From the Bookshelf of The Year of Reading Proust…

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert,

Lydia Davis (Translator)

Start date: October 1, 2012

Finish date: October 28, 2012

Discussion: Preliminary Reading

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Preliminary Reading

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Aug 16, 2008 Inderjit Sanghera rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

http://notesfromzembla.wordpress.com/...
adame Bovary was one described by Vladimir Nabokov’s father as “the unsurpassed pearl of French literature”; Nabokov felt the judgement still stood when he was writing his memoir ‘Speak, Memory’ and indeed the judgement still stands today. Madame Bovary remains the most modern of all classic novels, it’s themes of adultery, sexual freedom and consumerism resonate more deeply today when it was written, its story would not look out of place in a modern day s ...more

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Jun 10, 2013 Casey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, the-serious-lit, all-around-the-world, dear-ones

Oh, Emma Bovary, you kill me! On the one hand, I think of you as a sophisticate stuck out in the country. In my mind, you're somewhat like Belle from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, nose in a book, singing "There must be more than this provincial life!" Comme ça:

But life is not a Disney novel, and Emma Bovary is a much darker character than that. She's a woman with unrealistic expectations, who desires a life that no one could give her. She wants the kind of passion that only exists Oh, Emma Bovary, you kill me! On the one hand, I think of you as a sophisticate stuck out in the country. In my mind, you're somewhat like Belle from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, nose in a book, singing "There must be more than this provincial life!" Comme ça:

But life is not a Disney novel, and Emma Bovary is a much darker character than that. She's a woman with unrealistic expectations, who desires a life that no one could give her. She wants the kind of passion that only exists in romance novels, which means that she fails to see the love that she has right in front of her. She buys everything on credit, with little thought given to how she'll pay it back (and whether she really needs new silk drapes in the first place). And, in her many affairs, she makes insane, outlandish demands. She kind of comes across as that crazy lady in the attic, minus the attic.

In the words of Thom Yorke, Emma, You do it to yourself, you do/ And that's what really hurts/ Is that you do it to yourself/ Just you and no one else.

Amazingly, though, Madame Bovary doesn't exactly come across as a cautionary tale. In this respect, it reminded me quite a bit of The House of Mirth. Both Emma Bovary and Lily Bart aspire to a life that, frankly, they can't afford. But they also suffer from a complete lack of agency and some pretty intense psychological demons that, given that they're of "the weaker sex," no one would take seriously. I wonder what they would be like today: maybe they'd have kick-ass corporate jobs, and they'd be able to buy their Louboutins in cash. However, it's just as likely that they'd be crippled by an expectation that they should be able to "have it all" and struggling with an overwhelming amount of credit card debit.

Even though this novel was published in 1856, it's pretty timely. When I think about all those women who obsess about Pride and Prejudice and aspire to land their own Mr. Darcy, I want to hand them this. Not as a cautionary tale, exactly. Just as a counterpoint. ...more

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Sep 07, 2007 Hibou le Literature Supporter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: literature-supporters-club-slow-rea

Honestly, this is a hilarious novel. My 2nd read, the 1st time over 30 years ago. Emma Bovary is a tour de force! Flaubert hears out his characters and their flaws and lets them make foolish but quite believable mistakes. The only one who pushes the limits is Charles Bovary but in a way, he is an ancillary character in his own marriage. The language is precise and playful. Such memorable scenes: the sermonizing at the fair, the priest in the cathedral, the all-day curtain-closed horse carriage r ...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Charles Puskas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The hopeless longing for a higher ecstasy of bliss, passion, and rapture gets Emma in more trouble, debt, betrayal, and shame. Some funny parts, the cleric is comical. My ET was from Lowell Bair, 1959.

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May 01, 2009 Colin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

In a few dozen pages, Flaubert tells the story of a servant; both the joys and heartaches of a life. A fascinating story that made me think deeply on the moments available to everyone and how the time is spent

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