Summary of Bonjour Tristesse
Cécile, a 17-year-old French girl, spends a languid summer on the French Riviera with her father, Raymond, and his young mistress, Elsa. They enjoy sun and sea, and Cécile has her first sexual encounter with a student who stays at the neighbouring villa. Their carefree summer is interrupted when Anne, a friend of Cécile’s late mother, arrives and becomes her father’s lover. She is quite different from his previous girlfriends, and although Cécile greatly admires Anne, she does not appreciate her attempts to turn her father into a responsible man and curtail her own freedoms.
Reasons to read Bonjour Tristesse
“Bonjour Tristesse” is a symbolic novel about ennui, love, jealousy, parenthood, and loss. Françoise Sagan was a celebrated French novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. “Bonjour Tristesse” is her best-known work, published when she was only 18. It became an instant sensation and caused a scandal in the 1950s – mainly because of its depiction of sex and a self-indulgent lifestyle. It remains one of the best-selling French-language novels. “Bonjour Tristesse” received the Prix des Critiques in 1954 and was included in Le Monde’s list of the 100 Books of the 20th century in 1999.
Setting: French Riviera (France)
Book set in southern France: French Riviera (Fréjus)
Original title: Bonjour tristesse
Year of publication: 1954
Nr of pages: 240
