num_pages: 96
description: 'Late into the night we talked of love, of its complications. In my father's eyes they were imaginary. . . This conception of rapid, violent and passing love affairs appealed to my imagination. I was not at the age when fidelity is attractive. I knew very little about love.'The French Riviera: home to the Beautiful People. And none are more beautiful than Cécile, a precocious seventeen-year-old, and her father Raymond, a vivacious libertine. Charming, decadent, and irresponsible, the golden-skinned duo are dedicated to a life of free love, fast cars and hedonistic pleasures. But then, one long, hot summer Raymond decides to marry, and Cécile and her lover Cyril feel compelled to take a hand in his amours, with tragic consequences.Bonjour Tristesse scandalized 1950s France with its portrayal of teenager terrible Cécile, a heroine who rejects conventional notions of love, marriage, and responsibility to choose her own sexual freedom.
language: English
title: Bonjour Tristesse
titlecomplete: Bonjour Tristesse
characters: Cyril, Cécile, Anne Larsen, Raymond, Elsa Mackenbourg
genres: Classics, France, Contemporary, Novels, Romance, 20th Century, Literature, Coming Of Age, French Literature, Fiction
ratings_count: 47417
places: French Riviera, France
awards: awardedAt: -504892800000
name: Prix des Critiques
publisher: Penguin