bonjour tristesse

Last summer in France, I started to read Françoise Sagan's book 'Bonjour Tristesse' and finished it in one day. I was so intrigued by the 17 year old main character Cécile, who lives the bohémian life with her father in Paris, not worrying too much about the bigger questions in life. Until one summer at the French Rivièra changes everything. When her father's friend Anne comes to spend the summer with them, Cécile doesn't know whether to like her or to hate her, she admires Anne's intelligent, chic side, but she hates the fact that Anne wants to turn her into responsible, young adult, forcing her and her father to give up the frivolous life they're leading for more meaningful things. This causes so much duality in the young Cécile's mind, who loves her father's crazy, eccentric lifestyle, but at the other hand needs some guidance and is looking for a mother's figure.. It's just a very interesting book, Sagan wrote it when she was barely 18 and didn't get accepted into theatre school.. :) I just love her style of writing, it's so honest and light, jet captures the unbearable side of being. the unbearable lightness of being.

Tonight i finally watched the movie! Released in 1958, I was amazed to see that it was an american movie. I don't think it really fits the story, the book oozes Frenchness and the movie is a bit to american if you ask me. Still it was really enjoyable to see the characters come to life.

With a beautiful performance of French singer Juliette Gréco