Incidentally, if you’re looking to start reading in French, there is hardly a better book in terms of (impact on literature) times (simple, accessible writing) [2]. It’s also a short book. Regarding the literary merit of Camus, Nabokov had this to say [1]: ”I happen to find second-rate and ephemeral the works of a number of puffed-up writers—such as Camus, Lorca, Kazantzakis, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Thomas Wolfe, and literally hundreds of other “great” second-raters.” “Brecht, Faulkner, Camus, many others, mean absolutely nothing to me, and I must fight a suspicion of conspiracy…
Yes, Pascal is a fun language to work in. I've always enjoyed working in it, whether in the form of Turbo Pascal, Delphi or Lazarus (did some commercial work in TP and a bit in Delphi, and Lazarus so far, for fun.) Probably many features (or non-features [1]) of the language contribute to it. This is just one point: the use of sets as built into the languages, is nice and reads naturally for expressing some kinds of relationships and tests (foo in bar, where bar is a set) - e.g. char in vowels, etc. [1] "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is…
I'm not sure how I feel about this quote. It seems to me like it only makes sense when talking about a tool or thing with scoped functionality that would be hindered by unnecessary accretions. In the state of "perfection" for something like this, there would be nothing left to add or remove. But even in this context, if it's unable to perform it's function due to insufficiency, perfection would be achieved by adding and not subtracting. If one were to apply it to life in general, it seems even less fitting. Although we can never achieve perfection, I think most people would agree that a…
We were read parts of it in kindergarten. I was fascinated by the desert, at the time I loved deserts, even if I saw one only as an adult. Two years later I borrowed it from the school library. My friends teased me because they thought it is girly. I read it and found a bit confusing and boring. Later it got more popular and adults found all kinds of deep things. It was so sentimental I've never got back to the book if I hadn't read it first as a children's book. In my mid twenties I got my own copy from a girlfriend who saw me as a little prince. Now about a week ago I reread it again.…
I think it's rather a kind-of- schooling-and-education thing. for schools in a "humanistic" tradition I dare to bet it's canon. it's a very beautiful read and when you have time, go and grab a sweet illustrated full text paper copy in your language of choice, it has been translated in all languages of the world, and there are wonderful editions of the book. I treasure a large pop up one. At first glance it looks and feels like a childrens book, but really, is it? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry offers a very unique and poetic look at humankind and a truly timeless masterpiece, touching not so…
The book has been extremely transformative for me at multiple points in my life as I've aged. If I could only recommend a single piece of fiction, it would probably be The Little Prince. I also highly recommend the 2015 animated film adaptation. It has a rock-solid cast, and presents the classic story within entirely new layers of interpretation that speak to multiple generations at once. It's a real tearjerker that only gets more potent with age. I'm also not sure why so many commenters here seem confused or negative towards The Little Prince. It is a timeless, culture-invariant treatise…
There's something both beautiful/enchanting and deeply tragic about the story. If anyone's interested in an analysis of Saint-Exupéry's psychology via the symbolism of The Little Prince, the book "The Problem of the Puer Aeternus" by Marie-Louise von Franz [1] is absolutely fascinating. [1]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1404609.The_Problem_of_t...
As an American, we grow up almost entirely without this gem of children's literature. I'm so thankful that PBS aired this story when I was a small child. The imagery was so strong that it has forever stuck in my head. When I see other stories like "The Fountain" or Super Mario Galaxy, I immediately think of the Little Prince. I've yet to revisit it as an adult, but I think maybe it's time?
I disagree on it not being profound. The intended audience for the book are young children, and parents reading to their children. It is not unlikely that a decent number of the intended audience will have grown up that "perfection" is equated to having everything, with nothing left to want. New parents especially would have feelings of inadequacy when they are trying to be "perfect" for their kids.
> The little prince was still not satisfied. "If I own a scarf, I can tie it around my neck and take it away. If I own a flower, I can pick it and take it away. But you can't pick the stars!" "No, but I can put them in the bank." "What does that mean?" "That means that I write the number of my stars on a slip of paper. And then I lock that slip of paper in a drawer." "And that's all?" "That's enough!" Antoine de Saint-Exupéry satirized NFTs 70 years before they were invented!