| Title | : | Bonjour Tristesse / A Certain Smile |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0141442301 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780141442303 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 213 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1956 |
In A Certain Smile Dominique, a young woman bored with her lover, begins an encounter with an older man that unfolds in unexpected and troubling ways. These two acerbically witty and delightfully amoral tales about the nature of love are shimmering masterpieces of cool-headed, brilliant observation.
Bonjour Tristesse / A Certain Smile Reviews
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Françoise Sagan (a pen name) wrote Bonjour Tristesse, a lovely and remarkably nuanced novel when she was just 18! It was her first novel and caused quite a stir when it was published in 1954. The themes of free (ish) love, sex and careless relationships were considered, even in France, to be quite controversial.
Cécile is 17 and looking forward to an idyllic summer with her father in a villa on the French rivière. Her father, Raymond, is attractive, vague, a bit of a ‘ladies man’ and not too hot on responsibility. He brings along his current girl friend Elsa. She’s shallow, vapid and needy ......... and he’s mostly indifferent to her.
Raymond, as a father, is hardly demanding and Cécile sees her lazy sunlit summer stretch ahead, unhindered, spending time with Cyril her casual (older) boyfriend.
Almost as an afterthought Raymond lets on that he’s also invited Anne to stay at the villa, a good friend of his deceased wife - a beautiful, intelligent and very grounded woman.
A threat to Cécile’s unsupervised carefree existence, Anne has a way of imposing ‘..... order, silence and harmony .....’
The scene is now set for relationships to play out in the sun - a backdrop of white light, sensuousness, a glittering sea and Mediterranean heat.
Cecile, indolent and quietly insolent, is a little scared that the ramshackle and exciting life she leads with her father could be coming to an end. This, and an element of half understood jealousy causes her to start meddling dangerously in the lives and affairs of those she’s closest to.
With very dark consequences.
I first read Bonjour Tristesse about 40 years ago and find that time has given it a new emotional clarity.
I’m certainly looking forward to more Françoise Sagan re-reads. -
So what? I was a woman who had loved a man. It was a simple enough story. There was no reason to make a big deal of it.
Reading this, it's clear to see the tradition from which a writer like
Annie Ernaux has sprung, and I'd file Sagan also alongside
Marguerite Duras and even
Simone de Beauvoir.
Sagan has a more accessible reputation and style and there's a sort of surface raciness to these two novellas that might justify that position. All the same, Sagan's 'heroines' have those strong and intimate feminine voices and are far from unintelligent, despite their youth -Dominique is studying at the Sorbonne and drops the existentialists into her conversation with a sassy casualness. Most of all, the similarities lie in that Gallic way of treating love and affairs with a kind of legitimating and clinical precision - there's no sentimentality though there is a vulnerability which hides beneath the overt cynicism.
A ravishing pair of novellas written when Sagan was enviably young. -
I especially loved A certain smile! (Which is funny because I started reading this for Bonjour Tristesse)
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this author would’ve loved lana del rey.
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I absolutely adored Sagan’s novels when I was a teenager so it was a great pleasure to revisit these and marvel anew at her talent. Languid, moody, impressionistic, jaded, introspective - these are classic states of adolescence that are so wonderfully explored here, as is the sexual awakening and longing that accompanies first love.
Heather Lloyd’s stylish translations are equally pleasurable with their evocative imagery of 1950s Left Bank culture and fashionable intellectualism (existentialist and absurdist, of course), as is Rachel Cusk’s sensitive and thoughtful introduction.
A Penguin Modern Classic indeed! -
Bonjour Tristesse
This story is set in the South of France and written by Francoise Sagan when she was 17 years old ( published when she was 19)
Cécile, is a seventeen year old girl, holidaying with her widowed father and his young girlfriend on the French Riviera. They enjoy the start of an idyllic summer, sunbathing, swimming and relaxing in the hot french sunshine.
Cécile befriends the good looking Cyril who lives nearby.
A few weeks later, an old friend of her late mother comes to stay and their peaceful summer ends.
This is an extremely short read. I found it emotionally detached in style ... however it was interesting, well written and moving in places. -
Bonjour Tristesse & A Certain Smile, both novellas by Sagan have been on my TBR for years, and I am so glad I finally read them.
There was no particular reason I wanted to read them other than that I heard so many readers speak of them, tho not about them. I was intrigued.
