Passing of an icon
Francoise Sagan
1935 – 2004
She passed away on 24 September 2004, but our local newspaper The Star only published her obituary in today’s edition, syndicated from The Telegraph Group Ltd, London.
Beneath a picture of a young Sagan were the words “Icon of Hedonism”.
She was best known for her novel Bonjour Tristesse, a Prix de Critiques winner published when she was only 18, and later overshadowed by her extravagant lifestyle.
The Telegraph obituary called the novel scandalous and its author “the epitome of Parisian radical chic”.
For an idea of how scandalous:
Bonjour Tristesse Chapter Extract
I remember being given a copy of Bonjour Tristesse when I was in my teens, for what reason I’m not sure, except perhaps because I was a teen (a very young teen) and the book was written by a teen? It was given to me by a very silly person, and I don’t have the book anymore.
