夜航

Name: 夜航
ISBN: 9787201111520

安东尼·圣埃克苏佩里 / 梅思繁Tianjin People's Publishing House · ChinaApr 2023

4.0

Word count: 39K words
Chapters: 26
ISBN: 9787201111520

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Summary

The novel tells the story of three mail planes setting out one night from Patagonia, Chile, and Paraguay, all bound for Buenos Aires; one of them crashes after flying into a hurricane. The story unfolds along two lines that seem parallel yet are in fact closely intertwined: the pilot Fabien struggles in a thunderous night sky, while Rivière, the man in charge of the route, waits anxiously in a brightly lit office—movement and stillness, darkness and light, scenes of stark contrast alternating with taut, rhythmic, breathtaking effect. Mountains and deserts, storms and thunderclouds—these shifting, treacherous natural phenomena are rendered vivid and three-dimensional in the author's prose; and his writing, at once emotionally charged and concrete, carries great power to move. In both content and narrative technique, Night Flight is a masterpiece among novellas.

Editor's review

Night Flight is a major work published by Saint-Exupéry before The Little Prince. It is not a fairy tale but a realist novel steeped in philosophical reflection, drawn from the author's own flying experience. The book holds a Douban rating of 8.9, ample evidence that it has stood the test of time. Set in the early days of commercial aviation in the twentieth century, it focuses on the pilots of a night mail route in South America. The main storyline turns on a perilous night flight, but its core goes far beyond adventure. With poetic strokes and a cool, clear-eyed gaze, the author explores responsibility, solitude, the struggle of human will against natural law, and the profound questions of individual sacrifice and collective progress. In the vast night sky and the storm, the pilot Rivière and Fabien and their companions face not only technical challenges but existential interrogation. Saint-Exupéry elevates the concrete experience of flight into a metaphor for the human condition, which lifts Night Flight beyond the category of aviation literature and makes it an enduring work about courage, vocation, and the meaning of life. Its prose combines precise detail with sweeping lyricism, and its spare narrative holds enormous emotional tension. It rewards repeated reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Contemplative readers interested in philosophical questions such as existentialism and the meaning of life
Readers who love novels that combine literary beauty with intellectual depth
Those drawn to aviation history, the spirit of exploration, or the theme of humanity against nature
Saint-Exupéry fans who want a deeper look at another source of the ideas behind The Little Prince

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking pure light entertainment or fast-paced plotting
Readers expecting another fairy-tale allegory in the manner of The Little Prince

Reading tips

Read on a quiet night to sink more fully into the novel's vast night sky and its atmosphere of solitude
Read alongside Saint-Exupéry's life and other works (such as Wind, Sand and Stars) to trace the development of his thought
Pay attention to the book's complex discussion of “duty” and “command,” and reflect on the tension between personal feeling and collective mission

About the publisher

Tianjin People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1950

Tianjin People's Publishing House publishes across such fields as classic works, foreign literature, architecture, social culture and social sciences, with 749 relevant titles in the collection. In the areas of classics and scholarship, works such as Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua and Fei Xiaotong's From the Soil and Fertility and Reproduction reflect a sustained attention to social culture and classic texts of thought. Architectural books are represented by Liang Sicheng's Annotated Yingzao Fashi and A History of Chinese Architecture, showing an emphasis on architectural heritage and building traditions. In foreign literature, translations of Sholokhov's And Quiet Flows the Don and Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, through the work of translators such as Li Gang and Yu Dawei, form a substantial series of translated works. Overall, the press combines classic texts, scholarly works and fine translations, with a publishing character oriented toward humanistic depth and the dissemination of knowledge.

版权信息
前言
第一章
第二章
第三章
第四章
第五章
第六章
第七章
第八章
第九章
第十章
第十一章
第十二章
第十三章
第十四章
第十五章
第十六章
第十七章
第十八章
第十九章
第二十章
第二十一章
第二十二章
第二十三章
译后记

FAQ

Is the style of Night Flight very different from that of The Little Prince?

Markedly so. Night Flight is an adult novel grounded in real flying experience, austere and profound in style, full of philosophical reflection and critique of modernity; The Little Prince is an allegorical tale in spare language and rich symbol. What they share is a concern with responsibility, love, and the meaning of existence.

What is the book mainly about?

The main thread follows the pilot Fabien on a night mail flight over the Andes when he encounters a violent storm, loses contact with ground control and Rivière, and fights for his life. In parallel, it recounts the inner struggle of Rivière, the ground supervisor, as he enforces discipline strictly, even coldly, to advance the cause of aviation, revealing the spiritual world of the early aviation pioneers.

Why is the book said to have philosophical depth?

Because it goes beyond a simple adventure narrative. Through the extreme situation of flight, the author explores humanity's smallness and greatness before an uncontrollable nature, the value of an individual life within collective progress, the conflict between discipline and human care, and the ethics of responsibility behind carrying out orders. These questions make it an early exemplar of existentialist literature.

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About the author

安东尼·圣埃克苏佩里 Author

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French writer best known for The Little Prince. The library holds 15 of his works, including multiple editions of The Little Prince—such as a color illustrated edition, an English edition, and a Chinese-English-French color illustrated collector's edition—commonly categorized under foreign literature, inspirational growth, examinations, and world classics. Apart from The Little Prince, public information is limited, making it difficult to detail his life and other writings. Judging from The Little Prince, his writing often wraps philosophical thought in simple, clear language, using a fairy-tale-like story to explore love, responsibility, loneliness, and growth, suitable for readers of different ages to reread. The book appears on the recommended reading list of the Chinese Language Curriculum Standards for primary and secondary schools, indicating that its educational value is recognized and that it introduces this author to more young readers.

梅思繁 Author

Mei Sifan is an author about whom limited public information is available, and whose biographical details remain incomplete. Three of her works are currently included in the collection: Wind, Sand and Stars, I Choose to Be Alone, and Night Flight. Judging from their common classifications, these works are generally placed under foreign literature and essays and miscellaneous writings. Their subjects involve flight, travel, and self-examination in solitude, and their tone is quiet and lyrical. Mei Sifan's writing tends to connect concrete experience with inner feeling, using scenes of journeying and solitude to explore the relationships between people and the world and between people and themselves. Her prose is restrained, often conveying lingering emotion through simple narration and revealing an observation of life in a calm voice. Although background information about the author herself is still lacking, these works show that her writing focuses on the individual's situation and choices within a vast world and possesses considerable readability and appeal.