Bonjour tristesse

roman.

No cover

Françoise Sagan: Bonjour tristesse (French language, 1963, Julliard)

180 pages

French language

Published Feb. 23, 1963 by Julliard.

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3 stars (1 review)

The literary sensation of Paris in 1954 was "Bonjour Tristesse," a novel written by an eighteen year, old girl. By 1955 in translation it was offered to American readers. Some found it shocking but here was a talent extraordinary for its maturity of style and its adult perceptiveness of human character.

35 editions

Hasn't dated well

3 stars

I can imagine how shocking Bonjour Tristesse must have been to a 1950s audience, but I don't think that it has dated well. It is essentially a very early Young Adult novella. Its protagonist, our narrator Cecile, is such a spoilt hedonist that I couldn't empathise with her at all and the other characters are disappointingly shallowly portrayed. The storyline did hold my interest, but I couldn't help repeatedly wondering if this book was written now whether it would even get to publication, let alone become such a classic. Its reputation means I am glad to have finally read Bonjour Tristesse, but to the claims for its brilliance that usually centre around Sagan only having been seventeen when she wrote this I would reply that yes, that shows!