"Я обожаю смотреть, как плывут облака", - сказала Франсуаза Саган в одном из интервью. "Волшебные облака" - книга о том, что бывает с любовью после того, как прозвучал свадебный марш и свадебные наряды заняли место в шкафу. Как сохранить любовь? Как не поступиться своей независимостью, правом созерцать облака? Как не стать очередной скучной парочкой, живущей вместе исключительно по инерции, забывшей, что такое страсть? Сама Франсуаза считала, что это невозможно. А ее герои? Ведь нередко герои живут собственной жизнью, неподвластной даже воле автора.
Born Françoise Quoirez, Sagan grew up in a French Catholic, bourgeois family. She was an independent thinker and avid reader as a young girl, and upon failing her examinations for continuing at the Sorbonne, she became a writer.
She went to her family's home in the south of France and wrote her first novel, Bonjour Tristesse, at age 18. She submitted it to Editions Juillard in January 1954 and it was published that March. Later that year, She won the Prix des Critiques for Bonjour Tristesse.
She chose "Sagan" as her pen name because she liked the sound of it and also liked the reference to the Prince and Princesse de Sagan, 19th century Parisians, who are said to be the basis of some of Marcel Proust's characters.
She was known for her love of drinking, gambling, and fast driving. Her habit of driving fast was moderated after a serious car accident in 1957 involving her Aston Martin while she was living in Milly, France.
Sagan was twice married and divorced, and subsequently maintained several long-term lesbian relationships. First married in 1958 to Guy Schoeller, a publisher, they divorced in 1960, and she was then married to Robert James Westhoff, an American ceramicist and sculptor, from 1962 to 63. She had one son, Denis, from her second marriage.
She won the Prix de Monaco in 1984 in recognition of all of her work.
As much as I really liked Bonjour Tristesse, I'd never planned on reading Sagan again at the time, but one day I came across a book of her short fiction, and being a fan of short-stories I gave it a go, and found to my surprise some of them were really good. So I thought I'd try another novel, and for no particular reason I just went for this. Wonderful Clouds is Sagan's fifth novel, and shows a greater maturity in her writing. The young prodigy may be gone, but what we have here is Sagan showing us she was not simply a one hit wonder. In this short novel she presents an all too accurate picture of a neurotic marriage between Alan, a young American millionaire, and Josée, his overly sensitive, and somewhat unstable French wife. Talented, handsome and intelligent Alan may be, but he lacks conviction or purpose, can't stop obsessing over Josée's past, and seems always suspicious of her. In a devitalizing way he feeds off Josée who is exhausted and fed up by her husband's possessiveness and his burning jealousy. Moving from Florida to New York to the world of Paris cafe society, it's the arena of the bedroom that is key to the novel, as it's here that husband and wife use sex as a weapon, and as an escape from boredom, but rarely as an expression of love for each other. The scope of the story may be limited, but Sagan still delivers a dramatic and bittersweet tale whirling with hedonism. I liked it, and have got hold of two more Sagan novels as a result.
I find Francoise Sagan's writing lovely. She writes with wit, has a very dry sense of humour and manages to fully encompass the atmosphere of the time. She reminds me a bit of Jean Rhys who I adore. Josee and her husband Alan have a volatile relationship. Alan is jealous and narcissistic and believes every man that Josee talks to is having an affair with her. Josee's love for Alan has long since disappeared and she can only sit by and watch with horror as he embarasses her in public or questions and accuses her in private hour after hour. To make matters worse Alan believes that Bernard, their close, married friend, is in love with Josee too, and he happens to be right. Fed up with the marriage and the claustrophobia, Josee escapes from their home in Key Largo to a large, drafty house in Normandy, but Alan isn't far behind... I must say I do love books about obsessive love that goes horribly wrong, it's fascinating to read different author's definitions. I found this wonderful old copy in a charity shop, and what a bargain that was!
