Appreciation for Literature

you know what will give you a real appreciation for literature? reading a work of literature... in another language.

in high school for my advanced french class we had to read Le Petite Prince. It. Was. Hell.
it was an excellent book don't get me wrong but it was misery trying to make sense of somethings that just did not translate. i missed a lot of stuff but still appreciated the book. we ended up finding a cheat site and printing out the accurate and professional translation to read aloud for when we had a substitute and reading ahead of time to get a better sense of the book and what was happening.

our teacher was a good teacher. we just weren't that good of students. but the story itself was wonderful. fanciful yet serious. i can't really explain because, like i said, i missed a lot but it did make some sense instead of none.