More life-changing than a lot of books

It was amazing book to read.

This children's classic that's supposedly not for children but oh so hard hitting for adults has been highly raved about and I've been wanting to finish reading it for about 7 years at this point I kid you not. It is such a short book but it was honestly so hard to finish reading it because I was just uninvested and uninterested, which is why it took me literally 7 years of picking it up and putting it down to finally be able to say that I finished the book. This book takes the form of allegories, parables and fables set in absurd and whimsical landscapes that's supposed to reflect the innocence of childhood and the complexities of life... Maybe I'm too uncouth and unintelligent for this book but I did not get it and I did not get along well with this book. I felt like a lot of the metaphors did not track and at some point I really felt like the book / writing was being deep for the sake of being deep. I do feel bad for saying this, knowing that the author was a pilot who was stranded in plane crashes multiple times, which explains the premise of the book... But even the fact that this author pilot dude died about a year after writing this book was not quite enough for me to like this book. To be completely honest, maybe he should have stuck to learning how to fly planes better instead of writing books. Then maybe he would have been stranded less... But yknow what guys maybe I'm the problem here haha. Maybe I'm the drama tbh because maybe this book simply is a reflection of the reader's reminiscence of their childhood. Maybe this book is meant to dig deep and uncover the reader's relationship with their own inner child. Maybe the little prince is inside all of us, with its innocence and naivety. If that's the case then well yes, that would explain why I did not really enjoy the book. I never really resounded with the innocence and simplicity of childhood and maybe that's something I myself should be working on, to reconnect with my inner child and rediscover that simplicity. Ok tangential line of thought aside, I think the book overall was kind of clumsy and all over the place but there were a few nuggets and excerpts here and there that were rather cute. I liked the part where the fox talked about taming and rites, and I also liked the life lesson of looking with the heart rather than the eyes. I'll put some quotes here that I liked for posterity's sake, and also for the sake of never having to read this book ever again lol. "What does tamed mean?" "It's something that's been too often neglected. It means, 'to create ties'..." "To create ties?" "That's right," the fox said. "For me you're only a little boy just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me, either." For you I'm only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, we'll need each other. You'll be the only boy in the world for me. I'll be the only fox in the world for you..." - "The only things you learn are the things you tame," said the fox. - "What's a rite?" "That's another thing that's been too often neglected," said the fox. "It's the fact that one day is different from other days, one hour from the other hours." --- "Good-bye," said the fox. "Here is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." "It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important." "You become responsible forever for what you have tamed."

😭 how can someone not love this...it’s so poetic and beautiful. I can truly see myself rereading this over and over. “Here is my secret. It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”..............”People have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed.” We were all children once. It’s hard for us to understand this as adults.