Bonjour Tristesse
Sagan’s debut and the clearest companion in voice, brevity, and moral distance.
Read our take
A Certain Smile
by Françoise Sagan
A young Paris student begins an affair with an older married man and discovers that understanding the likely damage does not prevent it.
- 1956
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeA bored young student in Paris becomes involved with an older married man. The affair offers novelty and freedom, but Sagan keeps its emotional consequences coolly visible from the beginning.
What's inside
A young student’s curiosity and boredom draw her into an affair with an older married man in Paris.
Why we recommend it
Another cool-eyed Sagan heroine
It carries Sagan’s unsentimental interest in youth, sexual freedom, boredom, and emotional responsibility from the Riviera into Paris.
What this book explores
Book editions
- Ebook
- Penguin
- 2025
- 9780141919331
Reader reviews
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The Lover
Another restrained account of a young woman entering a relationship with an older man.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document A Certain Smile, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1A Certain Smile
NovelFrançoise Sagan, 1956Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Bonjour Tristesse and A Certain Smile
Official recordPenguin Books UK, 2025Used forOfficial record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.
3Un Certain sourire — bibliographic record
Official recordBibliothèque nationale de FranceUsed forOfficial record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.
4Françoise Sagan, l'éternelle jeunesse de Bonjour tristesse
Official recordInstitut national de l'audiovisuel, 2024Used forOfficial record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.
5Bonjour Tristesse
Official recordHachette, 2014Used forOfficial record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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