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sallyscriv's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
squid_vicious's review against another edition
4.0
Teenage girls. I hate them.
This short, beautifully written yet incredibly straightforward novel shocked everyone when it was published in France in the 50s. It had been written by a woman still in her teens and spoke frankly and plainly of sex and atheism, the narrator’s voice detached and amoral. Now, it’s no longer shocking – it’s mostly sad, a quick glimpse into the selfish and decadent life of post-war upper class Parisians. The story could be melodramatic, but somehow, Sagan doesn’t allow that easy mistake to happen. It is much more a product of the literature of the era, unaffected and matter of fact. That she wrote it at 18 goes to show that teenage girls have always had a fascination for tragedies, but she had the brain and talent necessary to turn the tale of a disastrous summer vacation into a melancholy story about the discovery of the nature of love and its consequences.
A seventeen year old girl named Cécile, and her widowed father Raymond, go spend the summer in a villa by the sea on the Côté d’Azur. Raymond is a womanizer who has never bothered to hide his lifestyle from Cécile, and he brings along his younger mistress Elsa with them. Cécile meets a young law student named Cyril and begins a budding romance with him. This could have been a perfect summer if Cécile’s late mother’s friend Anne had not decided to join them…
Anne is everything Elsa is not: she is very cerebral, she has a career, she is divorced and independent - she is very "comme il faut", respectable. Cécile at first can’t believe that Anne and her father would be interested in each other, but lo and behold, not only do they get together, but they quickly announce their engagement. Cécile, resentful to find that Anne won’t tolerate her indolent and spoiled lifestyle any longer, hatches a cruel plan to separate her from her father, by manipulating both Elsa and Cyril.
This book does not have a happy ending, and made me think both of Duras and Camus in the resigned attitude of their conclusion. One is tempted to close this book, raise a glass of wine and sadly toast: “C’est la vie!”.
The prose is gorgeous, vivid and quite sensual. If you can tolerate terrible teenage girls, this is absolutely worth a few hours.
This short, beautifully written yet incredibly straightforward novel shocked everyone when it was published in France in the 50s. It had been written by a woman still in her teens and spoke frankly and plainly of sex and atheism, the narrator’s voice detached and amoral. Now, it’s no longer shocking – it’s mostly sad, a quick glimpse into the selfish and decadent life of post-war upper class Parisians. The story could be melodramatic, but somehow, Sagan doesn’t allow that easy mistake to happen. It is much more a product of the literature of the era, unaffected and matter of fact. That she wrote it at 18 goes to show that teenage girls have always had a fascination for tragedies, but she had the brain and talent necessary to turn the tale of a disastrous summer vacation into a melancholy story about the discovery of the nature of love and its consequences.
A seventeen year old girl named Cécile, and her widowed father Raymond, go spend the summer in a villa by the sea on the Côté d’Azur. Raymond is a womanizer who has never bothered to hide his lifestyle from Cécile, and he brings along his younger mistress Elsa with them. Cécile meets a young law student named Cyril and begins a budding romance with him. This could have been a perfect summer if Cécile’s late mother’s friend Anne had not decided to join them…
Anne is everything Elsa is not: she is very cerebral, she has a career, she is divorced and independent - she is very "comme il faut", respectable. Cécile at first can’t believe that Anne and her father would be interested in each other, but lo and behold, not only do they get together, but they quickly announce their engagement. Cécile, resentful to find that Anne won’t tolerate her indolent and spoiled lifestyle any longer, hatches a cruel plan to separate her from her father, by manipulating both Elsa and Cyril.
This book does not have a happy ending, and made me think both of Duras and Camus in the resigned attitude of their conclusion. One is tempted to close this book, raise a glass of wine and sadly toast: “C’est la vie!”.
The prose is gorgeous, vivid and quite sensual. If you can tolerate terrible teenage girls, this is absolutely worth a few hours.
bei_f's review against another edition
4.0
"A ese sentimiento desconocido cuyo tedio, cuya dulcura me obsesionan, dudo en darle el nombre, el hermoso y grave nombre de tristeza. Es un sentimiento tan total, tan egoísta, que casi me produce vergüenza, cuando la tristeza siempre ha parecido honrosa. No la conocía, tan sólo el tedio, el pesar, más raramente el remordimiento. Hoy, algo me envuelve como una seda, inquietante y dulce, separándome de los demás."
mgdutts's review against another edition
5.0
Reserve right to edit star rating but holy smokes, loved this. A fickle & uncertain protagonist being fiercely fickle and uncertain.
simonlitton's review against another edition
3.0
I had my doubts: a first novel by a 18-year-old French girl about how much she hates her stepmother. But it turned out to be more nuanced and self-aware than I'd feared. It's still fairly thin and navel-gazy, but it's well observed and involving, although the ending is pretty abrupt and I'd have liked more exploration of the consequences and aftermath.
ceeescee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
shoony04's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75