Froth on the Daydream

infobox Book |
name = Froth on the Daydream
title_orig = L'Écume des Jours
translator = Stanley Chapman,


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Boris Vian
cover_artist =
country = France
language = French
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Gallimard (orig) & Rapp & Carroll (Eng. trans.)
release_date = 1947 (Eng. trans. November 1967)
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 224 p. (hardback edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-85391-061-8 (hardback edition)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Froth on the daydream" (in French "L'Écume des Jours") is a novel written by French author Boris Vian, and published in 1947.

It has been translated several times into English, under different titles. Stanley Chapman's translation was titled "Froth on the Daydream"; Brian Harper's was titled "Mood Indigo, Foam of the Daze" (TamTam Books).

Plot summary

The protagonist, Colin, is a wealthy young man with a resourceful and stylish man-servant, Nicholas, and a healthy supply of doublezoons in his chest. With dizzying speed, Colin meets and weds Chloe in a grand ceremony. Generously, Colin bequeaths a third of his fortune to his friends Chick and Lisa so they too may marry. Happiness should await both couples but Chloe falls ill upon her honeymoon with a lily in the lung, a painful and rare condition that can only be treated by surrounding her with flowers. The expense is prohibitive and Colin soon exhausts his funds. Meanwhile, Chick's obsession with the philosopher, Jean-Pulse Heatre, causes him to spend all his money, effort and attention upon collecting Heartrian literature. Lisa hopes to save Chick financially and renew his interest in her by persuading Heartre to stop publishing books. She kills him when he refuses and seeks revenge upon the booksellers. Colin struggles to provide flowers for Chloe to no avail and his grief at her death is so strong his pet mouse commits suicide to escape the gloom.

Characters in "Froth on the Daydream"

*Colin – a wealthy young man
*Nicholas – Colin's man-servant
*Chloe – who Colin marries
*Chick- Colin's closest friend, who depends on Colin for financial support
*Lisa- a friend of Colin who dates Chick, she was called "Alise" in the original French version
*Jean-Pulse Heatre – a philosopher who Chick idolises (In the original French version he is called "Jean-Sol Partre," satirizing Jean-Paul Sartre)

Philosophical Ideas presented in "Froth on the Daydream"

As noted above, In the original French version of the novel, Jean-Pulse Heatre is known as Jean-Sol Partre, satirizing the French Existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre. Throughout the novel there are references various works by Sartre, but like the philosopher's name, Vian plays with words to make new titles for "Partre's" works. Sometimes he uses a synonym, such as "Le Vomi," (Original by Sartre "La Nausée") and sometimes he uses a homonym, such as "La Lettre et le Néon" (Original "L'Être et le Néant")

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

"L'Écume des Jours" was made into a movie, released in 1968. English title: "Spray of the Days". Directed by Charles Belmont, it stars Jacques Perrin, Marie-France Pisier, Sami Frey, Alexandra Stewart, Annie Buron, Bernard Fresson.

It was also made into an opera under the same title by the Russian composer Edison Denisov in (1981).

It was also adapted into a Japanese movie, released in 2001. English title: "Chloe". Directed by 利重 剛(Go Riju), it stars by 永瀨正敏(Nagase Masatoshi) cinematography by 篠田昇(Shinoda Noboru) and was selected in the competition of 2001 Berlin Film Festival.