If you decided to apply to the University of Calgary for this upcoming fall semester, then you’ve probably received your acceptance letter (yay!) as well as your copy of Little Princes by Conor Grennan. If you haven’t started reading it already, I highly suggest to do it! Not only is it suggested that you do it for Orientation Week (which isn’t mandatory, but if you decide to go then you’ll be forced into a group discussion), but it’s a thoroughly interesting read. Initially I was anxious about this book, especially when it was in first person. I’m not a huge fan of first person perspective, but the prologue drew me in instantly.
December 20, 2006
It was well after nightfall when I realized we had gone the wrong way. The village I had been looking for was somewhere up the mountain. In my condition, it would be several hours’ walk up a rocky trail, if we could even find the trail in the pitch-dark. My two porters and I had been walking for thirteen hours straight. Winter at night in the mountains of northwestern Nepal is bitterly cold, and we had no shelter. Two of our three flashlights had burned out. Worse, we were deep in a Maoist rebel stronghold, not far from where a colleague had been kidnapped almost exactly one year before. I would have shared this fact with my porters, but we were unable to communicate; I spoke only a few words of the local dialect.
Who wouldn’t want to continue reading this book? I was surprised at how much I fell in love with it; not only was it a true story (and not just based on a true story, where most of the details are stretched out to make it more Hollywood-esque), but it was a journey of love. Amongst sacrifice, perseverance and courage laid out a beautiful story about Conor’s gradually growing love towards the children of Nepal and his wife. Conor wasn’t just writing from his memories, he wrote how he felt without offending anybody; he was able to balance the truth, his beliefs, and the politics of Nepal without sounding patronizing. He also created the Next Generation Nepal organization, where his goal is to reconnect “families of children who were taken by child traffickers with false promises of safety and education.”
So why are you letting dust collect on your edition of the book? Much like Le Petit Prince written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Little Princes is an unforgettable story. Not only will it enrich your mind, but it might inspire you to write an essay or be creative. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the University of Calgary is holding a contest where you can win $500 worth of textbooks or a dinner with the author himself! I think those are pretty great prizes, and even if you entered the Common Reading Program contest but didn’t win, then the experience was great, no? At least that’s what I believe. For those who don’t want to read the details:
Submit your responses by August 22 to crp@ucalgary.ca. Winners of the contest will be notified by August 29.
(Mini spoiler alert) The most powerful part of the story wasn’t just how loving Conor and his volunteer buddy, Farid, were towards the children at the Little Princes orphanage; and it wasn’t how much people like Gyan Bahadur (Nepalese official) and Anne Howe (Conor’s mentor), amongst other people, sacrificed so much for other people. It was how he was able to connect to God through this journey, how he met his loving wife, and how much a regular guy can make a huge difference. As corny as it sounds, one person really can make a difference… with a lot of help, of course!
So to those who aren’t going to the University of Calgary, check this book out at your library. Here’s an excerpt of the book if you’re still iffy about reading this. Now what’re you waiting for? Get back to reading!