When a novel chooses its reader – ‘The Return of the Young Prince’ by A.G. Roemmers

I have been a fan of ‘Le Petit Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry since I first read it in French class when I was 13. The child prince looking for the meaning of life with his inquisitive mind and his untouched and pure child views, makes us adults see the world in a more abstract and simple child-like way by bringing up simple and obvious questions about life, which can be hard to answer. I love the philosophical thoughts it provokes and every summer I re-read ‘The Young Prince’ to make sure my inner child doesn’t fall asleep or actually dies. The perspectives the novel delivers cater to all ages, and each time I read it the interpretations change as life moves on and life-experience expands. A masterpiece like this is never the same once you go back to it and revisit your initial interpretation, it has something magical to it.

Generally, the law of attraction reflects and attracts in the outside what your inside is yearning for, so it makes total sense that this book chose me at Bangkok Airport: ‘The Return of the Young Prince’ by Argentinian Alejandro Guillermo Roemmers. It also made sense that it was heavily raining all day on that same day arrived in Khao Lak, because rainy days are for reading. The novel couldn’t wait. I plunged into the novel head first, only to come back out into the world again as a changed person a few hours later.

‘It was a miracle that had transformed me utterly in the space of three days, one of those marvels that no one sees coming, because miracles of love are as simple as they are great’
The Return of the Young Prince by A.G. Roemmers

It is another wonderfully philosophical story, respectfully continuing and interconnecting with the original story. The young prince is a teenager now and is looking for the answers to his many questions in order to become an adult. He crashes onto Earth and lands in the planes of Patagonia where he is picked up by the main protagonist who then drives with him through Patagonia for 3 days in order to end up in a major city.

Throughout the journey they discuss numerous aspects of life as there is nothing much to do or to see when driving on straight roads and through barren lands. Just as the original by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry offers many thoughts about life that we often forget about as we become adults, this unofficial ‘sequel’ honors us with a similar guidance in reconsidering our values and aspects. As we grow older, we seem to become more and more complex and influenced by our surroundings, be it people or the society we live in, so our views become more defined and we often act on auto-pilot. It can be disturbing to overthrow personal views and realign one’s values but this novel clearly challenges the reader to come back to basic philosophical questions and topics about human life.

15 take-aways from ‘The Return of the Young Prince’ by A.G. Roemmers

Provide and accept help whenever possible.
Everyone has their own timing, so don’t rush others.
Trust that the majority of people mean well and get rid of permanent skepticism.
If you are having wonderfully passionate conversation, time flies.
Love and respect any living organism, always. Material doesn’t matter.

6. Don’t overthink problems because they are easy to solve

…‘A problem is like a door you haven’t got the key to‘ ’And what do you do when you come across a problem?’ the boy wanted to know, becoming more and more interested in the conversation, even though he carried staring into the distance. ’Well, the first thing you do is to see if the problem really is yours, if it’s your path that it’s blocking. That’s vital.’ I explained, ‘because there are a lot of people who interfere in other people’s problems, even though they haven’t been asked for help. They lose time, waste their strength and prevent others from finding their own solutions.’ It was clear he agreed with this obvious truth, one which many adults don’t accept. ‘And if the problem really is yours?’ He continued, turning towards me. ‘Then you have to find the right key, and put it into the lock in the right sort of way.’ – ‘It sounds simple,’ the boy concluded with a nod. ‘Don’t you believe it,’ I replied. ‘Some people don’t even find the key – and not for a lack of imagination but because they’re unwilling to try two or three times with the keys that they have, and sometimes they don’t even try at all. They want someone to hand them the key, or, even worse, to come and open the door for them.’ – ‘And are they all capable of opening the door?’ – ‘If you’re convinced you can do it, then you almost certainly can. But if you believe you can’t, that practically guarantees you won’t manage it.’