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