49. The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery (100 book challenge)

I’ll apologise in advance. I’m sorry.

This book was terrible.

Maybe I missed something big. Was there a metaphor that was too subtle for my simplicity? Did the translation from French to English mean the genius was lost? Were my expectations just way too high?

I’ve read 49 books now from my 100 book challenge, and the majority of them have blown me away. Pretty much all of them have left me in awe, stunned at the author’s talent. This one… not so much.

The reviews said that it’s a great book for children and adults alike. Following on from our beautiful tradition of reading Winnie-the-Pooh each night, the kids were excited to start this one. After a few nights of ‘the prince visited a planet with nothing on it’ and ‘the prince said to the lonely man, how do you do’ the kids decided they’d prefer to go back to their own beds and read to themselves. I kinda wished I had that option too.

But I persevered and got to the end, foolishly waiting for a grand finale that would wow me and change my opinion of Saint-Exupéry. But sorry Antoine, this book left me with nothing other than relief when I’d made it to the final page… and could finally move onto book number fifty.

*************

In July 2014 I set myself the challenge to finish 100 must-read books before I die. For my ongoing tally click here.

Follow @jessieansons