Bonjour Tristesse (1954)

This tale of a naughty French teen who vacations on the French Riviera with her Don Juan papa was probably considered racy back in the 1950's, but today it seems like a harmless beach book.

The author was eighteen when she penned this, and I think she did an excellent job of portraying all the drama from self doubt and bad decisions that can torture a person during that phase of life. Also, the protagonist's perception of adults who behave 'grown up' as stick-in-the-mud-extremists made me smile.

Bottom line: Although I frequently sighed at Cécile's behavior, perhaps this flashback to the teen years has helped prepare me for when my eldest daughter hits that age.

P.S. I actually read the translation by Irene Ash, which worked well for me. Since that edition wasn't listed on goodreads, I linked to this cool cover. ( )

Bonjour Tristesse takes place in the south of France in the 1950s. Cecile lives a live of decadance with her father after her mother dies. She drinks, she smokes, she goes to parties with him, and she is acustomed to the parade of women that march through her father's life. While on vacation on the Mediterranean, her life with her father is upset by the entrance of the lovely and sophisticated Anne Larsen. When Cecile realizes that Anne might upset the lifestyle that she and her father have been living, she puts a plan in motion to remove her from their lives. However, Cecile's plan works a little better than expected with some tragic results.


This book is something of a classic. It is Francoise Sagan's first book and she wrote it when she was 17 years old. This, of course, makes me feel incredibly inadequate. For a seventeen year old, there is a certain adultness to the writing. Cecile as a narrator is so self-absorbed and self-indulgent, and the way that the book is written conveys that perfectly without it even having to be said. This book is also a nice portrait of life in the fifties before tanning and smoking and drinking huge, gas guzzling cars are seen as "bad".

It's a short novel, and a quick and absorbing read. I'm curious to see whether or not Sagan's other writing is as interesting. ( )

A very adolescent novel, and everything that follows from that. Wild emotions, search for identity, etc., etc. I wonder if I should have read this when I was younger. ( )

Being stuck on the runway for three hours with Bonjour Tristesse in hand is no fun, I tell you.

I read this at a time when I had a lot on my plate. I didn't have enough patience to be concerned about the problems of a bunch of vain people who are wealthier than Scrooge McDuck, who spend their days sun-bathing and surfing and whose evenings are dedicated to drinking and dancing.

Yeah, I agree it is well-written for an 18 year old author. But it is also so superficial. It is natural that the 17 year old narrator acts like a teenager. What is extremely annoying is that all the adults behave like teenagers as well. The average IQ of all the characters in this book is likely to be very low. They simply blame the heat for all their stupidity.

Let's meet these characters:

Cecile: spoiled daughter of a rich dad. Her life sucks right now, because her dad's girlfriend is trying to make her study for an exam and doesn't let her sleep with the pretty boy. Could it be any worse!

Raymond: rich, irresponsible, promiscuous.
Hey, Raymond, you have a daughter to look after, remember?

Elsa: beautiful, fashionable, DUMB.
Occupation: being a mistress to rich men.

Cyril: 25 year old boy that Cecile finds attractive. Considering how he gets involved into Cecile's schemes, probably not too bright.

Anne: cold, calculating, condescending. She decided she wanted Raymond in her life, followed him down to his beach-house, wore a flattering dress one evening and voila! mission accomplished.


**** HERE BE A MAJOR SPOILER. LOOK AWAY. ****

I do have sympathy for Anne's tragic end, but there is this another voice in my head that wants to shout at Anne: What are you, a silly teenager?! A woman her age should know better than to end her life over a short relationship with a frivolous man known to be loose with women. Anne's action is also difficult to digest as there was no indication of love or any real emotion in their relationship. The two barely even spoke.
Damn, this heat. Look where it got her!

****

I spent the rest of the flight reading [b:The Stranger|49552|The Stranger|Albert Camus|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1280451033s/49552.jpg|3324344] which, like this one, featured French people who spent a lot of time on the beach and cursed the heat. But then there was so much more too. Way better! ( )

Seventeen year old Cécile is summering down south with her father Raymond; a man who seems to fancy himself as a quasi-bohemian Lothario-type, indulging in what he likes to think of as his 'sinful' ways, with a penchant for girls in their twenties. In short (and I'm sure many of his women feel the same way) an irrepressibly charming figure, although I know it doesn't sound that way. Cécile herself, like most seventeen year olds, is incredibly naive, jealous and thinks herself to be far older and more mature than she actually is. The pair are joined by Raymond's completely vacuous, though kindhearted girlfriend Elsa and Cyril, a young man who quickly captures Cécile's heart and overactive imagination.

This rather innocent summer holiday is rapidly punctured by the arrival of Anne Larson, an educated, refined, cultured and rather serious woman, whose appearance on the scene severely disrupts the fine balance that has been established...with tragic consequences.

Although it may seem like an obvious way to describe something, Bonjour Tristesse felt like such a 'complete' novel, despite its brevity. Although I had heard wonderful things, I was still taken aback by how satisfied and moved I felt by the very end. The apparent superficiality of the main characters and their lifestyle acts as the perfect mask to a much deeper, darker realty. Although certain relationships and behaviour, particularly between Anne and Raymond, seemed to have appeared out of the blue at first, I did eventually manage to reconcile myself with the fact that we are being treated to a snapshot of the life of a small family here, with no real knowledge (although we do like to sumise) of what has come before or indeed what will happen afterwards...

The frivolity of Cécile and her father struck me as very tongue in cheek and, as a result, allowed me room to sympathise with them. Anne's intrusive and supercilious behaviour frustrated me as much as it did Cécile, whose 'bratishness' simply didn't! I surprise myself. Perhaps it's because hot French people are almost allowed to be so precocious. I love them for it!

Françoise Sagan was eighteen when she wrote this book. A fact that I am still struggling to fully comprehend. Although it explains the devastatingly honest and accurate teenage character, it still doesn't explain the complex emotions that are explored here and the pure ease with which she writes and with which we, in turn, read. In the wake of reading this book, it is the unconventional father/daughter relationship which really interests me. Is she merely the spoilt child of a wealthy, liberal man with too much time on his hands, or is there something a little more subversive going on? I'd love to know what you all think because Sagan may just be a little too subtle for me on that front...

http://relishreads.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/bonjour-tristesse.html ( )