Madame Bovary (Wordsworth Classics)

I got this book to give someone as a Christmas gift. It’s my favorite book of all time. The price was very reasonable.It makes a great gift!

This is my favorite novel of all time. If you purchase the Wordsworth Classics paperback version of this book, do not read the introduction first. It will spoil much of what occurs in the novel. Read the introduction after you read the novel.

SPOILER ALERT: "We were in Study Hall, when the Headmaster entered, followed by a new boy dressed in regular clothes and a school servant carrying a large desk." I find it very interesting that a novel that is renowned for its subject of "adultery" begins and ends with the story of Emma Bovary's husband. He seems to become a non-entity throughout the majority of the book, and yet the novel begins by trying to build empathy for him as a child and ends with the grief and despair brought on by his wife, the eponymous character. I actually enjoyed (loved?) this novel much more than I expected to. And while it took some time for the story to grab me, I was always drawn in by the writing. That can be enough to keep me reading even if the story itself doesn't do the job. I was also surprised that, while this novel is often said to be about an adulterous woman, it didn't seem like that was its focus at all. Yes, that was there, but a yearning for nurturing love seemed to be the true driving force...not the "evils" of adultery.

This edition of the book is awful. The introduction they include tells you how the book ends. Who on earth approved that!?!?

I probably disliked this novel as much as I did 'Sons and Lovers'. For a while I just thought I'd been reading too many French writers (Huysmans, Sand,....) but it was much deeper than that.Although Madame Bovary is the central character, and an intriguing one at that, I don't believe that she is any more than a vehicle for Flaubert to vent his virtiole against men. There are four principle male characters in this novel and we see them reflected and caricatured in their responses to mixed-up, not altogether lovable Emma.There is husband Charles who is overwhelmed by the love he feels from Emma - he sees himself as SO lucky. But he is blind - seeing none of Emma's distress, or philandering. And he is not very successful at what he does anyway.Then there is lover Rodolphe. He is the ultimate selfish prig of a man. He reflects, as he walks away from Emma - having raised her hopes of a new more exciting life - that she was a wonderful mistress but he couldn't possibly compromise his selected way of life. Not for any woman, no matter how rewarding she might be. And when she appeals to him for help, she gets nothing from him.The second lover, Leon, is a more youthful and inexperienced participant in Emma's life. But later he does marry (not Emma, of course) so it is not commitment he shies away from. Nevertheless he fails Emma.Finally there is the chemist Homais, Charles's 'colleague'. He also has no sensitivity to Emma, almost misses seeing her at all. Like Charles, he is unsuccessful in some of his ventures, but he has such comically grand illusions about himself.All four men exhibit fundamental flaws. For me Charles and Leon have some saving graces. But none of them I have much sympathy for.And then there is the matter of Emma's decline - not due to her affairs. Was Flaubert unable to undermine Emma because of the affairs, because of Emma's selfish self-seeking? Did he have to create other artifices to inflict upon her - and the men around her (not that Homais really notices) - to give the story a 'moral'?The writing is spectacular - Flaubert was a wonderful observer and expresser of ideas. But for me, good writing is more than observation and a facility with words. It is the structure of the novel that failed me.

This novel is exactly what you think it might be. Nothing more, nothing less.I decided to pick up Madame Bovary at a library sale after having read Nabokov (in Speak, Memory) gush about Flaubert's linguistic mastery. Unfortunately, I don't speak French and, of course, quickly found that linguistic mastery does not necessarily transcend language (sometimes, though - Eco, for instance).It might be an important work of literature - historically. And Flaubert seemed to do an excellent job of inventively portraying the many revolting traits of his denizens. Regardless, or possibly because of this, the book left me cold. After I finished, I wasn't exactly furious with myself for having read it. But I was a little disappointed.And relieved at having only paid a quarter for it.

When the Bill of Rights was written, cruel and unusual punishment was banned. The cruel and unusual punishment invisioned was not as cruel and unusual as being forced to read this book!

Great thanks

Lived up to expectations , thanks

I was a bit sceptical about it as I like factual stuff and thought this would be a book for the ladies but it really is beautifully written. when one takes step back and considers its context and impact it makes it even better. some wonderful, evocative descriptions, Thoroughly recommended

I loved the wonderful evocative descriptions of places/events in northern France, especially the wedding of Charles and Emma. Traces of similar events can still be seen today in many villages . Unexpected humour in the portrayal of the pompous druggist.

Nice !