Flaubert and Madame Bovary

A masterpiece.

Writers of sex could all benefit by reading the carriage scene where the reader is aware of what the couple in the carriage are doing and yet the reader never once gains a look inside.

Oh, I am not saying anything against the writing of open door sex scenes. I am just saying that Gustave Flaubert created more sensuality though only writing of what happens outside of the carriage. The reader sees the couple getting into the carriage, the driver and horses and the external scene as they travel the streets, occasionally stopping, a few words exchanged with the driver, non about intimacy, and then a woman alighting, a veil pulled over her face as she walks away.

The reader knows they have read a brilliantly written sex scene without the sex having been mentioned or shown once.

Now that is Great writing. The book is worth reading.

Madam Bovary, Emma (in reality) a young farm girl who’s dreams were so alluring that they smothered her reality. The story follows Emma’s life from youth to meeting her husband Charles Bovary - MD & perhaps also bumpkin - to her destruction initiated by the self-absorbed cruelty of her lover Rodolphe Boulanger, and finally secured by her own oblivious behavior.

A reader will take very different views of Madam Bovary; sorrowful, selfish, misunderstood, repressed, unfulfilled and more. But, the thing that makes the book the success that history has proven it to be is its writer. Flaubert sees the detail in everything. His ability to ‘describe’ is astonishing. Like a melody so beguiling that the lyrics are secondary; Flaubert’s descriptions make the book sparkle.

One of ‘the greatest books’ of literature according to many such lists… thegreatestbooks.org is the one I am reading through. Clearly a 5-star read even 160+ years after its first publication.

I think this is a wonderful novel. Although it carries around the "classic" label, I think Madame Bovary is an enjoyable, accessible, reader-friendly read. The story is actually quite simple. A French woman marries too rashly, for the wrong reasons, is unhappy, conducts two affairs, and eventually gets into tremendous debt and commits suicide. With that plot, Flaubert manages to create a masterpiece that subtly ridicules all types of human folly, not just Emma's overwhelming romanticism. Science, religion, realism as embodied by various characters all come off unsympathetically, yet the book is still a joy to read, which I believe is Flaubert's brilliance. The only drawback to the novel is that it is in translation (at least it is for me). There are some passages that are stunning, yet I know in French they would be even more so. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in literature.

I decided to read the french version because I think reading in the original language offers more subtleties to the reader than translations. I enjoyed the reading, mainly because it is a familiar style of long narration that is often found in classic literature, rich in wording and description.

It is a long novel and it was written with A LOT of details, but the story remains as good as it has always been.

Arrived in good time and was in very good condition. This is a classic and the story is a testament to what happens when boredom sets into a marriage and a woman begins to fantasize about her life and what it could be. It's quite more than that and one could go on psychoanalyzing the main character, but really, it is totally worth the read!

A haunting portrayal of frustrated passion and loss. The author digs deep into the flawed characters of his main protagonists and also brings to life the minor players in the story. The unfolding tragedy has the stamp of inevitability.

The fall of a woman to the addictions of humanity. Some die from drugs or alcohol. This is a story very similar to one of addiction, Bovary was addicted to status and romance which are just as powerful as a narcotic effect

this is the right edition, truest to form. The hardback and cover is beautiful, mystical ...just like the book. But I'm mostly rating the translation: THIS ONE is it. I've had several other translations but they fall flat, in my opinion; don't capture what Flaubert was trying to convey. But this edition is the best I've read. Finally, a good English-language Flaubert!

The fall of a woman to the addictions of humanity. Some die from drugs or alcohol. This is a story very similar to one of addiction, Bovary was addicted to status and romance which are just as powerful as a narcotic effect

this is the right edition, truest to form. The hardback and cover is beautiful, mystical ...just like the book. But I'm mostly rating the translation: THIS ONE is it. I've had several other translations but they fall flat, in my opinion; don't capture what Flaubert was trying to convey. But this edition is the best I've read. Finally, a good English-language Flaubert!

If modern erotica were as literary and well written as this classic, I might read more of it. The ending, though, is contrived--an opera ending in book form. I won't give it away just in case you are reading it. A lot of pathos, psychological explorations of womanhood and sexual awareness. But, as usual, the man is mostly the one at fault!

Crystal clear writing about a young girl's search for passionate romance revealed to her in frivolous novels of the day. Growing up motherless, is a great topic about a woman who ruins everything eventually, esp by not for Forming the ties of mothergood.

Very good. Enjoyable from every point of view. Vivid word pictures, suspense, unpredictability (a most important quality in story telling, in my opinion) and colorful characters with one or more of whom most people can identify. Little wonder it's a classic. I highly recommend it.

I had read another, older translation of this novel a few years book and found it dated. Our library fiction book group read this translation and enjoyed the translation, if not the plot. It is difficult for many women today to sympathize with Emma Bovary who seems frivolous, overly-romantic, consumed with fantasy and a negligent mother. However, if Emma Bovary were living today, she would probably move to Paris, work in the fashion industry, develop her talents, be a career woman and we would applaud her for it.

Flaubert may have intended this to be read as darkly comic as he satirizes most of the characters and scenes. With humorous juxtaposition, he has intensely sentimental or dramatic scenes interrupted by more prosaic. For example, in one scene, Emma and her current amour are protesting their undying love for each other while talk of agriculture and manure is wafting through the open window.

