Dobar dan, tugo/ Bonjour Tristesse, Francoise Sagan (ogled knjige/ book review)

Today I'm sharing two things with you: a book review of Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan and an illustration of mine. I mentioned Bonjour Triestesse on my blog on at least one occasion (read  about it here  ) , but I didn’t do a proper review yet. This was my first novel by Sagan and it also happens to be the first novel she wrote. I would say that it was a lovely introduction to this author. The second novel of hers I read was Scars On the Soul and I simply fell in love with that one. Scars On the Soul is still my favourite novel of hers, but I shall talk about that one some other time, alright? Today we’re talking about Bonjour Tristesse (sometimes translated as Hello Sadness which is close enough, but well you all know what bonjour means in French). The title of the novel is taken from a poem (you can read it at the end of this post. Having read the poem both translations of the title seem to make sense to me). This novel was published in 1954, causing quite a stir and becoming popular instantly. Sagan was only 18 when the novel was published. That means she was 17 when she wrote it. That’s quite interesting, isn’t it? 

Danas sa vama dijelim dvije stvari: ogled knjige Dobar dan, tugo spisateljice Francoise Sagan i svoju ilustraciju. Već sam spomenula roman Dobar dan, tugo na svome blogu barem jednom (možete to pročitati ovdje), ali nisam još napravila pravi ogled. Ovo je prvi roman ove spisateljice koji sam pročitala, a to je ujedno i prvi roman koji je Sagan napisala.  Rekla bi da je ovo bio lijep uvod u njeno pisanje. Drugi njen roman koji sam pročitala su Modrice na duši i u taj sam se jednostavno zaljubila. To mi je i dan danas njen najdraži roman, ali o tome neki drugi put.  Danas ću prvenstveno pričati  o Dobar dan, tugo ( u originalu Bonjour Tristesse, a sam je naziv djela nadahnut pjesmom koju možete pročitati na kraju objave). Ovaj roman je objavljen 1954. godine. , a izazvao je popriličnu pomutnju i ubrzo postao popularan. Sagan je imala samo 18 godina kada je roman objavljen, što znači da je imala 17 kada ga je napisala. To je zanimljivo, zar ne?

The protagonist of the novel is a young girl named Cecile, who doesn’t want her widowed father to remarry because well she likes her life the way it is. Her father is a womanizer, but she doesn’t mind it, presumably because that is what makes her the emotional centre of his life. Anyhow, it is the life she is used to and we humans in general are not very keen on change, are we? Bonjour Tristesse is not a long novel, I would say it is something you can read in two hours or less. So, if you’re looking for a shorter novel, this might do the trick. If you want to read something that is not too complicated or emotionally draining, but is at the same time original and interesting, this might be a good novel for you.

Despite its instant popularity, the novel itself was met with mixed review, some critics praised this novel while others thought it became popular only because of the author’s age. I can't help but wonder how this novel would be received if it was published today. Would it still be considered contraversial?  Bonjour Tristesse caused a fair deal of controversy in its time.  Some people still see it as a critique of traditional values but I’m not sure would I go that far. It is certainly a fascinating book. I would agree that it was, in many ways, ahead of its time, but I don’t think it is Sagan’s best work. Basically, my thoughts on it amount to this- This is a great novel to get yourself introduced with Sagan’s works, but if you’re planning to read only one novel of hers, perhaps this is not the best one to choose. In other words, this is a very good novel but it is not her best because it lacks maturity (hardly surprising since she was 17 when she wrote it). 

Glavna junakinja ovoga romana je mlada djevojka Cecile, koja ne želi da se njen otac udovac ponovo oženi jer joj se sviđa njen život kakav je. Njen otac je ženskaroš, ali njoj to ne smeta jer je to čini emotivnim centrom njegova života. Uglavnom, to je život na koji je ona navikla, a mi ljudi općenito ne volimo promjene, zar ne? Ovaj roman nije dug, rekla bi da se može pročitati u dva sata, a možda i manje. Tako da ako tražite kraći roman, ovaj bi mogao biti dobar izbor. Želite li pročitati nešto što nije previše komplicirano ili emotivno iscrpljujuće, ali je u isto vrijeme orginalno i zanimljivo, ovo bi mogao biti pravi roman za vas.

