Lucy Day Werts answers “I want to read this in French or English....”

Robbert Voges asked this question about Madame Bovary:

I want to read this in French or English. I have a feeling in French it is very difficult. My level of French is quite up to par, without trying to come across arrogant, but my reading pace is quite slow (in any language).Advice, and or suggestions are welcome. Merci! Thanks! ?

Lucy Day Werts .
I created a huge list of English translations and editions of Madame Bovary. In the process, I read a lot of articles in which critics and translator…more.
I created a huge list of English translations and editions of Madame Bovary. In the process, I read a lot of articles in which critics and translators wrote about how careful Flaubert was in choosing his words and forming sentences and paragraphs. From the perspective of craftsmanship, it seems it would be best to read the novel in its original language. Maybe that's the case for every work, though: if we read a translation, we're reading something that's similar to what the author wrote in some ways but inevitably different in others.
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If your purpose is to enjoy the novel, or to understand the content of the novel (rather than analyze Flaubert's stylistic choices), then you might be better off reading in the language you feel most comfortable in, which seems to be English.
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Visit We Love Translations, World Literature in English for a list of translations and editions of Madame Bovary, including cover images, ISBNs, pagecounts, extracts for comparison, and links to relevant reviews and articles.
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» What's the best translation of Madame Bovary?
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