‘Bonjour Tristesse’ by Francoise Sagan (1954)
Jan 1st, 2008 by abi
“A book that comes straight from the heart of a girl involved in a dangerous game to wreck her father’s plan to re-marry.”
This is an intelligent and chilling psychological tale, written in a sharp, clear style that may be due to the translation -anyway, it made the story very fresh and readable. It’s about a young woman, 18 I think, who has a very close relationship with her father. When her father plans to marry this not only is a threat to young Cecile as regards the supremacy of her relationship with her father but she also sees her future step-mother Anne as representing a different philosophy, a different way of doing things, that Cecile does not want imposed on their lives.
Admittedly I thought Cecile and her father were absolutely horrible from start to finish and the other characters a little too shallow and unappealing. That said, I could understand Anne quite well and had a lot of sympathy for her by the end and I also liked Cyril, even if he was a tad pathetic. But generally I felt as though I was detached from this book. I felt that it was a neat, intelligent, well put together piece of entertainment but it didn’t touch me as a human being in any way*. It left me exactly the same as I would have been had I not read it.
I do have a feeling, though, that had I read this as a teenager it might have made an impression and I might (though I’m not sure) have been able to muster a tiny bit of sympathy for Cecile. Sagan was only 18 when she wrote it and while it is a very accomplished piece of work for someone so young it definitely has that stamp on it of someone very in tune with what it feels like to be a confused and selfish teenager. That in itself is a valuable insight, I think, even if it leaves the rest of us cold.
*I have been told I should stop demanding that from books but I think I’ll stick to my guns! A healthy 70% of what I read manages so I don’t think I’m asking too much.
When I read this book, I very much felt this was exactly the sort of book that an intelligent and precocious teenager would write. I can’t put my finger on why exactly- it certainly doesn’t feel silly and juvenile, and is adeptly written- but it feels like a book with a very young author. Maybe it’s the intensity and seriousness of Cecile’s self-obsession: as we age, we learn to take ourselves less seriously (We also have partners and children who also need caring for). But I’m not entirely sure how much we’re meant to sympathise with Cecile: I thought (although it was a couple of years since I read it) that part of the point of the book was how she and her father were doomed- or doomed themselves- to frivolity and selfishness.
Interesting… I totally agree that it felt like it was written by a teenager and it may be the self-obsession that gives it that feel.
I also felt by the end that Cecile and her father were possibly doomed but I saw this as only due to my moral outlook. I felt that Cecile had been set up to be a sympathetic character and that actually she and her father will do just fine, the fact that to me their lives seem empty and shallow and their behaviour selfish and frivolous is perhaps just because I see it that way.
However, now that you have pointed it out and I have had a few days to reflect I think there may be some element of criticism by the author present at the end. I won’t re-read it just yet but maybe I’ll re-visit it at a later stage and let you know what I conclude!