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Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert,

Lydia Davis (Translator)

Start date: December 15, 2016

Finish date: January 15, 2017

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By Diane , Armchair Tour Guide · 3 posts · 1371 views

last updated Jan 18, 2013 07:12PM

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What Members Thought

Oct 13, 2006 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: france, fiction, classics

Flaubert is an amazing writer, if you have never read any of his literature this would be a great choice.

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Jun 15, 2007 Suvi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: _book-shelf, 1800s, novels, _france, _to-reread, _david-bowies-favorites

Right now I feel like four stars is the more accurate rating, but I can easily imagine myself reading this again years later and giving it a full five.

I presume Flaubert wanted the reader to dislike almost all the main characters, or at least to consider their motivations for their dislikeable behaviour. I mean, that's just what I have gathered from some reviews I've stumbled upon sporadically over the years. I hate to admit it, but I found Charles infuriating at times. Depicted as a mediocre co Right now I feel like four stars is the more accurate rating, but I can easily imagine myself reading this again years later and giving it a full five.

I presume Flaubert wanted the reader to dislike almost all the main characters, or at least to consider their motivations for their dislikeable behaviour. I mean, that's just what I have gathered from some reviews I've stumbled upon sporadically over the years. I hate to admit it, but I found Charles infuriating at times. Depicted as a mediocre country doctor, he isn't particularly talented and is completely oblivious of her wife's character. It wasn't the personality of Charles, or the fact that he was absolutely incapable of being firm, but I think it was the whole lifestyle he represented.

I would wither away if for the rest of my life, I was chained into a person who would be completely satisfied of leading a quiet life and doing the same things every day, year after year. There isn't anything bad in a life like that per se, but I can completely understand why Emma wanted to get away from it. Imagine the moment when you realize that for the rest of your life you are trapped, and the only way to escape it once and for all is to either run away or die.

In this sense I completely adored Flaubert's way of handling the problems of women of his time. It is completely believable that Emma is the voice of countless of unhappy 19th century women, who felt utterly desparate. Then again, the character of Emma herself was by no means likeable. She behaved erratically and was selfish to a point of egomaniac. She found opportunities to take her sexuality into her own hands, but she was never satisfied to anything. She searched constantly for new experiences, but we all know that can never happen. There are bound to be quiet days and the eventual settling of emotions. You cannot live on the top of the mountain forever.

I won't go to the matter of other characters, because as unlikeable they were, I have really nothing to say about them. The writing, however, was gorgeous. There were moments when I just had to stop and take it all in. It felt surprisingly modern for an 1857 novel. ...more

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Nov 01, 2010 SarahC rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: france, 19th-century

The emotions rendered by a novel not only make the novel challenging, but, I believe now, make it difficult to write a review of the novel. I do see why Madame Bovary is known as a heavy-hitter in literature. It is a unequivocal portrait of life and individual self-absorption that is very recognizable and quite timeless. There are many things to like about this book. The narrative framework is beautiful, so that this intense story of Emma Bovary builds at a good pace and the story unfolds rather The emotions rendered by a novel not only make the novel challenging, but, I believe now, make it difficult to write a review of the novel. I do see why Madame Bovary is known as a heavy-hitter in literature. It is a unequivocal portrait of life and individual self-absorption that is very recognizable and quite timeless. There are many things to like about this book. The narrative framework is beautiful, so that this intense story of Emma Bovary builds at a good pace and the story unfolds rather than being sprung upon you in a sensational manner. The reader first learns some things about the elder Bovary’s and about Emma’s background as well. Much is found within the back stories, but especially that of parents on both sides crossing the line to see that their children succeed and marry well.

Of course, the Flaubert’s setting of provincial France is depicted to invoke many thoughts on how the characters lived. The atmosphere, the way people made a living, the way they dealt with the boredom of rural surroundings, and the existence of narrow thought are well written. And within the smaller life there, Flaubert writes more of ambition among the characters who surround Emma Bovary. The town pharmacist acts outside the law to practice medicine. He coerces the less savvy Charles Bovary, a health officer of the state, into dangerous medical practices, so that these rural men may be on the cutting edge of something!

Emma Bovary herself proves the most astounding portrait in this novel that has no heroes, but is, instead, a gradual story of the pain and destruction of living within ourselves and our own obsessions. She is a woman railing within the confines of provincial society and the restrictions of women of the era. As a reader, I asked, “who or what is the true villain of the story”? And Emma can never answer that question herself either. She is a self-absorbed creature. She is a chilling creation actually, and she fails to triumph or even begin to fight to find one fine moment to be truly living and in community with life in some way. ...more

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Aug 18, 2009 Erin (NY) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, classics, translation, read-in-2012

I am not sure what to say about this book. It is all about Emma, a perpetually unhappy housewife. She gets herself in all sorts of troubles, affairs, debt, etc. She ignores her kid, despises her husband and buys and buys things she does not need.

I think the reason why I think this book stood the test of time, is because how relevant the lessons are to today's life. We all know Emma Bouvaries. ...more

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Jul 30, 2008 Anie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library, female-protagonist, fiction, classics, 2008, male-author

The story of Madame Bovary is not particularly unusual: the story of a French bourgeois woman who keeps taking lovers and getting into debt. The writing, however, is worth remembering. Even in translation, Flaubert's writing is notable: the images he employs are great. I wish I could have read it in the original French. ...more

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