Bonjour Tristesse - Book and FIve Audio Compact Discs

Book Description

4 Reviews

• 3 people find this helpful

  

  18-year old French writer Francoise Sagan was shot to international fame with this debut in 1954. That was the time before the sexual revolution in the 1960s and hence, the story which was hailed as scandalous, shocking and avant-garde then is today considered as banal and ordinary.

  This shor ... (continue)

  18-year old French writer Francoise Sagan was shot to international fame with this debut in 1954. That was the time before the sexual revolution in the 1960s and hence, the story which was hailed as scandalous, shocking and avant-garde then is today considered as banal and ordinary.

  This short novel is about the summer vacation of the wilful and fiery 17-year old Cecile and her flamboyant playboy father Raymond. The free and hedonistic life of the two was thrown into disarray that summer when Raymond decided to marry Cecile's mentor, Anne.

  The drastic reaction of Cecile to her father's marriage is, in today's standard, quite normal (maybe because the world has gradually become such a place that virtues like tolerance and forgiveness are at a premium). However, from the perspective of people in that era, it was extreme and radical, and Cecile was truly a rebel.

  The fact that Sagan was only 18 years old when she wrote it makes this gem of a novel even more remarkable and fascinating. This debut paved the way for the talented Sagan to become one of the greatest literary voices of contemporary France.

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  Tracy W said on Jun 19, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Reminded me of a Canterbury Tale

  Reading this book reminded me a bit of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - it exposes the horrible rawness of human immorality in an utterly believable way. Cécile is a manipulative madame, as a reader you are privy to all her dilemmas, most of which are pathetic and immature and all the way through you ar ... (continue)

  Reading this book reminded me a bit of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - it exposes the horrible rawness of human immorality in an utterly believable way. Cécile is a manipulative madame, as a reader you are privy to all her dilemmas, most of which are pathetic and immature and all the way through you are just waiting for a car crash to happen. A great short read, recommended.

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  Danielle said on Mar 22, 2012 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

• 

  A juvenile work, but understandably so because the writer was 19 when she wrote it.
  I`m writing this a while after reading it and I don`t have much to say because it didn`t leave much of an impression.

  The characters were caricatures, which works in a sense as the story is told through the voice ... (continue)

  A juvenile work, but understandably so because the writer was 19 when she wrote it.
  I`m writing this a while after reading it and I don`t have much to say because it didn`t leave much of an impression.

  The characters were caricatures, which works in a sense as the story is told through the voice of the teenage protagonist who doesn`t really care about anyone or anything and who wouldn`t bother to plumb the depths of anyone`s personality, let alone her own. I felt no connection to any of the characters because of this and when the climax of the narrative occured it left me cold. The character of Anne is the one we should like and feel for the most from the story, but she is the least real of all because we see her through Cecile`s eyes as a stone Greek Goddess on a pedestal.

  What did make an impression on me though were the descriptions of the French Riviera. The sun, sea and stupor of a hot summer filled with sailing, sunbathing and seduction (pardon the alliteration).

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  Conrodette said on Dec 1, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  May not be as provoking and scandalous as when it was written, but still a good book.

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  Julian Stahnke said on Jun 5, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
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• English Books
• Audio CD
• Edition: Book & CD
• ISBN-10: 0320066436
• ISBN-13: 9780320066436
• Publisher: French & European Pubns
• Pub date: Jul 30, 2004
• Also available as: Paperback, Hardcover and Others
• In other languages: other languages 繁體書, Livres Français, Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Libri Italiani, Svenska böcker, Slovenske knjige

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• Books to read in Brittany, France (2)

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