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englishmajorsurvivor's review against another edition
challenging
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Never been more frustrated at a protagonist in my life, which in this case isn't a bad thing. Flaubert's language kept me turning the pages.
aceface's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
headinthebooks's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars!
I liked this! I just didn't like Emma Bovary and her actings. But the ending did ruin me! I am now in tears! The story was fine, I just had to have an audiobook on the side to really made me read some cause this was a slow read for me! I like the relationships that happened, I liked the characters! It's great! But the pacing just not for me! It's slooooow.. so take that in mind before reading this!
I might read this one when I get older, I think I might have read this book too early in my life. I might be too young to really appreciate it!
I liked this! I just didn't like Emma Bovary and her actings. But the ending did ruin me! I am now in tears! The story was fine, I just had to have an audiobook on the side to really made me read some cause this was a slow read for me! I like the relationships that happened, I liked the characters! It's great! But the pacing just not for me! It's slooooow.. so take that in mind before reading this!
I might read this one when I get older, I think I might have read this book too early in my life. I might be too young to really appreciate it!
nothing7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
howtoreadmore's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gmmaria's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
bryanzhang's review against another edition
5.0
Gustave Flaubert is quoted as exclaiming: "Madame Bovary, she is me!"
In truth, I feel there's an Emma Bovary in me too, and perhaps in many of us. She is the dramatized rendition of a deeply unhappy woman filled with unrealistic fantasies. Most people tend to mature out of these: "The most mediocre libertine has dreamed of sultanas; every notary bears within him the debris of a poet." Emma never does. She passes through marriage and motherhood the same as she was when she was a little girl enchanted by romantic novels.
Madame Bovary is supported by an interesting cast of town folk, along with Flaubert's dedication to his portrayal of the country life, and a very prettifying writing style which made Madame Bovary a fairly pleasant read. The book is at times humorous, which I hope was intended, and also filled with keen little observations about people ("The druggist, whom nothing whatever kept at Yonville, but who thought himself bound not to budge from it, sighed as he saw them go."). It is a rich and vibrant text, and has left me with quite a bit to think about.
P.S. A few more lines that I want to recall:
"It seemed to her that certain places on earth must bring happiness, as a plant peculiar to the soil, and that cannot thrive elsewhere."
"She began to run; she arrived out of breath, with rosy cheeks, and breathing out from her whole person a fresh perfume of sap, of verdure, of the open air. At this hour Rodolphe still slept. It was like a spring morning coming into his room."
"Emma, opposite, watched him; she did not share his humiliation; she felt another—that of having supposed such a man was worth anything."
"He was so exasperated he quoted Latin. He would have quoted Chinese or Greenlandish had he known those two languages, for he was in one of those crises in which the whole soul shows indistinctly what it contains, like the ocean, which, in the storm, opens itself from the seaweeds on its shores down to the sands of its abysses."
In truth, I feel there's an Emma Bovary in me too, and perhaps in many of us. She is the dramatized rendition of a deeply unhappy woman filled with unrealistic fantasies. Most people tend to mature out of these: "The most mediocre libertine has dreamed of sultanas; every notary bears within him the debris of a poet." Emma never does. She passes through marriage and motherhood the same as she was when she was a little girl enchanted by romantic novels.
Madame Bovary is supported by an interesting cast of town folk, along with Flaubert's dedication to his portrayal of the country life, and a very prettifying writing style which made Madame Bovary a fairly pleasant read. The book is at times humorous, which I hope was intended, and also filled with keen little observations about people ("The druggist, whom nothing whatever kept at Yonville, but who thought himself bound not to budge from it, sighed as he saw them go."). It is a rich and vibrant text, and has left me with quite a bit to think about.
P.S. A few more lines that I want to recall:
"It seemed to her that certain places on earth must bring happiness, as a plant peculiar to the soil, and that cannot thrive elsewhere."
"She began to run; she arrived out of breath, with rosy cheeks, and breathing out from her whole person a fresh perfume of sap, of verdure, of the open air. At this hour Rodolphe still slept. It was like a spring morning coming into his room."
"Emma, opposite, watched him; she did not share his humiliation; she felt another—that of having supposed such a man was worth anything."
"He was so exasperated he quoted Latin. He would have quoted Chinese or Greenlandish had he known those two languages, for he was in one of those crises in which the whole soul shows indistinctly what it contains, like the ocean, which, in the storm, opens itself from the seaweeds on its shores down to the sands of its abysses."
tiff_39's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
librisepolti's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0