Bonsoir Francoise

HONFLEUR – France is mourning the passing of writer Francoise Sagan, who shot to literary fame with her first novel ‘Bonjour Tristesse’.

With her death, said French actor Laurent Terzieff, went “the colour, the humour of an era”, while photographer Jean-Marie Perier described her as a “Rolling Stone before the term was even invented”. Sagan, who had been ill for several years, died on Friday aged 69 of heart and lung failure in a hospital in the port town of Honfleur in Normandy, northern France, near where she had a home.French President Jacques Chirac paid an emotional tribute to the writer shortly after her death was announced, calling Sagan “a leading figure in her generation” who helped raise the status of women in France.”With her passing, France loses one of its most brilliant and sensitive authors … With finesse, emotion and subtlety, Francoise Sagan explored the spirit and passions of the human heart,” he said in a statement.Sagan produced more than 40 novels and plays but will go down in literary history as the author of ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ — the anthem to disillusioned youth that became one of the best-known books of the 20th century.European papers paid tribute to her on Saturday, with many headlines playing on the title of her best known work.In Spain the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia carried ‘Bonsoir Francoise’, while Italy’s Corriere della Sera ran ‘Francoise Sagan, adieu tristesse’.Sagan was one of the best-known French authors in the world but never won any major literary prize.”She was not received as a great literary author but that doesn’t matter.She wrote what she liked without worrying about others, about prizes, academies.She wrote for herself,” said French publisher Robert Laffont.”The Sagan mystery? Quite simply being herself,” said literary critic Bernard Poirot-Delpech, adding that “she made more people happy with her literature than she was happy herself”.The writer, whose real name was Francoise Quoirez, was born on June 21 1935.- Nampa-AFPSagan, who had been ill for several years, died on Friday aged 69 of heart and lung failure in a hospital in the port town of Honfleur in Normandy, northern France, near where she had a home.French President Jacques Chirac paid an emotional tribute to the writer shortly after her death was announced, calling Sagan “a leading figure in her generation” who helped raise the status of women in France.”With her passing, France loses one of its most brilliant and sensitive authors … With finesse, emotion and subtlety, Francoise Sagan explored the spirit and passions of the human heart,” he said in a statement.Sagan produced more than 40 novels and plays but will go down in literary history as the author of ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ — the anthem to disillusioned youth that became one of the best-known books of the 20th century.European papers paid tribute to her on Saturday, with many headlines playing on the title of her best known work.In Spain the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia carried ‘Bonsoir Francoise’, while Italy’s Corriere della Sera ran ‘Francoise Sagan, adieu tristesse’.Sagan was one of the best-known French authors in the world but never won any major literary prize.”She was not received as a great literary author but that doesn’t matter.She wrote what she liked without worrying about others, about prizes, academies.She wrote for herself,” said French publisher Robert Laffont.”The Sagan mystery? Quite simply being herself,” said literary critic Bernard Poirot-Delpech, adding that “she made more people happy with her literature than she was happy herself”.The writer, whose real name was Francoise Quoirez, was born on June 21 1935.- Nampa-AFP