Book review

I've been trying to read more often in French for a couple months. I read "Au bonheur des ogres" by Daniel Pennac this summer, which was alright. Then during our week at the beach in July I read "Les roses de cendre" by Eric Pouley-Reney, which was rather bad. It's a young adult novel about a young dancer who learns about the dark history of her grandmother during WWII in Alsace. The author didn't spend enough time developing the characters in the beginning of the book so that the reader felt attached to them, so when something happened to them, instead of feeling happy/sad for an established character, you feel nothing.

Then earlier this week I decided to pick up "Bonjour tristesse" by Françoise Sagan that I bought several months ago. I don't think I've ever read a French book so quickly (okay, it was short too, 150 pages) or liked one so much. I easily could have read it in one afternoon, but I split it up over two.

What I loved about it was the natural tone of the narrator. Like Salinger, the book flows like someone is sitting across the table from you telling the story. The main character is a sassy 17 year old, and according to the biography on the first page "Ce roman, en abordant explicitement la sexualité féminine avec un style désinvolte et mordant, provoque un véritable scandale", but then again it was 1954.

The descriptions were just enough to set the stage, but never weighed down the narrative. The story is told in quasi flash-backs which adds a bit of suspense when the narrator hints at the next part she'll tell.

When I finished "Bonjour tristesse" I wondered why I hadn't read it sooner. My next mission is to check out more of Sagan's books at the library. I hope they're all as good.