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Reading his wife's lyrical yet frank memoir of their turbulent marriage, it's easy to see why Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) depicted her as the prince's beloved, difficult Rose in his most famous book, The Little Prince. The French writer's feelings for his Salvadoran wife were passionate from the moment they met in Buenos Aires. On that very first day in 1930, he cajoled her aboard his airplane, even though she was afraid of flying, and extorted a kiss by cutting the engine and threatening to drown them both in the waters below. He proposed marriage just a few days later, and the revolution roiling Argentina was hardly more unsettling for Consuelo than the emotions aroused by her swashbuckling aviator-author. "For you I am nothing but a dream," she explains. "But I want you to know I am not an object or a doll; I don't change faces on command." Blending the everyday with the abstract in a style reminiscent of The Little Prince's elliptical prose, Consuelo limns a man who loved her yet couldn't resist the adulation of other women or sit still long enough to build a life together. "You're the kind of man who is constantly in need of struggle, conquest," she tells him. "Leave, then. Leave." So off he went, on flights that often ended in crashes while she waited anxiously (but seldom patiently)--until he vanished for good during a wartime reconnaissance mission in 1944. Written a year later but unpublished until 2000, when it became a bestseller in France, Consuelo's portrait reveals a Saint-Exupéry far more human than the tragic, mythical hero constructed by his worshipful countrymen. --Wendy Smith
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Twice widowed and not yet 30, Consuelo Suncin married the dashing young aviator Comte Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry in 1931. As depicted in this posthumous memoir (written in 1945, it lay undiscovered until the 1990s), they were an impossible couple: childlike and terminally irresponsible, Saint-Ex (as his friends called him) broke engagements without a word to disappear for months. Consuelo sometimes na?ve, often egotistical, and always temperamental frequently exploded in nervous fits (one acquaintance described her as "Surrealism made flesh"). From Buenos Aires to Casablanca, Paris and New York, they failed to establish a home for themselves; Saint-Ex repeatedly fled the constraints of marriage, only to find he could not write without his wife's support and inspiration. She, for her part, loved him too much to leave him for good. Friends described Consuelo as a charming storyteller, always ready with a vivid observation ("She had the face of an umbrella" is her stab at a suspected rival). At its most heartrending, this book tells the story of a proud, charismatic woman who lived only for her husband, following him from continent to continent as he deceived and neglected her, then pleaded for her return when he began writing again. In 1943 he wrote The Little Prince, immortalizing Consuelo as the Prince's beloved Rose, too proud and thorny to admit her pain at his departure. A year later, the aviator disappeared over the Atlantic. For his many devotees, this memoir will offer an intimate glimpse of the strange and passionate life behind his mysterious work. (July 3)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
EVERY MORNING ON THE BRIDGE, Ricardo Vines, the pianist with hands like a dove's wings, would say in my ear, "Consuelo, you are not a woman." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
EVERY MORNING ON THE BRIDGE, Ricardo Vines, the pianist with hands like a dove's wings, would say in my ear, "Consuelo, you are not a woman." Read the first page
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Related rare work,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Tale of the Rose: The Love Story Behind The Little Prince (Paperback)
There is another lesser-known work by Consuelo de Saint-Exupery that is called "The Kingdom of the Rocks." A rare manuscript has been discovered and is now listed on eBay with item #3729050808.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps the agony of Consuelo,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Tale of the Rose: The Passion That Inspired The Little Prince (Hardcover)
Great men often leave great pain in their wake. So it seems from Consuelo de St. Exupery's writings about her relationship with her husband Antoine de St. Exupery. The book covers the time from when the couple met in Buenos Aires and the way Antoine (or Tonio as Consuelo called him) completely took over her life until he left Consuelo in the United States to return to France in during WWII. For those who question the authorship, this was most certainly written by a woman who lovingly supported by her husband's endeavors. Her pain can be felt through the words relating her feelings on his inattention, negligence and infidelities. The marriage endured despite situations that most independent women today would consider intolerable. In light of the situations Consuelo experiences; she comes across as strong, intelligent, enterprising woman. She dealt with conditions during WWII in France that were common at the time, but today would leave many people unable continue with any sense of dignity. The question arises as why Consuelo did not leave Tonio. There are some passages that allude to the possibility of ending the marriage. It seems that Tonio would show up and create a situation where she would no longer have legal grounds to divorce. For those who love the book The Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupery, the Tale of the Rose gives interesting insight as to why the Little Prince was having trouble with his Rose.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific!,
By nowelle ross (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Tale of the Rose: The Passion That Inspired The Little Prince (Hardcover)
"The Tale of the Rose," as the title states, is indeed a tale that many readers will read again and again.
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