Wind, Sand and Stars

If you love The Little Prince as I do, as millions of others do, you will seek out other books of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Wind, Sand and Stars is probably the book that you will consider.

I wanted to like this book. And I did love the chapter about Saint-Exupéry's disastrous time in the desert. I did love Saint-Exupéry's beautiful writing. Saint-Exupéry is also a brilliant philosopher.

But my eyes glazed over when Saint-Exupéry went on and on about the airplane and the technology that put us in the air and flying. He certainly does go on and on about these things.

I had to smile as I read about little details that he would go on to include in The Little Prince like the tracks of foxes he found in the desert and his speculations about the stars.

But all in all I would have been happier to spend the time I spent reading this book in rereading The Little Prince, I think.

This book is like reading poetry. So fair warning to those who don't care for lyrical prose and super descriptive writing - this may not be for you - BUT if you love language when it is executed to its fullest and how it can transport you with feeling not only emotionally, but also put you right there with the author in the burning sands and diamond filled sky of stars and the disturbing trenches or war, then I HIGHLY recommend you read this beautiful memoir of Antoine Saint-Exupery. The writing is drenched in description and poetic musings on life, mankind and nature. His experiences are like a 1930's serial adventure novel, but told in such a fascinating and charming way that you are transported to where ever he is and feel the wind on your face, the heat of the sun and the joy, pain and pleasure in your heart right alongside him. As in his famous book The Little Prince his musings often turn to what it means to really live life to its fullest. It will make you ponder and it will inspire and I'm pretty sure you will walk away from it with something more in your heart. Maybe a yearning to break free from comfort and to embrace that life and death struggle that so invigorated Antoine to take to the skies and explore the world and write it all down in the most beautiful way possible. I truly loved this and highly recommend it to anyone with a love for language and a spirit of adventure in their heart.

I'll admit I wasn't a big fan of ‘Wind, Sand and Stars' when I first started reading it. Now that I've closed it's pages, I don't love it but it's not as bad as I first thought it was. I'm giving it four stars (or maybe, three and a half) because it was a solid book with vivid descriptions, beautifully written lines, and interesting philosophical beliefs embedded in it's lines.

However, the prose and writing style that made this story so unique, may have also been it's partial downfall, in my opinion.

Reading ‘Wind, Sand and Stars' was like reading heavy poetry, the kind where you can analyse two lines and uncover an entire universe, and while it's a nice thing to have in a book, it needs to be balanced. There needs to be shorter sentences, bits of telling instead of showing; at delicate balance, I'm afraid our author tipped the scales. Instead of drawing me into his imagination and his circumstances, the pages were too slippery and I found myself falling out of the story, struggling to keep my eyes on the page and my head in the story.

It did get better -

After chapter five. In the copy I have there are only ten chapters, word of advice to writers: draw your readers into the story before it's half over.

I love the snapshots, characters, and little stories that he folds into this story. At first they didn't seem connected but I began to realize that every little story he told, gave us a vision into his worldview. His explanations for human nature, for the ways of the sky and the sea, built upon the tragedies he's seen and walked through as a pilot.

This book is a collection of stories essentially, speaking of the wonder and marvel of the world and its inhabitants. The author marvels at the people he meets and impact they make on his narrow view of the world. He talks of the dangers and troubles he saw and encountered. Then he slowly weaves it together with yarns of the magnificent world we are gifted to explore, enjoy, and care for

So yes, while there were stylized matters that bothered me, over all it was a good, solid read. I definitely recommend you read it. Even if I had only given this one star, I would still recommend you read it. It's always good to ponder another man's perspective on life.

Stay Safe.

Elisa

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Saint-Exupéry's words somehow bypass the eyes, and sink directly into the heart, leaving you marvelling. This is a book I'll return to again and again. 

(I got my copy from a “mystery book” vending machine in Singapore. Such good luck to get something by the author of my childhood favourite! And how wonderful to have fallen in love with it so easily!)

There are books and then there are Books with a capital B. This one is a Book. One where you really start to think about humanity and everything and beyond. It is rare that I highlight and want to remember passages from a book. This book is one where I did a lot of that. Often I caught myself drifting off thinking about what I just read.

A wonderful book, highly recommended.