I’ve been asking for recommendations for books that are a bit philosophical but also in simple language and short enough so I don't get bored because I’ve been really struggling emotionally with mental health issues recently and find it hard to stay focused.
I was first recommended The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. I tried reading it, but I couldn’t get very far. To me, it felt like a series of life quotes sprinkled randomly throughout a story that was kind of disjointed. Maybe it works beautifully for kids, but as an adult, I found it hard to connect with.
Next, I tried The Alchemist, another recommendation. I finished it, and I did like it, but it felt a little too neat, too polished and inspirational. The lessons were uplifting, almost self-helpy. It was nice and comforting but I didn’t feel the kind of depth that makes me want to revisit a book.
Then came The Little Prince, again recommended by the same person. I didnt read this one for a long time before finally trying it a couple of days ago, and I’m so glad I did. From the very beginning, with its focus on imagination and kids vs. grownups and drawings, I was intrigued. By the end, I was completely hooked. It feels like one of those books with staying power, and I been thinking about it since. It feels alien and yet familiar, mysterious and yet quite clear. It's like someone saying what you been feeling but couldn't quite understand enough to speak it. It's like a certain kind of truth I always knew.
What’s interesting is that with the other books, I could find faults and that allowed me to think about them critically. But with The Little Prince, I don’t even know why I love it so much. I can’t put my finger on it. In a way, it's true that it's just a children’s book. It is also moralizing and simplistic, and lacks real depth, someone could argue. And yet, I don’t feel that at all. Maybe it's personal preference and this one got to me, cleverly bypassed my intellect and spoke to my heart, the way other books had failed? I don't know. Somehow, it did it, not sure how or why, but it works in a way the others didn’t.
And this bothers me. Those people who feel the way I do toward the other books or at least can understand how someone might feel that way, can you help me figure what this book gets right that those other books don't quite?
by sinned-fiji