Peti roman Fransoaz Sagan je naizgled o raspadu braka između patološki ljubomornog Alena, muškarca koga je život previše razmazio, i Žoz, devojke koja se, po sopstvenim rečima, grozi zdravog razuma, ali je pored nerazumnog muža morala naučiti da drži zdravorazumske pridike. Ili barem tako izgleda izdaleka. Izbliza ovo je roman o temi u središtu svih Fransoazinih romana – građanskoj dosadi, čami i svega onog što obuhvata značenje francuske reč ennuie. Po toj liniji Sagan je naslednica Bodlera, iz čijih stihova je uzet naslov romana. I za nju i za Bodlera „čarobni oblaci” su metaforičko otelotvorenje sna o „lakoći” kojoj kao bića teže, iako ih „težina” čame uvek vuče na dole. Apsolutna površnost života, bez morala i bez socijalnih problema, junakinjina stalna potreba da sebe udvaja i posmatra sebe sa strane kao lika u neubedljivoj predstavi ili pretencioznom filmu, radovanje „susretu sa malim, trulim ljudima, umetnim i šupljim, ali u isto vreme najživljim, najslobodnijim i najveselijim od svih”, skocentisanje na zvuk mlaza iz slavine dok se ima seks, isključivanje misli i gledanje satima u drveće i skverove – sve su to strategije junakinje za samozaborav kako bi ostvarila san o lakoći. Alen sa svojom težnjom da je odseče od sveta, uključi u stalno moralizatorsko preispitivanje njene prošlosti i da joj zabrani „ta ugodna trošenja sebe” gotovo je personifikovano otelotvorenje težine ennuie.
Si hagués de salvar dues coses de França serien els formatges i tota l'obra de Sagan. Com sempre, una nova obra dolça i àcida, com barrejar xocolata amb taronja
Vlijmscherp neergezette destructieve relatie van twee karakters die met enkele rake zinnen zijn getypeerd. Het blijft maar doorgaan in deze roman, de wonderlijke wolken die door die twee worden opgeworpen. Toch blijft het boeien.
'Wonderful Clouds'....how do I loathe you, Let me count the ways.
You are pretentious crap, peopled with self obsessed prats who live unbelievably inane yet viciously stupid lives. Alan, a wealthy american who is insanely jealous of his french wife,Josee the 100%ly unsympathetic character who, instead of leaving the pathologically horrible husband instead opts to sleep with a number of people including, during the course of a very short book, an ex-lover, no sorry two ex-lovers and a shark fisherman. The ex-lovers were at least known to her, presumably, but the fisherman must have thought he was on candid camera or all his christmasses had come at once cos first he was baiting her line...or somesuch 'single entendre' and the next they were 'having it roughly' on the bed. Horrible book, horrible people; pointless and aimless story, pointless and aimless people. My first Sagan.....probably my only Sagan.
Το δεύτερο βιβλίο που ολοκληρώνω από αυτή τη συγγραφέα και νομίζω θα γίνει μια από τις αγαπημένες μου! Έχει ένα μοναδικό τρόπο, τόσο "ποιητικό", τόσο δικό της να καταγράφει τις προκλήσεις και τα αδιέξοδα των ερωτικών σχέσεων!
С голямо удоволствие я четох. Обичам да чета за човешки взаимоотношения, разгръщащи се на приятни места, които изпъкват ярко в съзнанието ми. Имам слабост към описанията на кафенета, напитки, обзаведени в определен стил салони - изобщо към специфичната атмосфера, в която се развиват отношенията между героите в подобни психилогически романи.
От моята гледна точка романът е анализ на
Направи ми впечатление, още в самото начало, колко голямо значение има житейския опит за възприемането на една творба. Този къс и на пръв поглед непретенциозен роман ако бях го прочела преди 15 години, за мен щеше да е мистерия какво движи героинята. Докато сега отнасям реакциите ѝ към собствения си опит с романтични връзки от миналото си и имам доста по-широка площ на интуитивно разбиране, което прави четенето по-лесно и приятно. От друга страна обаче да четеш без житейски опит дава много по-голямо поле за изява на въображението - имаш много повече празнини за запълване и четенето е много по-творчески процес. Поне въз основа на моя опит - като дете и тийн и някъде докъм 23-24 г. възраст четенето беше свързано със силно вълнение и дълбоко потъване в текста, който в голямата си част беше мистификация за мен и ми отваряше широк хоризонт на всякакви възможности... Днес за много повече неща знам откъде идват и с какво са свързани, защото имам по-богата обща култура и мога да обходя историко-културния контекст на творбата и да разпозная вероятните влияния/препратки (т.е. това си е буквално стесняване на обсега на възможните интерпретации), плюс собственият ми житейски опит подава интуитивно разбиране за голяма част от човешките взаимодействия с други хора, със средата, със себе си и пр.
