Bonjour tristesse

I didn't know anything about this book when I started it. For some reason it just appealed to me. Maybe it was the perceived atmosphere of the plot, the mood.

The story itself was exciting and surprising, but it was told in a wonderful way. The narrator is a teenage girl, whose retelling is at times brutally honest and candid. Her observations of herself and her relationships puts you in the story with her, but it also has the effect of making you distrust or doubt her. You can see that she is young and naive, and even though she is the protagonist, you feel like you shouldn't let her be so careless. There were a lot of times, however, that I felt so envious of her. She is young and on vacation in a beautiful place, but even more than that, she has the freedom of youth that is so desirable to someone my age. Not just freedom in the form of free time and freedom from responsibility, but also in the form of life feeling and actually being so full of possibilities. She is at that age, right on the cusp of adulthood, and perhaps being able to feel that makes the plot seem all the more tragic.

The style is nice, also, partly because it is not at all embellished. It is somewhat understated and straight to the point. The descriptions are vivid, but not at all ornate or indulgent. What stood out to me is not even just the language of the descriptions, but the kinds of things the author describes. She often comments on certain dimensions of a relationship or someone's character or appearance that is not just a statement of how someone or something appears, but more so an expression of a cultural insight. These keen observations make you feel like you are not just observing alongside the author, but that you are an insider to the drama as well.

In what seems like an endless summer by the Mediterranean coast, Françoise Sagan (1935-2004) sets the stage for a riveting family tragedy. While the first chapters still suggest that Bonjour tristesse is a teenage love story, perhaps somewhat in the style of Marguerite Duras’ [b:L’amant|28856438|L'Amant|Marguerite Duras|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1710251920l/28856438.SX50.jpg|1009849] (but much more innocent), Sagan ends with a ploy in which 17-year-old Cécile takes on Ann, her father’s sudden and intrusive fiancée who threatens their easy life.

Ce n’était ni un homme vain ni un homme égoïste. Mais il était léger, d’une légèreté sans remède. Je ne puis même pas en parler comme d’un homme incapable de sentiments profonds, comme d’un irresponsable.