The translator, Lydia Davis, created beautiful imagery out of Flaubert's words. In one description, the traipsing of townspeople on a road is compared to a vivid and colorful long scarf unfolding. Flaubert is the master of what a writing instructor would describe as the "telling detail" - those details which distinguish a scene or character and the translator captured these. The book seemed much more contemporary (not modern) with this translation as if we were transported to the 1800's and watching the action unfold in present time.

Flaubert is revered by authors for this novel. Although the plot is depressing, I found the book inspiring as a work of literature and believe any writer would benefit from examining Flaubert's craft as a writer.

I wanted to read of the coquettery of French culture after beasting through Les Miserables. This sure gave a good idea of just what the life was like and the madness that affected women in that period. Not a likeable heroine at all but somehow you feel sorry for her. It stayed with me for several days and I need to reread it.

As one reads farther into the book, the quality of the translation declines. Did the translator lose interest? Did his language abilities begin to fail? Was he on a fixed price contract? Who knows? The text, however, becomes less and less readable as the book goes on. Fail.

I read this classic in graduate school and later on. I love it. Flaubert is one of my favorite French authors. In school, we analyzed the heck out of this; there was certainly plenty to write and talk about! I couldn't pass this up.

Madame Bovary is one of Kindle's free classics offerings. Re-reading this book after many years gave me a renewed appreciation for the vitality of Flaubert's images, which survive a sometimes awkward translation in his steamy and ironic morality play. Every writer and would-be writer should read Flaubert for inspiration.

Gorgeous volume of an old classic, favorite of mine! I absolutely love the cover and artwork on this collectible edition. Highly recommend it to those looking to start another Penguin Classics collection for their library. And, the "Madame Bovary" story is, of course, a fabulous one!

I purchased this for my daughter who is taking an AP English class. She thought that she would need to purchase the book but, in fact, the school provided it so she had one for school and one for home. I plan to read the book after she is finished since I have never read the book. I am happy with the purchase and feel I got the book for a very good price.

Gustave Flaubert weaves and interesting tale about a married woman looking for love in all the wrong places. Her husband adores her but she cheats on him many times. The damage she realizes she caused gives this story a twist and turn I was not expecting. Two thumbs up.

Flaubert is a very detailed writer, which can make reading this classic a bit tedious. This translation was reported to be the closest to Flaubert's original book, but I discovered that others in my book club found different translations to be more poetic, and thus more enjoyable.

Not much to like with the players: cheaters, liars, and just plain clueless. In another time, maybe this story would be considered a part of noir genre, especially considering the ending. Lesson here is boredom can be very dangerous.

This book has interesting writing but the self-destructive behavior of the characters is depressing and grows tiresome. This is a story of a rather stupid woman whose sole purpose in life is to have illicit sex, her stupid lovers, her boorish husband, goofy in-laws, and irritating townsfolk/neighbors.

The only redeeming value in the book is a strong argument against adultery (and there's lots of it).

"Madame Bovary" comes into the same category with writers like Jane Austin, and the Brontè sisters, with the difference that this story takes place in France instead of England, however one can pick out the similarities in the characteristics of social behaviour, and in the position of women in society and, in the case of Madame Bovary, the disastrous consequences of the lack of education for women and even more serious, the lack of freedom to choose their own destiny. Today the majority of poeple in Europe don't even vaguely remember what it was like to be obliged to obey the rules of father, family and society for ones whole life! And no wonder such disasters took place simply in searching for happiness, however much the poor women hastened in the wrong direction, who can blame them. They too probably had the feeling inside them of "only having one life". If you like stories that take us back into the lifestyles of the past and show us the scene from the inside, this is a book you should not miss.

This is a Masterpiece - in spite of the parts that narrate Emma's flawed romance and frustrated immaturity and vanity. Many 17th century literary romances are flawed IMO because of immature and juvenile sentiment as a result of the supression of the times. But Flaubert's masterful prose allows the reader to move beyond this and appreciate the tragedy, the irony and the beauty nevertheless.

As a teacher, Madame Bovary is an invaluable source for the AP test and like Hedda Gabler and Anna Karenina, the novel faces the trials and tribulations of a female character who has to make a morally conflicting decision. The language is beauty. The reader must love language

Our book club read this book and thought that this was an excellent translation. I especially like the way the translator describes the translation process in the beginning of the book, comparing the different translations. She did an incredible amount of research that was very impressive and well documented.

A beautiful translation of this classic novel of tragedy. The prose captures the passions that can arise between two people, and the intended as well as unintended consequences. Both Flaubert and the translator captured Madame Bovary's hubris perfectly. It's inspired me to read more of Flaubert's work.

I am completely enjoying this novel. I purchased a kindle edition along with a kindle edition French/English dictionary. At this point when I am not busy, my nose can be found in my kindle reading Madame Bovary.

A bit outdated and maybe too fantastical to be true. Nevertheless, this classic makes you think on how people lead their lives, irrespective of their means. How one can sink slowly but surely into the depth. And how putting off problems never solves them.

Great 19th century novel by Gustave Flaubert. Read it in high school, now wanted to read it again as an adult. Honest, and painful story, dealing in a direct and blunt way with marital disappointment and adultery with skillful humor in character development. English translation from French is not the best, but it does not take away from the depth and value of the story.