Friday, August 25, 2006

Bonjour Tristesse post I

The choice in some bookshops is tragically depressing so my decision about what to read next depended to a great degree on what I had already bought in the past. In my bid to keep with the French theme there was a choice between something from the 20th century or from the 19th. Because of Camus and Sartre I opted for the former so today (and it should be just a day at 107 pages) I am reading Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan.

Bullet point between pages 9 – 50 (Part One)

* A father and his 17 year old daughter, who have been close since the death of the mother when the girl was two, are on holiday with the father’s latest mistress Elsa

* Ceclie, the daughter, is enjoying her holiday and finding love with a student named Cyril, when her rather care-free father announces that an old family friend Anne Larsen is coming to stay

* Ceclie suspects that Anne might have feelings for her father and things come to a head at a casino when she discovers them talking in the car and Elsa is unceremoniously dumped

* Anne and Raymond, the father announce they are going to be married and shortly after Cecile is banned from seeing Cyril after being caught fondling in the woods

Part One of the book ends with it being set up for a battle of love for the father between Anne and the life and relationship he has enjoyed with his father. Just like the Sartre there is more going on here than just the surface story and it is asking some philosophical questions about love and ownership.

Should post the concluding bullet points tonight…