Sunday 22 September 2019

Bonjour Tristesse, Françoise Sagan

This is a tiny book, it must be short but doesn't feel so. It takes place over one summer; the teenager Cécile, her Dad and his lover are having a wonderful time pleasing themselves in a house by the sea, but there is a change which Cécile has a strong reaction to.
In atmosphere and tone it reminds me of The Great Gatsby and The Enchanted April even though they are both somewhat different. It has a sense of impending doom but also a light touch, as the narrator, despite being the orchestrator of the events, is morally detached. She is frivolous, selfish and seems to have very little moral compass. She is however charismatic and pragmatic, and the reader is tempted to give her the benefit of the doubt, perhaps the detachment is a self preservation tool, she is only a teenager after all. It's as if she is just finding out that her actions can affect the real world. That she can affect what happens to the adults around her. Compelling and enveloping.