Unatoč popularnosti, roman je podijelio kritiku, pa su ga tako neki kritičari hvalili, dok su drugi smatrali da je postao popularan samo zbog dobi autorice. Ne mogu se ne upitati kako bi ovaj roman bio primljen da je objavljen danas. Bi li još uvijek bio predmet kontraverzi? U svoje vrijeme, ova je knjiga izazvala dosta pomutnje. Neki ljudi je još uvijek vide kao kritiku tradicionalnih vrijednosti, ali ne bi išla tako daleko. Svakako je to zanimljiva knjiga i složila bi se da je u nekim stvarima bila ispred svoga vremena, ali ne mislim da je najbolje djelo ove spisateljice. Moje razmišljane o ovome romanu moglo bi se sažeti na sljedeće- ovo je sjajan roman za upoznavanje s ovom spisateljicom, no planirate li pročitati samo jedan od njenih romana, možda je bolje da ne bude baš ovaj. Drugim riječima, ovo je vrlo dobar roman, no nipošto nije njen najbolji jer mu jednostavno nestaje zrelosti (što nije ništa čudno jer joj je bilo 17 kada ga je napisala). 

“A Strange melancholy pervades me to which I hesitate to give the grave and beautiful name of sorrow. The idea of sorrow has always appealed to me but now I am almost ashamed of its complete egoism. I have known boredom, regret, and occasionally remorse, but never sorrow. Today it envelops me like a silken web, enervating and soft, and sets me apart from everybody else.” ― Françoise Sagan, Bonjour tristesse

A lot of people seem to either love or hate this book. I don’t fall into either category. I quite liked this novel, I thought it was quite unique. However, I must admit that I found it to be somewhat lacking.  A few years back when I wrote my first review of it on goodreads, I said that I liked this novel but that it lacked depth. After some thinking, I came to conclusion that I was wrong when I initially called this novel a light read. It frustrated me a little (at times), but is surely not a novel that completely lacks depth. Perhaps it is not as complex as I would like it to be, but how complex one can be at seventeen? So, it might not be as profound as I expected but it is still an interesting read. What this novel lacks in maturity, it makes up in being genuine. It seems to capture that freshness of youth and even manages to contrast it with another important feature of youth (one is often ignored) and that is a feeling of isolation. Moreover, it conveys the intensity of emotion in adolescence quite well. Being a teenager often means feeling like the world is going to end with every twist of your heart, but as you grow older you see there is more to life than this emotional role coaster. This novel is very good at capturing that spirit of confused youth, very good at understanding how the selfishness of youth often has its own logic. The fact that the narrator of this novel really feels like a teenager is not surprising, because the novel was written by a teenager. The narrative is quite convincing and while reading you have a feeling like you’re inside this young girl’s head. I think this novel is a good example why writing at a young age makes sense. Even if your work isn’t perfect, it will probably feel and be authentic- you’d be too young to know how to fake things. All things considering, I think the author (and the publishers) did the right thing by publishing this novel.  In a way, this novel is even more convincing because it was written by someone that young. I think I was in my late twenties when I read it for the first time, so no wonder that I felt that it lacks some maturity. But when you think about it, it's quite impressive to write a novel at that age. It is not a perfect novel, but I still enjoyed reading it.