I had no idea that Sagan was only 18 when she wrote Bonjour Tristesse, but reading the novella I had been wondering what age group the author was writing for. You see, I didn't connect with the main character. She was quite young mentally and I was wondering if this was a novel that would now be found in the YA/NA section, except the writing is far too accomplished for NA.
On the other hand, there are far more issues and layers to the stories than I'd probably expect from a YA (never even mind NA...) book. So, even if the novellas fit on either of those shelves - both certainly feature the angsty young people pursuing love interests as their main plot - the novellas are also more than they appear. I'm just not sure, that the reader is given much of a chance to explore the additional issues before the main plots - the romances in both novellas - end. -
4.5 stars
I adored this book - the prose was beautiful, the characters immoral and cynical and it was set on the gorgeous French Riviera in the 1950's.
We follow 17 year old Cécile and her playboy father on their holidays in a villa by the Mediterranean sea. They lead a hedonistic, decadent lifestyle full of parties and mistresses. That is, until a family friend, the beautiful and elegant Anne comes in and threatens to drastically change their lives. Cécile does not appreciate Anne's plans to marry her father and put an end to Cécile's freedom and her meetings with the older man from next door, so she starts plotting to remove her future step mother out of the picture.
The bored teenager sets in motion a course of events that she has never imagined and that will impact her life forever.
As I was reading, I could feel the warmth of the sun, the sound of the sea, and I was living and breathing the decadent lifestyle of the protagonists.
Sagan paints a portrait of these characters so vividly that even though they are despicable, spoiled people, it is impossible to hate them - they are deeply flawed and human, and Cécile is the perfect portrayal of a scheming rich girl who does not realize the impact and consequences that her actions will have.
A must read and a book that I thoroughly recommend!
“A strange melancholy pervades me to which I hesitate to give the grave and beautiful name of sorrow. The idea of sorrow has always appealed to me but now I am almost ashamed of its complete egoism. I have known boredom, regret, and occasionally remorse, but never sorrow. Today it envelops me like a silken web, enervating and soft, and sets me apart from everybody else.”
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Contrary to the last book I read, as part of my "Classics" experiment (Paul Auster's "New York Trilogy"), I'm sure as hell glad I picked this one up!
Francoise Sagan's first two novels have proved short, sweet and to the point ~ making the couple of days (on/off) it took me to read them highly enjoyable and utterly worthwhile.
Amongst beautiful landscapes and fascinating, highly complex characters, Sagan weaves two searing, deliciously "French" tales of love, passion, jealousy and betrayal. One simply cannot help but marvel at the maturity and writing prowess of the (18 year old) author ~ while, simultaneously, looking forward to everything else she has to offer.
I have to admit to being totally enthralled by Ms. Sagan's work, of which I, definitely, plan to read more in future (looking up The Unmade Bed & That Mad Ache, as we "speak").
All in all, a highly recommended read! -
I think I'm alone in having preferred A Certain Smile to the more famous Bonjour Tristesse, but overall, I came out a big fan of Françoise Sagan's work. You can tell she was eighteen and nineteen when she produced these novellas, because she's fantastic at capturing the tragedy and carelessness of youth. Sagan is the quintessential chic writer. Her characters might all be hedonistic Parisians who read Proust, smoke cigarettes by the Seine and embark on passionate affairs, but I loved every sentence.
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Mladučká hviezda literárneho neba Francoise Sagan bola svojho času ako letná búrka. Dovalila sa, rozmetala konvencie vtedajších tém a štýlu písania francúzskych autorov, poničila predstavy, čo ľudia naozaj od literatúry, ktorá sa má ešte stále nazývať beletriou, aby byť súčasnou, citlivou, nežnou, drzou a hlavne čítavou vlastne očakávajú a potom .... Potom už len vytvárala nespočetné variácie na svoju hrdinku- na seba samu ukrytú v týchto príbehoch. Jej hrdinky sú ako ona. Trocha znudené, mladé, príťažlivé, nespútané, múdre, rady čítajú a majú rady voľnosť. K nej ale potrebujú peniaze, auto, bývanie, pitie, tanečky, aby sa mohli pozerať nadránom na východ slnka. Existenčné problémy ich netrápia. Nemusia sa nimi zaoberať.
