Reviews - Madame Bovary | The StoryGraph

4.34k reviews for:

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert

3.51 AVERAGE

jnkay01's review against another edition

3.5

sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

melissa_canela's review against another edition

3.5

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

faevor8s's review against another edition

3.75

a reminder to always know when to separate fiction from reality, and to be happy and grateful for what you have and what people give you :)

finally finished my first book of Gustave Flaubert! it took me 7–8 days to finish this one for some reason. as a first-time read, it was a good introduction to Flaubert’s novels, for it’s easy to read—though there are words that might be too deep for your understanding, but google is one search away! however, if you’re not into very detailed or precise books, this one’s probably not for you. this book is VERY much intricate (sa first chapter pa lang, makikita mo na super grabehan yung details niya).

gave this book a 3.75/5 rating because I’m not a huge fan of slow-paced books, and I get bored and disinterested easily. Flaubert focused too much on the details, which I find tedious. most of the chapters contain more than 10 pages, though there are a few that have fewer. but I personally think it was Gustave’s style in writing, the long chapters and intricate details were his novels’ identity.

as someone who loves reading, I know it’s inevitable to hope a certain scene in the story would happen to us too, but I’ve always known about the saying “learn to separate fiction from reality”. this book gave me a wider knowledge of what could happen if you do not know when and how to draw a line between the two, through Emma. I do understand her–a young woman who loves the idea of love, who wants a fairytale-like love story–but it doesn’t justify the things that she did. hated Charles at first, but was able to somehow love and accept his character for his character development and growth; unlike Emma, who seemed to haven’t learned anything from her experiences and hadn’t outgrown that part of her.

would’ve given this a higher rating if: Emma had a character development towards the end of the story, she faced the consequences of her actions, and if the ending had been different. even though I feel like the ending lacks something, I still love the overall story despite all the frustration and disillusionment. will definitely re-read this one day!

folkwoven's review against another edition

3.75

emotional mysterious reflective

annaforthebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

Content Warnings

seerdust's review against another edition

2.0

dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ok so my main take away from this is that its either the driest and most depressing take on martial life... or this is the one of the bleakest black comedies ever.

As I couldn't tell, the jury's out.

I could not like a single character. At times it was very much a series of terrible and reckless decisions. Everyone deserved their ending, except the kid.