Puno ljudi ili mrzi ili obožava ovaj roman, ali ja nekako ne pripadam u nijednu kategoriju.  Svidio mi se ovaj roman i smatram ga jedinstvenim, ali moram priznati da sam imala osjećaj da mu nešto nedostaje. Prije par godina kada sam napisala svoj prvi ogled ove knjige na goodreadsu, rekla sam da mi se roman svidio, no da mu nedostaje dubine. Sada kada malo bolje razmislim, mislim da sam pogriješila kada sam ga nazvala laganim štivom. Istina, malo me na trenutke frustrirao, ali svakako se ne radi o djelu kojem posve nedostaje dubine. Možda i nije toliko složen koliko bi ja voljela da je, ali koliko složen možeš biti kada ti je sedamnaest godina? Tako da možda i nije bio toliko dubok koliko sam očekivala da će biti, ali je ipak bio zanimljivo štivo. Ono što ovome romanu nedostaje u zrelosti, nadoknađuje s izvornošću. Čini mi se da je dobro uhvatio tu svježinu mladosti, a čak je uspio kontrastrirati s još jednom bitnom stavkom mladosti, a to je osjećaj izoliranosti. Štoviše, jako dobro prikazuje i intenzivnost osjećaja adolescenata. Kada si tineđer često ti se čini da će svijetu doći kraj sa svakim okretanjem tvoga srca, ali kako stariš, shvaćaš da život nije samo slijed emotivnih uspona i padova. Ovaj roman jako dobro hvata taj osjećaj zbunjene mladosti, jako dobro shvaća kako sebičnost mladosti često ima neku svoju logiku. Činjenica da junakinja djela stvarno djeluje kao tineđerka ne iznenađuje, s obzirom da je djelo napisala tineđerka. Samo pripovijedanje je jako uvjerljivo i dok čitate, imate taj osjećaj da ste u glavu ove mlade djevojke. Mislim da je ovaj roman dobar primjer zašto ima smisla pisati mlad. Čak i ako vaš rad nije savršen, vjerovatno će se činiti a i biti autentičan jer ste jednostavno premladi da biste znali varati u pisanju. Kada se sve uzme u obzir, mislim da su spisateljica, a i izdavači, donijeli pravu odluku kada su ga odlučili izdati. Na neki način, ovaj roman je još više uvjerljiv jer ga je napisala tako mlada osoba. Mislim da sam ja bila u kasnim dvadesetim kada sam ga prvi put pročitala, tako da nije ni čudo što sam osjećala da mu fali zrelosti. No, opet kada malo razmislim, nije malo postignuće napisati roman u toj dobi. Nije to savršen roman, ali sam opet uživala u čitanju.

One thing that I do mind about this novel is that there is nothing to keep your mind truly busy, it was all very charming but nothing truly revolutionary takes place. I could sense a bit of Dorian Gray vibe, that fear of change and of growing older, but this theme wasn't as well developed in this one as it was in  Oscar Wilde's famous novel, nor was it that well written.  That tone of sadness that is present in this novel does add depth to it, but it is just there, it is not really developed or elaborated on. I don’t mind that this novel doesn’t give us answers, but it would be nice if it at least asked more questions. In terms of philosophy, this novel doesn’t have a lot to offer. Is it because the narrator Cecile is so straightforward? I'm not sure. Speaking of things that I didn’t like, I felt that there were too many emotional changes, mood and twists, even for a confused young woman. At one moment, she loves her life, then hates it... We get it that she’s a teenager and that these mood changes happen, but to have them happening every five minutes is just too much.  On overall, I would say that when Cecile acts like a teenager she feels real and makes sense as a character but sometimes her actions seem to be there only for the ‘show’. Certain parts of this novel’s narrative weren’t convincing and had me perplexed. Cecile acting mature all the sudden was one of such moments. In other words, it is when Cecile tries to be something else that she is just not convincing as a character. I got this feeling that all those moments of Cecile "changing her mind" were there to make the plot more interesting. I certainly see how using that writing technique can make the story more interesting, but it comes with a cost in regards to character development. It makes the characterisation of our protagonist weaker. Cecile does sound authentic in the narrative, but she doesn’t always behave so. At times, the character development of Cecile is a bit sloppy. While the impulsive narrator that does not know what or whom she wants makes for an interesting and dynamic reading experience, the novel does not function perfectly. In addition, I'm somewhat puzzled by the end. It was just too sudden and it didn’t feel well thought trough. Something was missing and that something is Cecile's emotional reaction to it. The author sort of decided to let that part to our imagination, which doesn't make sense.