Saganová celý život píše variácie na rovnakú tému, píše ich ale výborne. Veľmi sa mi páčil Dobrý deň, smútok, v ktorom sa dá nájsť všetko, čím žije mladý človek v sedemnástich. Láska, žiarlivosť, vzťah z trucu, manipulácia, vina, pohrávanie sa s ľuďmi, bezstarostnosť, leto a štúdium na háku. -
4.25/5
I started reading this book with a friend in my first year of uni (four years ago). We used to read it aloud at the park near our flat. We then had to stop reading the due to exams and moving back home so we never picked it back up again. Randomly I decided to pick it up from the short story A Certain Smile the other day and I am so glad I did.
To this Sagan wrote this when she was 18 is outstanding. She writes with such a sophisticated style. Both stories were short, maybe a little too short, particularly A Certain Smile. I would have liked to learn explored the characters a little further as the ending seemed a bit rushed. Reading this felt like I was living the carefree lifestyle of the protagonist in the South of France. I often questioned the characters morals however it was not possible to dislike them. Sagan paints her world with such vividness and intricacy, I thoroughly enjoyed it. -
How can an 18 year old possess such insight and skill as Sagan?
She writes with such sophistication and as every reviewer points out - it's oh so French (love that).
I bought this particular copy last summer at Heathrow after finding out that post 24+ hours of flying my last plane was to be delayed by a few hours, so I needed to do some serious bookish retail therapy at WH Smith's - I tried reading this lovely turquoise Penguin edition in autumn but didn't click with it so put it down for a future moment and really, it was a great inbetween read now.
Inbetween meaning: in between my studying for exams, hey procrastination.
I think I prefer the second story in my copy, A Certain Smile, not just because this quote fits my current situation to a t: "With my exams miraculously over and done with, I was able just to read [...]".
A girl after my own heart. -
Françoise Sagan become an overnight sensation in 1954 which the publication of her first novel Bonjour Tristesse. At the age of 18, she published the novel she will be remembered for; the story of Cécile, a seventeen year old living with her widowed father and his mistress on the French Riviera. During an uneventful summer, an old friend of her late mother comes and stirs the peaceful balance of their summer villa.
Not knowing much about Françoise Sagan, I could not determine just how autobiographical Bonjour Tristesse might have been. I do know that Sagan, much like Cécile was kicked out of school and both enjoyed the bourgeois lifestyle. Sagan is a pseudonym (real name Françoise Quoirez) that was taken from the character Princesse de Sagan from Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perd (In Search of Lost Time). I expect that much of this novel is semi-autobiographical because she managed to perfectly capture the narcissism, emotions and angst of teenage life.
In 1955, a censored translation of Bonjour Tristesse hit the shelves for English speaking readers. It was only recently with Heather Lloyd’s translation that we able to enjoy an uncensored edition. Not that there was much of a reference to sex in the novel anyway. This new translation also packaged Françoise Sagan’s second novel, A Certain Smile into the one book. A novel about Dominique, who bored with her lover, starts an affair with a much older married man.
I found that Françoise Sagan likes to play with ideas of morality and pleasure, while also exploring just how problematic a wealthy and carefree life can be. She likes to look at the disillusionment of the bourgeois characters and explore the emotions that she must have been facing herself. In a lot of ways, I tend to associate the angsty style of Sagan with The Sorrows of Young Werther. Françoise Sagan and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe both managed to capture the intensity of emotions in their novels that I have not experienced in more recent books.
Bonjour Tristesse is a stronger novel than A Certain Smile, but I think both books are worth experiencing. I feel like Bonjour Tristesse had a depth that was not found in A Certain Smile. Both come in at about 120 pages each and A Certain Smile might have benefited with more pages, to fill in the plot and characters a lot more. I enjoy the style of Françoise Sagan and I hope to get a chance to read a few more of her other novels. I wonder what age and life experience does to her writing style.
This review originally appeared on my blog;
http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-rev... -
Inciting literary and social uproar at its time of publication over sixty years ago, Bonjour Tristesse, penned by a not so naïve eighteen year old is still painfully provocative and disturbing even today. This is because it reaches for and tears out the heart of human immorality. Cecile is both selfish and manipulative, her adolescent brain has not entirely caught up with the amorality and imperfect realities of adulthood. A sheen of false materialism glosses the main characters, though the story told is gritty and real and superbly rendered against the luxurious back drop of the French Riviera. That Sagan was eventually consumed by whisky, cocaine and a gambling addiction, and finally heroin may well have been foreshadowed eerily in this, her first novel.
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Both novellas included in this book are such a vibe. Very strong aesthetic with a sparse and clean prose, which made them so enjoyable to read. Really great books.
