Đọc thấy loạn quá nhưng không thể phủ định vẻ đẹp ở những câu văn rất thơ.

The prose has moments of poetic insight. The plot is fairly simple and the French vocabulary isn't too demanding, aside from various aeronautic terms. And it's short. On the other hand, the narrative structure is confused by vague pronouns, a mysterious "we" that is never defined, and disorienting jumps in context and point of view.

Published in 1929, it was the first major work by the author of "le petit prince." You will find similar themes between the two works, for example airplanes, the desert, and philosophical dialogue. It's fun to follow the route on a map, keeping in mind that some of the city names have changed.

de Saint-Exupery's first novel, "Southern Mail" written in 1929, is a brilliant first novel. I was amazed by his descriptions of flight and his tragic romance with "Genevieve". Since this was first published in France, it was a little racier than most American novels. The sex scene (in a brothel!) was amazing for it's graphicness and yet, it was painted like a picture. The dichotomy of his obsessive love, which in reality was brutal and tragic, pitted against the wonder and peace he feels after having it off with a hooker, makes way for a lone-wolf. He is happiest when taking off, aeroplane full of mail, flying over the desert and then touching down, maybe for a drink, a smoke, or a quickie.

I loved being able to read this in it's original type face, and marveled at Eclipsys's he used, a single * instead of the normal *** to separate passages. This first novel shows the genius in the making. I don't want it to end, I want to live in this novel. It's warm and comforting to me, like an old flight jacket...

beautiful simple prose. a transporting read.

written by a man.

Tựa tiếng Việt là Chuyến thư miền Nam, NN vừa phát hành.
Mình vẫn mê những câu văn rất tình của tác giả Hoàng tử bé. Bản dịch cũng khá mượt dù đã có cách đây nửa thế kỉ.
(review đàng hoàng viết sau vậy)

C'est peut-être le tout premier roman de Saint Exupéry, mais on retrouve toute la sensibilité de l'auteur pour écrire un roman aussi poétique. On retrouve bien évidemment aussi son amour pour l'aviation et on est ainsi projeté à la place de ce pilote qui traverse l'Afrique et les nuages pour délivrer le courrier. Tout est précisé avec rigueur, et le contraste entre réalité et poésie est surprenant. L'histoire d'amour qui survient dans certains chapitres reste très énigmatique et l'on cherche à en apprendre plus sur la vie du protagoniste Bernis, dans laquelle Saint-Exupéry y a rajouté un peu de sa vie à lui. Ce roman annonce les prémisses de ceux qui suivront, notamment Le Petit Prince.
Sa plume est remplie de subtilité et nous nous évadons dans son monde en un rien de temps.

well, I was surprised to discover that this is a novel. I mean, I'd read a good 20 pages or so before I figured out it had an invented plot and invented characters, and the delay in discovery wasn't my fault (I mean, on account of my faulty French)--so much of the opening describes the daily (nightly) routine of the "Southern Mail" of the title that the narrator takes some time to get around to introducing the characters. The sad, sordid relationship in the middle of the book, the "meat" of the novel, is the weakest part--it rings the least true, and you feel that the author is much more at home among the sand and stars of the Sahara than in the salons and parks of Paris.

Still, the writing is dreamy and beautiful, as ever, and the descriptions of piloting small planes back and forth across the Mediterranean in the 1920s makes jaw-dropping good reading.

A stunning prose that relentlessly stabbed me in places I didn't know existed.

These words should be read in French. Saint Exupery does not write in a translatable manner. The magic is lost in translation. Converting this story to a new language is like trying to grasp a handful of sand and watching it slip through your fingers.

The French version made me feel like I was discovering a brand new language. The author arranges words in such a beautiful way, I find myself reading the same sentences ten times over in a feable attempt to make them a piece of furniture in the room of my mind.

I do not know what to do with my life now that I have finished reading this book.

n  „…единствената истина е може би спокойствието на книгите.“n

„Южна поща“ е първият роман на Сент-Екзюпери – доста кратък, но все пак по френски фин, поставяйки основите на майсторство и гениалност в писането, с които роденият в Лион летец и писател ще създава бъдещите си творби. Историята е някак семпла и непретенциозна, разделена на три отделни части, вдъхновена от живота, личния опит и вълнения на автора. Хареса ми, но си признавам, че макар и скромна по обем книга, четенето ми вървеше малко бавно и трудно.

n  „Тоя човек показва пред другите лице, което сам си е съчинил. Не поради суетност, а за да вярва в себе си.“n

"Dessa vidder, dessa städer, dessa ljus som avlägsnade sig, det var han själv som övergav dem. Som klädde dem av sig. Om en timme skulle Tangers fyr lysa."

Dom band som binder honom där, ska han långsamt lösa upp. Monsieur Bernis kör postflyg till Dakar och funderar över sitt liv.

Nice book, absolutely love the brilliant writing style of saint exupery. But again did not understand everything because it is quite complex to follow.