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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
karlswhy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mgoatcheeseee's review against another edition
Madame Bovary was SO boring. Most of the book just described the surroundings and when anything did happen, everything was so unemotional and detached that I didn't care about the characters or the events. I nearly fell asleep every time I tried to read it:((
musicdeepdive's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
4.75
People cry at the end of this book? Really? Never once did I get the sense that Emma is a sympathetic figure - Flaubert doesn't mock her per se, but he seems to want us to fear her, draw the reader into the same paranoia that consumes our central character throughout much of this narrative. In that sense, it takes the idea of the romance novel and perverts it, causing us to question our ideas of what it means to love, and whether devotion is as healthy as culture presents it as.
skyhuckelberry's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a good, rather quick read for a classic. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
mhazz's review against another edition
4.0
I had put off reading this book for many years due to a friend's comments that it was "boring". While I certainly do not agree with that sentiment, upon reading I did have to laugh overall at Flaubert's epic disgust for women which is portrayed in this novel - similar to Maugham's in Of Human Bondage. Emma Bovary is one of the most dislikable heroins (poor Charles!) I have come across in my reading history, but I still found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable.