The Bad Life

Bearer of an illustrious name and nephew of a President of the Republic, Frédéric Mitterrand is born into the discreet gentility of Paris&; haut bourgeois 16th arrondissement. Raised by an army of surrogates, he spends his summers in Evian and North Africa and his winters on Alpine slopes. But, growing up in a time and environment where such things are not talked about, Frédéric struggles with a difficult secret. Wracked by a fear of abandonment and confused by his sexual urges toward other boys, he reaches out haphazardly for affection — with both comic and catastrophic results. At age 12, in the first of many capricious attempts to find his true identity, he sneaks into an audition for a major motion picture and gets a part. Thus begins a life steeped in celebrity, French cinema, and clandestine romantic liaisons. In later life, Mitterand, a renowned critic, producer, and talk show host, seeks out old friends, servants, and loves, who reveal startlingly unexpected interpretations of his formative years. Mitterrand&;s memoir is a Godard film come to life — a Nouvelle Vague Oh the Glory of It All. Now Minister of Culture and Communication, Mitterrand reveals his life as a denizen of the psychological underworld and gay icon in haute société.