bonjour tristesse my old friend
Of all the books on the reading list, this is the only one I've read before. In fact, I studied it in the original language as part of my French A-Level just before I left the UK. And to be honest, I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now.
I feel sorry for Cecile, but I just know that I would find her incredibly irritating if I had the misfortune of encountering her in real life. That being said, the book brings such vivid images of an upscale, movie-like experience of the French Riviera that I appreciate it just for that. I also think it's kind of fun that the book was so controversial upon its release. They just weren't ready for Cecile's unladylike-ness or for all the raunchy behaviour going on.
As I mentioned, I don't really like Cecile. In the book she's 17, Sagan herself was 18 at the time of publication, I myself was 17 when I read it for the first time, and at the ripe old age of 20 I can make the executive, yet humble, declaration that we girls that age can be messy. Cecile really takes the cake though, with all that palaver over a rather Oedipal obsession with her dad. If I could describe her in two words, they would be: callous disregard. She just doesn't care. Or doesn't think. Or both.
She's clearly not stupid, despite her disinclination toward school. If she didn't have two braincells to rub together then she wouldn't have come up with the bizarre plan to invoke jealousy in her dad and Anne. But the very fact that it happened is just weird. On the one hand, I can sympathise with her fear of change, and her satisfaction with her current position in life and with her father. On the other hand it's just immature to expect everything to stay the same indefinitely, and the lengths she went to in trying to keep everything the same is just ridiculous.
Speaking of ridiculousness, I question all the characters' thought processes. Even Cyril, who is allegedly a law student goes along with Cecile's plan? Elsa I understand. The poor girl just wants Raymond back and nobody (myself included) expects any better of her. But Cyril's haplessness is just disappointing. Anne is a complicated one, though. She's a certified #girlboss and I reluctantly respect her, but she definitely went too far in trying to control Cecile. Did she though? I don't know, I haven't fully made up my mind. On the one hand maybe it's not too much to ask for her to go back to school, but on the other hand I thought the many comments on her behaviour and her appearance were unproductive and unhelpful.
Despite all the issues I have with the characters and their decisions, I loved reading this book. I loved thinking back to where I was in my life when I read it the first time (17 was a very happy age for me, to an extent like Cecile) and especially recalling certain words and phrases that the original version used. It felt very nostalgic reading the story again; even though it's only been 3-ish years, it feels like a lifetime ago (immigration and a pandemic will do that to you).
The question I now pose is: Assuming that Cecile's bubble of naivete would have eventually burst, what do you imagine would have caused it?
the book brings such vivid images of an upscale, movie-like experience of the French Riviera” - I wonder if you could highlight any of these!
ReplyDeleteDo these descriptions in anyway add to the way that this story attends to surfaces, as Jon mentions in his lecture?
And great use of tags!
Hi!
ReplyDeleteOkay, wow! I really appreciated reading your blog post. The language you used as criticizing the book is very similar to my internal dialogue while reading it! I find it interesting how in both languages you disliked the book. I was curious if you noticed any big differences within the two? I don't blame you for hating it - I am beyond ready to move past the Ooedipal obsessions !
Thanks!
Sadie Glickman
"I am beyond ready to move past the Ooedipal obsessions !"
DeleteHa! Understood. (Of course, however, Freud said it wasn't so easy... :) )
Hi Deeba! I really enjoyed reading your blog. I especially love the girlboss hashtag you used there. I also agree with how Anne went too far on controlling Cecile. It made me wonder if the ending will be different if she didnt control and interfere with Cecile's life as much. To answer your question, I believe the outcome of her plan definitely is one of the cause for her bubble of naivete to burst.
ReplyDeleteAm loving your post titles! Also your tags! And I'm interested in how, after all that, you "loved reading this book." There are, after all, many ways and reasons to like a book, and identifying with or liking the characters may not be the most interesting or important.
ReplyDeleteyour title is absolutely phenomenal. To answer your question, I think her bubble bursts in part, with her first experience of loss (Anne). Considering the fact that she is writing the book in hindsight, we may hypothesize that she is on a journey to becoming self-aware.
ReplyDeleteAstha