Hello Sadness, by Françoise Sagan

First contact with Françoise Sagan, this author with such a beautiful (pen) name and such a nice face (see the picture). I had often heard about Hello Sadness, by Françoise Sagan, without really knowing what it was. And as usual when I don't know what to expect, I was quite surprised: it was short, easy to read, and, from a 2022 perspective, not particularly original. But what I had forgotten is that this book was not written this year, but 70 years ago. A time when women and their sexuality were not particularly valued, let's put it that way.

Summary

Cécile is 17 years old. She has just failed her baccalaureate, and is spending a summer at the beach with her father and his mistress (Cecile's mother died a long time ago). The daughter and the father are similar in temperament: both put pleasure first. Cecile gets along well with her father's mistress, who is also young, and spends a cliché summer: naps on the beach, swimming several times a day, and a summer love, a young man of 26 who is studying law, with whom she loses her virginity.

One day, Cecile's father announces that Anne, a friend of his late wife, will come to visit them. Anne swears to the holidaymakers that she is serious, intelligent, and tries to put Cecile back on the right track, including forcing her to study for her bachelor's degree and forbidding her to date the 26-year-old. When Anne and her father announce that they have decided to get married, Cecile sets up a plan to separate them. A plan that succeeds a little too well...

Impressions

I was expecting to be a bit blown away, which I wasn't. But frankly, it's not Françoise's fault (you see, I already have an attachment to her): first of all, I was expecting something philosophical, who knows why (because of her link with Sartre, maybe?), whereas it's a good old fiction. Besides, she was 18 years old when she wrote this book. Which may not have made me want to cry genius, but it also explains why I found the 17-year-old narrator so believable. I'm not old, and I don't think I remember what my 17 year old self looked like as well (sigh).

As I mentioned, this book is very short, and I read it in two short evenings. I was not bored. I found Cecile a bit annoying, but who doesn't at 17? And the open ending does its job well: I think about it from time to time, wondering what really happened.

It was nice to meet you, Françoise.