[...] she wished to regain possession of herself. There was a certain irony in the term, for there was nothing to regain, much less herself. She had come across the idea too often in too many novels.Here, there was the wind that snatched up and dropped everything, the delights of a wood fire in the evening, of all the earth's scents and smells and solitude.
*
But only the wind seemed really serious in its fury, it alone seemed to have a definite aim, a precise destination.
Una novel.la on ens ha costat endinsar-nos-hi. L'hem llegit conjuntament amb un grup d'amigues i ens ha incomodat i provocat tota mena de reaccions.
Una obra contradictòria, obsessiva i tòxica és la relació de parella entre l'Alan i la Josée, dos joves atractius que es mouen en un ambient burgès i d'intel·lectuals.
Viuen permanentment en un núvol, són esplèndidament rics i no tenen preocupació ni ocupació. Això els durà a caure en unes dinàmiques asfixiants on l'únic que els satisfà és maltractar-se emocionalment.
Ell és un narcisista egòlatra de manual, ella, tot i que pensa a deixar-lo i el seu entorn li demana en diverses ocasions, sempre s'acaba quedant al seu costat.
Gelosia, sexe i alcohol acompanyen als protagonistes allà on vagin. Es traslladen de Florida a París, però res canvia, ell continua obsessionat en saber-tot d'ella, tot el seu passat, els seus amants…
Tant se val on es trobin, el seu comportament és apàtic i no saben relacionar-se amablement ni entre ells ni amb la resta de persones, ja que provoquen tota mena de situacions absurdes per perpetuar uns comportaments perversos plens de xantatge i manipulació. Un joc perillós entre el fet de desitjar i ser desitjada.
Al llarg de la lectura hem palpat l'atmosfera tòxica i hem odiat el comportament dels protagonistes.
No és una obra que recomanem a tothom, però admirem l'habilitat de l'escriptora. Transmetre els sentiments de manera que pertorbin les lectores i com ho aconsegueix és realment admirable.
Ha estat imprescindible conèixer la biografia i obra de Sagan per entendre la novel·la i, tenint en compte que es va publicar l'any 1961, ens ha semblat transgressora per l'època i el context.
La Josée és una jove parisenca que s'acaba de casar amb l'Alan, un nord-americà atractiu, ben posicionat i adinerat, i amb qui viu a Amèrica. Porten una vida relaxada, ociosa, sense haver de treballar i sense preocupacions, com unes vacances perpètues. Passen els dies amb amics, fan bons àpats, van a pescar… però al cap d'un temps aquest ritme comença a avorrir la Josée, que no s'acaba de sentir còmoda ni satisfeta. A mesura que avancen les setmanes, la Josée també va coneixent el seu marit, que és possessiu, gelós, xantatgista i, quan beu, també és agressiu. Aquella no és la vida somniada, el matrimoni desitjat i comença a enyorar el seu París dels anys 60, amb gent refinada i artistes, i amb la seva llibertat.
La relació entre la Josée i l'Alan és tòxica i perillosa. Ella tem que algun dia un dels dos prengui mal a mans de l’Alan i, d'alguna manera, és conscient que se n'ha d'allunyar, però alhora no ho vol fer i juga a posar-lo gelós amb infidelitats confessades. Tots dos es manipulen, es controlen i es desitgen, en un matrimoni destructiu, obsessiu i asfixiant.
"Els núvols meravellosos" és una novel·la breu que parla de la recerca de la llibertat i de la felicitat, de l'immobilisme i l’autocompassió, del desig i l'atracció que ho arrossega tot. No he connectat ni empatitzat amb cap dels dos personatges. Tant la Josée com l'Alan m'han semblat retorçats, manipuladors i estúpids (potser si haguessin de treballar i no estiguessin tan ociosos no trobarien gust a fer-se mal i a jugar al gat i la rata). La Josée se sent insatisfeta i a disgust amb la vida que porta i amb el seu matrimoni, i tot i que la seva voluntat de sortir-ne es va manifestant al llarg de la novel·la, no acaba de fer el pas. S’autocompadeix i es queixa, fa algun pas però de seguida recula cap a la vida acomodada i avorrida. L’Alan és un maltractador de manual: xantatges i amenaces cobertes. Ell també passa els dies avorrits i només busca saber on és la Josée, fer-li l'amor i beure alcohol, fins que un dia decideix iniciar-se amb la pintura, així, per passar l'estona i deixar-li una mica d'aire a la Josée. En fi, insofribles, tots dos.
