From the Bookshelf of Pick-a-Shelf…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
I read this book at the same time as Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and noticed that both were about women who had an affair. In both the women committed suicide as the way out of their dilemma. I also noticed that both books were written in the 1800s about 2 decades apart, so I postulate it was a popular theme at the time as the authors lived in different countries.
I just did not enjoy the main character, Madame Bovary. She was self-centered with little concern for others, including her daughter. She ...more
I just did not enjoy the main character, Madame Bovary. She was self-centered with little concern for others, including her daughter. She ...more
This was a rather depressing and downhearted book. The main character, Emma Bovary, has to be one of the unhappiest characters ever. At first she’s enjoying her new marriage, but she quickly comes to regret marrying her husband, so in an effort to find the happiness she so greatly desires, she cheats on him with two different men. Plus she also tries to shop her way into happiness which drives her and her family deep into debt, which Charles, her husband, can’t seem to get out of. Emma takes no
...more
This was really more of a 3.5 stars for me. I thought the writing was exquisite, but the characters gave me a headache. Also, now I'm imagining a literary celebrity death match between Emma Bovary and Anna Karenina. It's a tough call, but I'm going to give it to Emma for essentially making the same mistake 3 times.
...more
While I can appreciate how this work caused a stir when it was first published in the 1850's it sadly didn't have quite the same impact for me. Not to say that this wasn't a good read, it was. It was surprisingly readable and I found the prose flowed well, even at those points where Flaubert felt the need to over-detailed some of the scenes and the characters were well written and sympathetically handled. However I found Emma (Madame Bovary) hugely irritating and I struggled to sympathise with h
...more
I read this over a weekend and found it compelling and tragic. Emma was a miserable character, but it was like watching a train wreck. Couldn't look away. I read two different translations and I was struck by the differences in the same passages. This book made me realize that having a good translator makes all the difference.
...more
I keep saying I have to reread this book. I remember identifying with Mdme. Bovary so much even though we were nowhere alike. The fact that I had long, intricate discussions with my professor about this book only added to my enjoyment of Flaubert's genius.
...more
This book had a strange kind of inevitability, as the characters pathways and desires drove them to their destinies. It was interesting how dissatisfaction and blindness to those around you led to unfortunate consequences where as Homais' desire for power got him what he desired.
...more
Mar 01, 2009
Angela Randall
marked it as to-read
Nov 22, 2011
Amy W
marked it as to-read
Apr 09, 2013
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Apr 27, 2015
Lindsay
marked it as to-read
Dec 29, 2015
Tiffany
marked it as to-read
Feb 19, 2018
Sabrina
marked it as to-read
