‘Bonjour Tristesse & A Certain Smile’ by Françoise Sagan

The only real disadvantage in owning stacks of hitherto unread books is deciding which one you ought to read next. After a few false starts following my recent rereading of Less Than Zero I eventually landed on the work of French writer Françoise Sagan. This edition includes both her scandalously successful debut Bonjour Tristesse and her sophomore novel A Certain Smile.

Bonjour Tristesse, which translates directly as 'hello sadness' and was informed by the poetry of Paul Eluard, tells the story of a misguided and some might say spoiled seventeen-year-old named Cecile. She spends a summer on the French Riviera with her permissive father Raymond and his latest mistress Elsa. Her own love life is relatively unsuccessful until she meets a young man named Cyril with whom she enjoys a fleeting summer romance. The summer is passing uneventfully until Anne Larsen, a friend of Cecile's late mother, arrives on the scene. Anne is a well-heeled and principled woman, and Raymond soon leaves Elsa in favour of her. Initially Cecile admires Anne, but upon realising that Anne will disrupt their hedonistic lifestyle she devises a plan to do away with her.

Bonjour Tristesse may be short and to-the-point, but it is elegantly written nonetheless, especially considering that Sagan was only eighteen years old at the time of its composition. Sagan dives straight into Cecile's here and now and wastes little time delving into her characters' pasts and motivations. The result is a briskly paced and satisfying fable.

A Certain Smile was written within two months and is in many ways a sequel to Bonjour Tristesse. Set in Paris, it is the story of Dominique, a twenty-year-old law student who comes across as being bored and cynical. Dominique embarks on a secretive love affair with a businessman named Luc, who just so happens to be the uncle of her former lover Bertrand. Dominique and Luc spend many pseudo-romantic nights together, though Dominique eventually realises that Luc is not going to return her love and she learns to accept the ephemeral nature of their bond.

A Certain Smile is similar to its predecessor in terms of subject matter and length, however Sagan's writing style is a shade more mature. The plot, however, is much less satisfying, and the ending much less thought-provoking. It is a work of some merit, but I am afraid to say that it is altogether rather forgettable. This might explain why the novel was parodied in Harper's Bazaar as Bonjour Ennui. For the record, that's 'hello boredom.'

This piece was originally published on alisonlaurabell.tumblr.com in January 2012.