Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, including love and sexuality. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 26-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Françoise Sagan
• Presentation of Bonjour Tristesse
• Summary of Bonjour Tristesse
• Character study
  • Cécile
  • Raymond
  • Anne
  • Cyril
  • Elsa Mackenbourg
• Analysis of Bonjour Tristesse
  • A psychological novel
  • A novel tinged with existentialism
  • The reception of the work

About Bonjour Tristesse

Bonjour Tristesse was first published in 1954. It is an account by the narrator, Cécile, of the summer that she spent on the Côte d’Azur the previous year. The holiday began well, but things quickly took a turn for the worse when Anne, an intelligent, cultured woman, arrives, and immediately throws the little family’s immoral life upside down.

Bonjour Tristesse was written when Sagan was only 18 years old. Nevertheless, the novel was an overnight sensation, and heralded her future successes in the years to come.

About Françoise Sagan

Françoise Sagan, real name Françoise Quoirez, was born in Cajarc, France in 1935. Described as a “charming little monster” by Le Figaro, she was a playwright, novelist and screenwriter who wrote a range of works in different genres. However, her most famous novel has remained her first, Bonjour Tristesse.

In addition to her impressive literary career, Sagan had a tumultuous personal life. She had a string of lovers, both male and female, and was addicted to drugs at different points in her life. She was convicted of possession of cocaine in the 1990s, and was left in a coma after a car accident. She died of a pulmonary embolism in 2004, and her death was lamented by French president Jacques Chirac, who mourned the loss of one of France’s “most brilliant and sensitive writers”.