Rare Intellect

Page 25

Jocelyne Soulodre

-President & CEO

Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business

The Little Prince, or as I first knew it, Le Petit Prince, first entranced me as a child growing up in St. Boniface, the "French Quarter" of Winnipeg, in the 60s.

For a child it is a magical story of adventure and romance with visits to asteroids to meet grotesque adults and making friends with an enchanted little desert fox. Ten years later my love for it survived an exhaustive academic study when I was a student of French literature. So it must be quite a book! I go back to it frequently even now.

The book teaches you to look at life as a child would, with an open heart, yes, but also like a wise child, with open eyes. It teaches you not to be stupid or needlessly hard-nosed, to ignore the non-essentials that clog our lives.

Its often repeated premise is that what is important-"l'essentiel"-is invisible to the eye.

One thing that has always bothered me about the English version of the book is how the word "apprivoiser," used to describe the Prince's relationship with the desert fox he has befriended, has been translated. In English the word used is "tamed," which suggests conquest and control. The meaning in French is soft and nurturing. It implies give and take, not command, which is more in keeping with the tone and theme of the book.

Whenever I see a wheat field waving in the sun, this former Prairie girl is reminded of the color of the Little Prince's hair.

Richard Van Camp

-Dogrib Author

Instructor, University of British Columbia

Recommends:

The Fourth Hand by John Irving

Random House-2001

If you adore John Irving's last novel A Widow for One Year like I did, you may be a bit disappointed in The Fourth Hand. I say this because The Fourth Hand" is, oh, about 50 pages too long, but hang in there because if you want to read the most hilarious sex scene ever written, the long and sometimes side-winding ride is all worth it once you read Patrick and Angie's love scene. It's one of many hilarious scenes and subplots in the novel. If you do not fall of your bed laughing your head off while reading Patrick and Angie's romp, then you are a cyborg and someone implanted a microchip in your bum that is permitting you from experiencing bliss!

The plot: Patrick Wallingford, a TV reporter, loses his hand to a tiger while reporting a story in India. Merry mix-ups ensue as the entire world watches this horrifying event on the news as it is replayed and replayed and replayed. Patrick Wallingford suddenly becomes one of the most famous mammals in the world for losing his hand, but gaining so much more in the end! This is a great story from one of America's finest authors. Please check out A Widow For One Year if you want to laugh even more. Now, that is a perfect novel!