M'ha fastiguejat tant d'immobilisme i tanta lamentació, en un relat que inicialment em va atrapar i que em va fer pensar que hi havia la possibilitat que la Josée s'alliberés d'aquella presó, abans d'adonar-me que ella també en tenia les claus. A poc a poc, l’estira i arronsa de la Josée m’ha anat allunyant de la història.
I made the mistake of looking at other reviews here before writing my own....ouch!! While I can see that these characters do nothing to endear the reader, I did feel like Sagan conveyed Josee's struggle enough to be engaged in her dilemma. Married to a very rich and very jealous husband, Josee waivers on whether to stay or leave him. If the book were longer than 109 pages it would certainly get tedious but I found it compact enough to read in two sittings and not be so irritated by the back and forth of Josee's mind. Yes, the characters are pretentious but I like to escape to the beautiful world of cocktail parties, where it's completely possible to just find an ad in the paper and run way to a cottage in the French countryside for a few weeks without telling anyone. It all seems very French (and I mean that as a compliment!!) so it is no surprise that the jealous husband is, of course, an American who can't handle his wife's attitude towards sex, flirting and life. I like Sagan in general so I was satisfied by this story but if you are new to Sagan I would point you towards Bonjour Tristesse rather than Wonderful Clouds. (Why the heck is this called Wonderful Clouds? Never even noticed the title until now...)
Giving the fact that there are other great titles ready to be read, I'll just go through a quick review, before I forget what this book was about. Sagan's earlier works were very similar to one another that it was difficult to differentiate them. With this novel, the focus was concentrated on a jealousy, but more like a guilty pleasure than an outrage. Although the protagonists live in a marriage, the word ''love'' is pronounced without depth or meaning. It's like saying: ''The coffee and the breakfast are ready'' every day. They relationship is even more stranger when husband loves his wife, but isn't interested in having a children. That makes the situation uncomfortable, so he spies on her and socializes himself with her ex and would be lovers in front on her. She, on the other hand, flirts with other men, but won't left her husband, despite his policy towards the children. It's one messed up relationship, but one that endures during the plot. This book is a fresh start, but doesn't make an impact for me, at least.
Some very harsh reviews here of what to me was simply a neat and engaging set of scenes about a horribly dysfunctional and semi-abusive relationship.
Is it that the characters are so unlikeable? Who needs likeable characters when you have some lovely creative prose acutely defining the disingenuous, mendacious, illogical and utterly hopeless, uncontrollable faces of love? The characters are selfish, weak and sadistic but their delusions also seem so on point that I wonder whether the critics here just felt it landed a little too close to the bone. I love the realism of Sagan’s cruel and shallow and hypocritical characters, who reflect the human condition as well as any perhaps more academic novels, so this is definitely something I’d recommend for a quick read on the train up to Edinburgh - with a lot to gain and very little to lose.
It's a tale of hateful, contemptible characters who repudiate their own marriage just to inflict hurt upon one another. Josee is a profligate whore, while her husband, Alan, is a jealous neurotic.
se’m va passar fer ressenyaaaaaa 🏃♀️ buenu, bastant sin más potser si q el pitjor d’ella? sona fort però nomes q les altres em van agradar una mica més? un cert somriure el millor. segueix sense ser la meva escriptora preferida…
Grāmatu izvēlējos lasīt skaistā nosaukuma dēļ un tas laikam arī palika vienīgais, kas man šajā stāstā īsteni patika. Visā visumā tāds meksikāņu seriāls par bagātiem švītiņiem franču gaumē. Lasījās raiti, sižets dinamisks par spīti tam, ka nekas īpašs jau nenotiek... Psiholoģisks terors no vīra puses un dumpinieciski mēģinājumi izrauties no sievas puses. Pa vidu franču bohēma, krodziņi un sievas sānsoļi. Grāmatas anotācijā teikts, ka šis ir viens no skaistākajiem, izjustākajiem un emocionālākajiem 20.gadsimta stāstiem par mīlestību. Laikam tā izjustā un emocionālā man bija par daudz, bet skaistā par maz, tādēļ īsti nevaru teikt, ka man grāmata patika...
Декадентска и меланхолична, но и инфантилно патетична книга.
„Дивните облаци“ е задушена от зависимости и френски екзистенциализъм, в лицето на потъналата в себе си млада французойка Жосе, и същевременно от посредственост и ревност, пречупени през образа на богатия й, но безличен американски съпруг Алън.
