My first encounter with the writer was reading Little Prince when I was around the same age as the protagonist. While the chapter 21 with the fox and the Prince, narrating friendship and trust affected me for many years, I recently picked up two other books of the same author.
I did not know that the children’s book writer was also a pilot during the Second World War, writing about his adventures in Sahara Desert, South America and Europe. So far Wind, Sand and Stars (Terre des Hommes) is my favorite but the opening sentence of Night Flight (Vol de Nuit) is also exquisite. I would like to share some short excepts from these books to show that they are not just travel stories or tales for children. My only criticism would be the poetic language does not translate to English.
“Love is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction.”
― Wind, Sand and Stars
“We do not pray for immortality, but only not to see our acts and all things stripped suddenly of all their meaning; for then it is the utter emptiness of everything reveals itself.”
― Night Flight
“Les collines, sous l’avion, creusaient déjà leur sillage d’ombre dans l’or du soir. Les plaines devenaient lumineuses mais d’une inusable lumière : dans ce pays elles n’en finissent pas de rendre leur or de même qu’après l’hiver, elles n’en finissent pas de rendre leur neige.”
― Night Flight
“Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
― Little Prince
Short stories 