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Románové prvotiny legendárnej francúzskej spisovateľky mali vo svojom období obrovský úspech a je fajn, že vyšli opäť v novom vydaní. Sú to príbehy o láske, vášni, náklonnosti, ale aj nude a zvrátenosti...
V knihe Dobrý deň, smútok sledujeme príbeh 17-ročnej povrchnej a egoistickej študentky Cécile, ktorá trávi prázdniny so svojím prelietavým otcom Raymondom a jeho priateľkou Elsou. Už pätnásť rokov bol vdovcom a ženy menil skoro každý polrok. Všetko vyzeralo v pohode, leto plynulo, no problém nastáva, keď otec oznámi, že za nimi príde Anne Larsenová. Ich dávna rodinná priateľka, ku ktorej Cécile pociťovala obdiv...
„Vo svojich štyridsiatich dvoch rokoch to bola žena veľmi zvodná, veľmi pestovaná, s peknou, hrdou, unavenou a ľahostajnou tvárou. Všetko na nej hovorilo o pevnej vôli, o pokoji srdca, ktorý pôsobil stiesňujúco,“ popisuje ju Cécile.
Dobrý deň, smútok je príbeh o ľudskej ľahostajnosti, ktorá dokáže ublížiť najmä nevinným ľuďom. Cécile chce zvrátiť vzťah jej otca s inteligentnou Anne, a tak zmanipuluje okolie, až sa ich vzťah dostane k bolestivému a dramatickému koncu. Saganová výborne vystihla postavy, najmä ich prostoduchosť, plytkosť, prelietavosť, intrigánsku povahu. Neponúka len dobré, či zlé postavy, čierne alebo biele, ale skutočne komplexné, ako v reálnom živote. Zdanlivo jednoduchý príbeh však dokázala literárne spracovať naozaj na úrovni, a to mala v čase jeho písania len 19 rokov.
Akýsi úsmev z roku 1956 je príbeh krátkeho ľúbostného pomeru mladej intelektuálky Dominique, vnímavého a citlivého dievčaťa komplikovaného intelektuálskeho typu so starším ženatým mužom Lucom. To, čo je pre obidvoch spočiatku len nezáväzný flirt, sa postupne stáva mení na hlboké city. No ani jeden si ich nechce otvorene priznať.
Príbeh vás síce zavedie do čarovného Paríža, no autorka sa sústredila najmä na vzťah dvojice – starší, ženatý muž a mladá študentka Sorbonny v polovici 50.rokov 20.storočia. Ide o veľmi jednoduchý, niekto by povedal až banálny príbeh, ktorému však Saganová dokázala vdýchnuť ducha doby; pocítite sympatie s Dominiqou a to aj napriek jej častej pasivite a egocentrizmu. Vo vzduchu cítiť vtedajší existencializmus a v texte vycibrenosť i zručnosť mladučkej autorky. -
Two books in one!! Bonjour Tristesse is a very sad read & it has my least favourite literary trope of the last words of the book being the title. I get it you're depressed chill out francoise.
A certain smile is a lot better. Its fun. Both stories are from the perspective of & about a young woman but bonjour t is bogged down in melancholia and stress. But I suppose such is life! bonus points for excellently vague euphemistic sex scenes. Did they just shag or is she eating a plum? we will never know. -
Françoise Sagan was just eighteen when she wrote her first novel, Bonjour Tristesse. On its publication in 1954, the book was an instant sensation, flying off the shelves and making a celebrity of its author in the process. It is a wonderful book, an irresistible story of love, frivolity and the games a young girl plays with others people’s emotions, all set against the backdrop of a heady summer on the Riviera. Bonjour Tristesse might just be the perfect holiday read.
Seventeen-year-old Cécile is spending the summer on the Cote d’Azur with her father, Raymond. At forty, Raymond – a widower for the past fifteen years – seems young and vibrant for his age; he is an attractive man ‘full of life and possibilities’. Also staying with them at their beautiful villa in the South of France is Raymond’s latest lover, a tall red-haired girl named Elsa. She is to all intents and purposes a young playmate for Raymond.
For the past couple of years, Cécile has been living the high life with her father, accompanying him to glamorous parties and sharing his fondness for amusement and frivolity. She loves Raymond very dearly, for he is kind, generous, fun-loving and full of affection for her. In some ways, Cécile sees Raymond more as a friend and equal than a father/authority figure. Elsa fits into this set-up quite neatly for she is youthful, sweet and very easy-going (if a little transparent). In any case, Cécile knows that Elsa probably won’t be around for very long. After all, her father gets bored with his playthings fairly quickly; consequently, there is a new mistress in his life every six months or so. In this scene, Cécile reflects on her father’s views on love, views that have almost certainly influenced her own impressions of the subject.