Основен недостатък на „Дивните облаци“ за мен бе задавеността й от клишета, линейни диалози и банални описания. Онова, което ме накара да я довърша все пак е усещащият се специфичен френски подход на употреба на живота – пълен с вътрешни страхове, нестихващи демони, но и свобода на духа, както и смяната на средата – от почивки в безликата Флорида през самотния френски Прованс до бясно пропускащия Ню Йорк и съзидателния Париж.
В „Дивните облаци“ Франсоаз Саган е от онези изключително френски автори, до които макар и да достигаш трудно, не искаш да пропускаш, а когато се срещнеш с тях, довършваш, защото оценяваш автентичността и непреклонността им да се изправят пред табута.
—En què penses? —En un arbre. —Quin arbre? —No el coneixes —va dir ella, i es va posar a riure. —No, esclar. Sense tornar a obrir els ulls, va notar dins seu aquella contracció que li causava sempre un cert to en la veu de l’Alan. —Era un pollancre, jo tenia vuit anys. Al mateix temps, es va preguntar per què es rejovenia en el record. Potser perquè, allunyant-se així en el temps, li feia l’efecte que l’Alan disminuiria en uns quants graus la gelosia. No, als vuit anys no li podia demanar: «Qui estimaves?».
☁️Sagan escriu sobre el sentiment d’empresonament que provoca la gelosia dins d’una relació. El control total, des de les accions fins als pensaments de la parella, que t’empenyen a perseguir el desig de fugir i de, fins i tot, com és el cas de la protagonista, llançar-se als braços d’altres homes per així desafiar aquest control del marit i trobar, en certa manera, el sentiment de llibertat. També retrata molt bé l’actitud ociosa sense complexes de la vida parisina de l’època, plena d’aparences i prejudicis. Una vida que la protagonista romantitza però que no permet fer-la escapar de la relació tòxica on viu. És una novel·la amarga i dolça a la vegada.☁️
Aquesta historia es curta pero intensa, te tot el que m’agrada. Els personatges son molt reals i divertits. M’he sentit molt identificada amb la Josée i la seva indecisió. Hi ha hagut moments en els quals volia estar dins de la historia per donarli consells i ser la seva a miga.
Spoiler👇👇
Per un moment he dubtat si l’Alan s’habia liat amb la Laura pero no. Si esque esta massa enamorat i el Bernard, jo pensaba que pasaria algo entre la Josée i ell pero bueno, nomes un piquito tonto, això no son banyes. Lo del Marc ja em sembla la tonteria més gran…. Literalment la Josée es lia em ell perque està aborrida. Li perdono per ximpleta i perque la pobre la estan tornat boja.
Sobre l’Alan no sabria que dir, a vegades penso que vull un marit així i despres penso🚩🚩🚩
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
«Sola, estar sola en una platja, estirada, deixant passar el temps, com el sentia passar en aquell moment en aquell saló desert, que l'alba dubtava a descobrir. Escapar de la vida, de tot el que els altres anomenaven la vida, escapar dels sentiments, de les pròpies qualitats, dels propis defectes, ser solament una respiració provisional en la milionèsima part d'un dels milers de milions de galàxies. Va estirar els braços, els va fer cruixir, es va quedar immòbil. Quantes vegades l'Alan, en Bernard o la Laura havien experimentat aquest sentiment incomunicable? Quantes vegades havien intentat traduir-lo en paraules que immediatament el desfiguraven? Aquells fràgils conjunts d'ossos, sang i matèria grisa que es provocaven mútuament petits sofriments, petites alegries abans de desaparèixer...»
bol to príbeh o takom svojskom páriku, kde muž bol chorobne žiarlivý a manipulatívny a ženu tak vyčerpávalo, že má na neho taký vplyv, až mu to robila naschvál, aby s tým prestal a on jej potom naschvály vracal. veľmi moderné, napríklad tam slovo víkend ešte stále bolo ako weekend a išli do kina na horror film. vôbec som z toho nemala obstarožný pocit, bolo to fresh.
It's my favourite Sagan novel so far! I stand by the fact that the way Françoise Sagan writes emotions is the best of all. A book about obsession and jealousy, with the need for freedom, very much present but always with that indecisiveness that is so prominent in her charcaters.
No es el libro, soy yo. Estoy tan desquiciada últimamente que no he podido conectar con nada en fin. Si comprendo el desquicie de la muchacha la verdad