French Literary Book Club
Bonjour Tristesse and disaffection in Monte Carlo: The moody and beachy books of Françoise Sagan
Saturdays at 12:00pm with Anne
In the second half of the twentieth century, Françoise Sagan wrote about people in hashtag-it’s-complicated relationships in pleasant places. Her work chronicles the stifling hypocrisy of the French bourgeoisie and asks possibly existential questions dreamily. After all, if young women can’t be happy in the lovely places she describes, wherever could they be happy? If the men seem lost or frustrated, perhaps it is due to a psychological malady of a disaffected age. We will read several of her novels at a relatively leisurely pace this Summer, so pour yourself a glass of chilled wine, put your feet up, and come to class to talk to us about how we all might have found happiness where her characters found melancholy. Note: This class takes place entirely in French and requires a speaking and reading level of intermediate or above.
This course requires B1 proficiency or above.
In the second half of the twentieth century, Françoise Sagan wrote about people in hashtag-it’s-complicated relationships in pleasant places. Her work chronicles the stifling hypocrisy of the French bourgeoisie and asks possibly existential questions dreamily. After all, if young women can’t be happy in the lovely places she describes, wherever could they be happy? If the men seem lost or frustrated, perhaps it is due to a psychological malady of a disaffected age. We will read her novels at a relatively leisurely pace this summer, so pour yourself a glass of chilled wine, put your feet up, and come to class to talk to us about how we all might have found happiness where her characters found melancholy.
Note: This class takes place entirely in French and requires a speaking and reading level of intermediate (B1) or above. This is a book club for Intermediate, advanced, and fluent readers of French.