This single volume collects two novels by Françoise Sagan. In Bonjour Tristesse, seventeen-year-old Cécile spends a summer on the French Riviera with her widowed, pleasure-loving father Raymond and his girlfriend Elsa, until the arrival of the elegant Anne Larsen threatens their carefree life and Cécile plots against her. In A Certain Smile, Dominique, a Sorbonne student, begins an affair with Luc, a married man and the uncle of her boyfriend, and learns something about her own limits. Both are brief, clear accounts of youthful desire and regret.
It suits readers who want to sample Sagan's style and her chosen subject of emotional carelessness. They are quick and spare, with a sharp sense of place.
Inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1958
- Publisher
- The Reprint Society
- ISBN
- 9782724205916
- Language
- FR