Late into the night we talked of love and its complications. In my father’s eyes these were purely imaginary. He categorically rejected all notions of fidelity, earnestness or commitment, explaining to me that they were arbitrary and sterile. Coming from anyone else, these views would have shocked me. But I knew that, in his case, they did not rule out either tenderness or devotion, these being feelings which he entertained all the more readily because he believed them to be, indeed knew they were, transient. I was greatly attracted to the concept of love affairs that were rapidly embarked upon, intensely experienced and quickly over. At the age I was, fidelity held no attraction. I knew little of love, apart from its trysts, its kisses and its lethargies. (pg. 9)
At first, everything is leisurely and glorious. The three holidaymakers spend their days on the beach, swimming, relaxing and acquiring golden tans. All except Elsa, who – being red-haired and fair-skinned – is burning up, blistering and peeling in the heat of the sun. Plus for Cécile, there is the added attraction of Cyril, a handsome law student who is staying with his mother in a neighbouring villa. While she does not usually care for young men, Cécile finds herself drawn to Cyril; he has a sensible, reliable look about him that she immediately likes.
Nevertheless, it’s not long before this idyllic existence is disturbed. Into the mix comes Anne Larsen, a beautiful, sophisticated, elegant woman, close to Raymond in terms of age, and the polar opposite of the young, free-spirited Elsa. Without really thinking about the potential impact on Elsa, Raymond has invited Anne – an old friend of his late wife’s – to come and stay at the villa for a while. Here’s how Cécile recalls Anne when she hears of her imminent arrival.
At forty-two she was a very attractive woman, much sought-after, with a beautiful face that was proud, world-weary and aloof. This aloofness was the only thing that could be held against her. She was pleasant yet distant. Everything about her denoted an unwavering will and a serenity that was actually intimidating. (pg. 8)
At first, Cécile is relatively happy with Anne’s appearance on the scene. After all, she was friendly with Cécile’s mother when the latter was alive; plus Cécile rather admires Anne even if she does find her quite intimidating at times. A couple of years earlier, Anne spent some time with Cécile, giving her a few lessons in life and ensuring she was tastefully dressed into the bargain. As a consequence, Cécile has remained very grateful to Anne for this grounding in elegance.
You can read the rest of my review here:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2016... -
4.5*
I really enjoyed this. ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ is a remarkably well written novel considering that Sagan was only 17 at the time she composed it. And it is wonderfully atmospheric; set over the long summer months in the South of France, the reader along with the heroine gets to experience the languid summer days at the beach in sweltering heat and the breezy nights spent gambling and drinking in Nice and Cannes. At times reading felt like wading through something sticky, like a fever dream almost, with your blood ebbing slowly beneath your hot skin, or sheets sticking to your thighs all damp with sweat. A very good read.
“A Certain Smile” I enjoyed even more - a young girl having an affair with a married man, so that’s no surprise, really. Again, very atmospheric, and beautifully intricate. I especially loved Sagan’s style and language in this second novel.
Can warmly recommend both. -
Bonjour Tristesse reminded me a lot of Les Liaisons dangereuses. Although Cecile doesn’t have the same edge as the Marquise de Merteuil, it’s still something to watch her meddle and then realise she’s behaved foolishly. I didn’t expect the ending (but if I’d payed attention to the ‘dangerous liaisons reference’, it’s predictable) and I don’t think Cecile was particularly well equipped to deal with Anne’s death.
The fact she wrote this at 18 is extremely impressive and I think age plays a large part in this short novel. -
Bonjour Tristesse 4/5
A Certain Smile 3/5 -
rip françoise sagan, you would've loved daddy issues by The Neighbourhood and Lana Del Rey
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Finely crafted prose, gracefully sensuous - and yet careless, cool, irresistibly languid. The style is faintly Fitzgerald-esque and very, very French. Writing fluently about both searing emotion and cold detachment, Sagan takes us on very real journeys of psychological development. The overall effect, therefore, is perfect for the kind of lazy summer afternoon when you don't want to expend too much effort in thinking, but want to be drawn in and bestowed with some interesting thoughts anyway.