Jedna stvar koja mi kod ovoga romana smeta je što nema ničega u njemu što bi nam doista zaposlilo mozak, sve je to jako šarmatno, ali nema tu ništa revolucionarno. Mogla sam osjetiti tu atmosferu koja je prisutna u Slici Dorian Graya, taj strah od promjene i starenja, ali u ovom romanu ta tema nije bila tako dobro razvijena kao u poznatom romanu Oscara Wilda, a ni tako dobro napisana. Taj ton tuge koje je prisutan u ovome romanu doista mu dodaje dubine, ali on je jednostavno tu, nekako nije ni razvijen ni objašnjen. Ne smeta mi što nam roman ne daje odgovore, ali voljela bi da je pitao više pitanja. Što se tiče filozofije, ovaj roman baš i nema previše za punuditi. Je li to zato jer je Cecile (pripovijedačica u djelu) tako izravna? Nisam sigurna. Govoreći o stvarima koje mi se nije svidjelo, dodat ću i to da mi se činilo da tu ima jednostavno previše emotivnih promjena, promjena raspoloženja i slično, čak i za zbunjenu mladu ženu. U jednom trenutku obožava svoj život, pa ga onda mzi...Dobro, shvaćamo da je tineđerka i da se te promjene raspoloženja događaju, ali svejedno baš da se tako nešto događa svakih pet minuta je malo previše. Sveukupno, rekla bi da je Cecile još najuvjerljivija kada se ponaša kao tineđerka, problem nastaje kada su neki njeni potezi tu samo kako bi priča bila zanimljivija pa mi tako neki dijelovi radnje jednostavno nisu bili uvjerljivi i baš su me zbunili, kao naprimjer kada bi se odjednom počela ponašati jako zrelo. Imala sam osjećaj da su te promjene raspoloženja ponekad tu samo kako bi priča bila zanimljivija i iako mogu razumijeti da ova tehnika pisanja može učiniti radnju dinamičnijom, opet sa njom treba biti oprezan jer onda tu pati razvoj lika, tako i u ovom slučaju, ponekad je razvoj lika Cecile pomalo nemaran. Iako ova impulzivna djevojka koja ne zna što ili koga hoće čini čitanje zanimljivim i dinamičnom, opet se to odražava na roman koji ne djeluje savršeno. Nadalje, malo me zbunio kraj. Jednostavno mi se činio previše nagao i nedovoljno promišljen. Nešto je nedostajalo, a to je emocionalna reakcija same junakinje na kraju. Autorica kao da je željela taj dio ostaviti našoj mašti, što mi jednostavno nema smisla.

What did I like  the most about this novel? Well, I rather liked its subtle sadness that is more hinted on than explained or realized. Despite what the title might make you think, this is not one of those profoundly sad novel. There is a lot of youthful charm in it. However, the tragedy that is an integral part of it is forecasted. A sense of tragedy that is to come is present from the very start. Even the title of the book foreshadows it. At times, the narrator (that would-be Cecile) reflects on her sadness. Throughout the novel a sadness that is to come is foreshadowed. It makes for a startling contrast with a young vibrant narrator. The contrast is sometimes quite painful, but for most part I found it to be quite interesting. This is really one of a kind novel, that despite its flaws, has a special place in my heart. To this day, it continues to fascinate me. Have you read it? Have you seen the film version (apparently, there is a good film version but I haven’t seen it myself)? Do you plan to read it? Do you like French literature? Have you read anything else by Sagan? What French writer would you recommend to me?

Što mi se najviše svidjelo kod ovoga romana? Pa svidjela mi se ta suptilna tuga koja je više nagovještena nego ostvarena i objašnjena.  Unatoč onome što sami naslov daje naslutiti, ovo nije jedna od onih istinskih tužnih knjiga. Ima u njoj dosta mladenačkoga šarma. No, tragedija je dio nje i daje se naslutiti od samoga početka, pa u tom smislu je zapravo unaprijed otkrivena. Čak i naslov knjige daje to naslutiti. Povremeno pripovijedačica (to jest Cecile) promišlja o svojoj tuzi. Kroz cijeli roman daje se naslutiti ta tuga koja će doći. To stvara neobičan kontrast s mladom i energičnom pripovijedačicom. Kontrast je ponekad poprilično bolan, ali većinu vremena je zapravo jako zanimljiv. Ovo je doista jedinstven roman, koji me nastavlja fascinirati i unatoč tome što ima neke svoje mane, ima posebno mjesto u mome srcu.  Jeste li ga čitati? Jeste li vidjeli film (navodno postoji dobra filmska verzija)? Planirate li ga pročitati? Volite li francusku književnost? Jeste li čitati neku drugu knjigu ove spisateljice? Kojega biste mi francuskoga književnika preporučili?

“Adieu tristesse,
Bonjour tristesse.
Tu es inscrite dans les lignes du plafond.
Tu es inscrite dans les yeux que j’aime
Tu n’es pas tout à fait la misère,
Car les lèvres les plus pauvres te dénoncent
Par un sourire.
Bonjour tristesse.
Amour des corps aimables.
Puissance de l’amour
Dont l’amabilité surgit
Comme un monstre sans corps.
Tête désappointée.
Tristesse, beau visage.”
Paul Éluard, “À Peine Défigurée”