The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Rating: 2/5

Lost References:

This is the title of a Kate-centric episode. The little boy referred to in the title is Aaron, who Kate is raising.

In the book, the prince lives on asteroid B-612, and Danielle Rousseau’s research vessel is called the Bésixdouze, which is B-six-twelve in French.

Also, this story is about a pilot who makes an emergency landing in the desert and meets this weird kid, and ironically, the aviator author later took off on a flight and was never heard from again. The wreckage of his plane was finally found in 2003, but without a body. The mystery lives on.

Thoughts:

The prince was just a little too unbelievable for my taste. A little too out there. Not at all relatable to the target audience except for his overabundance of imagination. He’s too perfect but condescending – instantly sorry for all the grown-ups he meets because of their vices (like the “tippler,” who I was surprised to find in a kids’ book… I guess authors had more latitude for that stuff back in the day).

Inevitably, I have to compare his reaction to Sara in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess, which is a story about a girl barely older than the little prince who has a similar outlook on life. Even though Sara is more perfect than your average schoolgirl, she still has a wider range of emotions than the little prince. Sometimes she gets upset or angry even. And when she feels sorry for someone like the prince does, it’s not just an abstract emotion. She does something about it. She cheers up her fellow servant with stories. She shares her food with equally hungry children. Everything may work out for her in the end, but she’s a whole lot more likeable than Saint-Exupery’s prince.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Rating: 5/5

Lost References:

 One of the numbers of Lost is 42, which could very well be related to Hitchhiker’s. In this book, the number 42 is the meaning of “life, the universe, and everything.” (Sawyer also mentions the book in The Lost Experience.)

 Thoughts:

 If you like your scifi but can’t stand how serious it usually is, DON’T PANIC! Hitchhiker’s is the book for you. I haven’t gotten around to the rest of the series yet, but I have definite plans to pick up the rest of the Douglas Adams ones, at least. (Other authors have kept the series going, but I don’t think it’d be the same.) Anywho, Douglas Adams is just amazing. Clever, hilarious, brilliant.

And if you’ve already read this one and love it, I’d recommend Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. He also did some Doctor Who, which made me quite happy.