Bonjour Tristess

[KEV67]

I am thinking of buying Bonjour Tristress. I keep seeing a copy of it in a branch of W H Smith next to the railway. Judging by the picture on the cover of a young woman sunbathing, I am guessing it's a chick's book. 

[lunababymoonchild]

 

that it?  
 

 

From Amazon : Stylish, shimmering and amoral, Sagan's tale of adolescence and betrayal on the French Riviera was her masterpiece, published when she was just eighteen. However, this frank and explicit novella was considered too daring for 1950s Britain, and sexual scenes were removed for the English publication. Now this fresh and accurate new translation presents the uncensored text in full for the first time.

 

The description goes on but you get the drift

 

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by lunababymoonchild
Correcting Amazon's spelling

[KEV67]

Yes, that's the one. There are a couple of sell-service checkouts at that branch of W H Smiths. So I can buy it without having to show it to the cashier. So there are some benefits to progress.

[KEV67]

Got my copy. There were rather more people in the shop than I was happy with, but I don't think they saw the cover. My favourite places to read are in Caffe Nero or on the train, but I will have to read this at home. Not unless I cover the cover with wallpaper, like we used to do with our school books. There was a two for one-and-a-half deal, so I got The Wide Sargasso Sea as well.

[Raven]

I doubt anyone would give a second glance, were you to read it in public.

 

Hope you enjoy it, either way.

 

[KEV67]

Maybe, but if I keep it in my satchel there is a chance one of my colleagues will see it when I am on a site visit, and then I would not hear the last.

[lunababymoonchild]

10 hours ago, KEV67 said:

Maybe, but if I keep it in my satchel there is a chance one of my colleagues will see it when I am on a site visit, and then I would not hear the last.

Tell them to mind their own business, 

[KEV67]

I have started reading this. Francoise Sagan wrote it when she was eighteen. If the 17-year-old in the book was based on herself, I am impressed by how much she matured in one year. 

[KEV67]

Not enjoying it especially, but it struck me as a good book if you wanted to have a go at reading it in French. It is not very long. The chapters are short. The language is not very difficult. 

 

I thought The Stranger/The Outsider by Albert Camus was another good option if you wanted to read something in French. It is not very long and the language is straightforward. I expect people would be dead impressed if you told them you had read Albert Camus in the original French.