"Bonjour Tristesse" is the story of sixteen-year old Celine, her loving but "incurably frivolous" father Raymond and his latest distraction, the vapid Elsa... all of whose lives are irreversibly altered by the arrival of the beautiful, intelligent Anne and the decorum that comes with her. Anne inspires in Celine a host of complex feelings - fear, irritation, admiration, respect - for "Anne made me question my morals - I lived life more intensely through her." When Raymond announces his intention to marry Anne, Celine's ensuing reactions and decisions unfold as a "particularly naked example of the human sensibility taking shape" (as is aptly described in the introduction).
"Bonjour Tristesse" is far and away the more beautiful twin in this compendium. It is with a certain impatience that one reads "A Certain Smile", waiting for the same magical entrapment of the first. We never do quite get there, but this second novella is also a nicely nuanced exploration of a different psychology, this time of a young university student entwined in an affair with an older, married man.
Sagan was just 18 when she wrote these novels - a fact that is remarkable and yet somehow, explains everything.
More reviews on tanyasen.wordpress.com -
"Happiness is a flat expanse without landmarks. Hence, I have no precise memory of that period in Cannes . . ."
I picked up this book at Hatchard's in London at the suggestion of the young man at the front register. The book is remarkable for having been the first novel of a 17 year old French writer that was published in 1954 and became a sensation. This Penguin Modern Classic is actually two novels (the quote above is from "A Certain Smile") more recently translated than the originals of the 1950s. This edition has also restored portions of the book edited out by the original English translator.
Francoise Sagan's writing is compared to that of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Albert Camus and truly she has a remarkable literary sense that captures the world of a certain time and place through the eyes of a young woman coming of age in post WWII France. It's been such a long time since I've read anything quite like this and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being immersed in her writing for the entirely of my 8 hour plane trip from London to DC. I skipped reading the introduction until I had finished the book because there was a warning that it would give away certain plot details. There are also handy annotations that explain references in the book that would not be obvious to more modern readers and I appreciated having those.
I would recommend the book to a readers who appreciate fine literary craft and period literature of the 1950s. It will not appeal to everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. -
Bonjour Tristesse is perfect to read on a sunny summer day, lying under a tree to bask in the shadow’s cool.
The two stories portray a French summer full of maybe-love, potential scandals, and girlhood. The prose is marvellously delightful, and the amount of quotes I’ve underlined is self-explanatory. They’re worth at least the smallest of thoughts, but most of all, they’re sublime. Françoise Sagan wrote Bonjour Tristesse when she was only seventeen years old, and she has my utmost respect for writing such an incredible piece of art. Whenever I think of summer and sun, my mind goes off to places that are picturesque, Pinterest-like, even divine. French Riviera and a small house near the beach, fresh fruit and a whole lot of drama you can stick your nose into, even though it is not your business at all.
Sagan blessed us with an interesting cast of characters in both short stories. Characters that are messed up, kindhearted, macho men, and wonderfully quirky. Quirky in a bearable way, not the kind that wants you to throw the book against a wall and groan at every sentence they say.
There is an utmost desire within me to read Sagan in the original French, but sadly, my French is extremely broken.
Hot girl summer might be over, but for everyone who wants to experience a sunny read, this is the one. As Cècile said: Bonjour Tristesse. That’s the theme. -
I found Bonjour Triestesse slower, given as the narrator is to introspection. The Penguin edition I read is thankfully unabridged unlike the original translation and so the ending is an equally sharp turning that made the story better. I loved A Certain Smile though and barely put it down, the narrator is sufficiently different to the first and yet also young and studying, experiencing love and affection. Maybe it flows better; could that be it? Less precocious, more living. Both operate on their young female narrator thinking about the situation and examining their feelings, and events happening - I really can’t think of any other way to describe the style. The first has double-think going on whereas the second is fully aware and mostly at peace with what has happened. The juxtaposition of the stories: sadness and happiness, makes it worth reading them side by side.
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Two novels in this edition, written by the young and insightful teenager from 1950s French society, Francoise Sagan.... initial impressions have "chick-lit" in the frame, but after due consideration, this is provocative stuff from one so young... I have to admire her insight and ability to convey the emotions of lust, jealousy and unrequited love, though this is surely semi-autobiographical in nature... recommended to be devoured in an afternoon.
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My favourite of the two is Bonjour Tristesse, a novel that basks in the apprearance of flippance, egocentrism, and a certain dose of charm, only for the characters' murky depths to be brought unmitigated to the surface.
