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Content snapshot
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Violence
None
No violence; a car accident occurs as a consequence of the protagonist's manipulation
Language
Barely any
Mild language in the literary register
Sexual Content
Some
Some sexual content in the adult French literary register; the father's romantic life is central
Substance Use
Some
Significant drinking in the Riviera setting
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Strong psychological content: deliberate manipulation by a teenager, the consequences of amorality, and a portrait of privilege without responsibility
What this book is about
Seventeen-year-old Cécile narrates a summer holiday on the French Riviera with her pleasure-loving father Raymond and his succession of girlfriends — until his new companion Anne threatens to change the easy, amoral life Cécile has always loved. Françoise Sagan's debut novel — written at eighteen — is a cool, precise examination of jealousy, manipulation, and the cost of amorality, told in prose of striking maturity and moral intelligence.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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