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Product Description
Product Description
Cécile leads a hedonistic, frivolous life with her father and his young mistresses. On holiday in the South of France, she is seduced by the sun, the sand and her first lover. But when her father decides to remarry, their carefree existence becomes clouded by tragedy.
United by the theme of love, the writings in the Great Loves series span over two thousand years and vastly different worlds. Readers will be introduced to love’s endlessly fascinating possibilities and extremities: romantic love, platonic love, erotic love, gay love, virginal love, adulterous love, parental love, filial love, nostalgic love, unrequited love, illicit love, not to mention lost love, twisted and obsessional love…
About the Author
Francoise Sagan (1935-2004) took her nom de plume from Marcel Proust’s Princesse de Sagan and was eighteen years old when she wrote her bestseller Bonjour Tristesse. Having failed to pass her examinations at the Sorbonne, she decided to write a novel. It received international acclaim and by 1959 had sold 850,000 in France alone. Bonjour Tristesse scandalized 1950s France with its portrayal of teenager terrible Cécile, a heroine who rejects conventional notions of love, marriage and responsibility to choose her own sexual freedom.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a intruiging and lyrical classic depicting the shallowness of youth, set in the French Riviera one idyllic summer. The heroine decides to scheme and manipulate the lives of her family and friends, completely unaware of the drastic effect she will have. A realistic and moral tale, about how dangerous it can be to meddle in others' affairs. A brief, but utterly worthwhile read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the story of a 17-year old, well-off, girl who conspires to interfere with her (egocentric) father's new love affair with a family friend. It was written in the 1950s, shortly after the war, when the author, Francoise Sagan, was herself only 19. The story and descriptive passages require analysis. This is a slow-moving but intricate book not for someone who wants a highly action-packed novel, as its strengths lay in the interplay of the characters.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The story of `Bonjour Tristesse' (which translated means `Hello Sadness') is initially a simple one. Cecile is a seventeen year old free spirit who is used to a life with her father, one that is lived in relative comfort, without much expected or demanded of her . However things have begun to subtly change in the dynamic as Cecile is starting to embrace her womanhood and sexuality whilst her father has started to take on lots of rather young lovers, none lasting for particularly long.
In fact it is shown how often these women are in and out of her fathers life rather quickly for at the start of the book Cecile, her father and his latest fling Elsa all go to a villa on the French Riviera but it isn't long before Elsa is usurped by the older and more wilful Anna. Only Anna has decided she isn't going anywhere. Initially we see Anna, who happens to be a friend of Cecile's dead mother, as a pleasant addition to the world of Cecile and her father. However before long the woman who so helped and guided Cecile so well after her mothers death soon starts to show the smallest signs of control, including banning Cecile from seeing her boyfriend Cyril. Cecile decides that Anna needs to go, it's just a question of how to go about it.
I admit that when I first heard of the premise of the book I was thinking of the `wicked stepmothers in fairytales', this is no fairytale. What Sagan has done, and I could almost not believe she was eighteen years old when she wrote this, is created a simplistic tale which carries all the complexities of the human psyche and the spectrum of emotions around love, from the first flushes to the darkest jealousy. This isn't just romantic love either, it's about platonic and familial love too. It's about how we react when we become threatened in our routine life by something and how we use people to get what we want.
I was really impressed with `Bonjour Tristesse' and devoured it in a single sitting, I will admit that it has faded a little bit in the weeks since I have read it. What particularly blew me away though was the insight that Sagan had at such a young age of the awful ways in which we can behave in order to get what we want. She also manages to cleverly describe how even when we have thought of every outcome to a plan we conceive something else can happen to change that chain of events and take it right out of our control. I certainly didn't think I would get all of that out of this book before I opened the first page.
In fact it is shown how often these women are in and out of her fathers life rather quickly for at the start of the book Cecile, her father and his latest fling Elsa all go to a villa on the French Riviera but it isn't long before Elsa is usurped by the older and more wilful Anna. Only Anna has decided she isn't going anywhere. Initially we see Anna, who happens to be a friend of Cecile's dead mother, as a pleasant addition to the world of Cecile and her father. However before long the woman who so helped and guided Cecile so well after her mothers death soon starts to show the smallest signs of control, including banning Cecile from seeing her boyfriend Cyril. Cecile decides that Anna needs to go, it's just a question of how to go about it.
I admit that when I first heard of the premise of the book I was thinking of the `wicked stepmothers in fairytales', this is no fairytale. What Sagan has done, and I could almost not believe she was eighteen years old when she wrote this, is created a simplistic tale which carries all the complexities of the human psyche and the spectrum of emotions around love, from the first flushes to the darkest jealousy. This isn't just romantic love either, it's about platonic and familial love too. It's about how we react when we become threatened in our routine life by something and how we use people to get what we want.
I was really impressed with `Bonjour Tristesse' and devoured it in a single sitting, I will admit that it has faded a little bit in the weeks since I have read it. What particularly blew me away though was the insight that Sagan had at such a young age of the awful ways in which we can behave in order to get what we want. She also manages to cleverly describe how even when we have thought of every outcome to a plan we conceive something else can happen to change that chain of events and take it right out of our control. I certainly didn't think I would get all of that out of this book before I opened the first page.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An excellent read
This is a short, but powerful story of a shallow teenager - whose comfortable world is 'challenged' by a new and stronger parental figure. Read more
Published 1 month ago by andalucia
great service
I was very pleased with my perchase, the book was in good condition and arrived very promptly, would definately buy from this supplier again
Published 8 months ago by J. M. Meadows
WrongLanguage
I wanted the book in its original French language. The version I got was in English. There was no clear message on the Amazon site to this effect, and I got a product I didn't... Read more
Published 20 months ago by D. Tallon
Bonjour Tristesse in French
Enough has been written about this very famous novel. I had difficulty finding one in French as the descriptions seldom made clear whether it's an original or a translation. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Antony Glynn
Short and sweet
Cécile, the narrator of the story, is a frivolous seventeen-year-old who has adapted quite happily to her widowed father's easy ways, with his casual affairs and relaxed,... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Phil O'Sofa
Don't cry
This is a novel that swept France 70 years ago. Today it seems very dated and is quickly read and forgotten, but then it seems to have touched every Frenchman's heart. Read more
Published 21 months ago by oasis
Bonjour Tristesse
Bonjour Tristesse is a good book which is translated from French.
Well written and a selected piece of writing . Read more
Well written and a selected piece of writing . Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2010 by rajking
'coming of age' novel with a light touch
Try to read this an one sitting, as it is a stream of consciousness novel.
It is very South of France/priveleged/decadent. Essentially it is a memoir of self discovery. Read more
It is very South of France/priveleged/decadent. Essentially it is a memoir of self discovery. Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2008 by phil mars
a brilliant introduction to french literature!
I am currently studying A-level french and my literature teacher recommended Bonjour Tristesse as the first book we should read due to the fact that it is easy enough to understand... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2001
The portrayal of a superficial life
Its an instinctive book, using sensuality and innocence at the same time. This mixture of feelings is still true today as it was when it was written... Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2000
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