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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I think I finished this one, but I'm not positive.
“Pretty things never do any harm.” That line was spoken by one of the most minor and despicable characters in the book. I dog-eared about half the pages for some line, sentence, or phrase that caught my ear. The sentences in this book are second to none. I understand why this book was so influential on 20th century literature. Emma is unforgettable. The drudgery and provincial life around her comes off the page as suffocating as it was to Emma. This book is like Tolstoy’s “How Much Land Does A Man Need” in the sense that it is an accurate record of the reality of desire. It was interesting to hear how Flaubert wrote against his own natural style to cut down metaphors and florid language and rely only on precise detail. The number of pages he wrote vs what he cut for the final draft explains why the book is so stylistically powerful.
Ended up reading a summarised version. Apparently classics bore me to death. *shrug*
I have to say, I was very underwhelmed and disappointed by this one. I found the writing dry, the characters underdeveloped and the plot lacking. Generally I couldn't get into it and couldn't get invested. This one just wasn't for me!
I just. Can't. Read. Any more. This must be what erectile dysfunction feels like; I'm finished, I can't go any further, but I am ashamed that the book has not yet reached its climax and Emma Bovary is left unsatisfied. Sorry Emma :(
This book is boring. There is nothing particularly offensive about it, except for its boringness. I've found myself on public transport staring off into space instead of reading. I would rather the situational boredom of a 1hr train ride, than inducing boredom on myself by reading this.
Why Boring?
I'm going to talk about Love in the Time of Cholera, because I love to hate on that book, and also it may be (slightly) relevant. When I read Cholera and then told everyone who had recommended that book and Marquez that I thought nothing really interesting happened, they were like "Well he's good at describing stuff". Well, I don't care. I don't care how pretty something is and how eloquently you describe it. I don't care about the aesthetics near as much as I care about plot and character motives and interaction.
This book is a lot like that. Flaubert paints word-pictures and you feel like you are looking at pretty shit in France. I've looked at pretty shit in France. When I was twelve my family took me to 40+ chateaus in the span of three weeks. I was bored. Nothing else has really happened. The Bovaries have moved and Emma's had Berthe but she's still whining about how she wishes something exciting would happen, and nothing exciting is actually happening, and Charles is still oblivious.
How I think the book will end
- Emma will either die, or at least be really old and looking back on her life.
- Emma will never really be satisfied, whether or not she finally sleeps with anyone else.
Maybe it will be different. Maybe she will have lots of jungle sex and then gets shot by poachers. I don't know. This is just the direction I feel like the story is heading in.
Comparisons
We're supposed to compare this book to Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures for a book-club-thing. They aren't really very similar but okay.
- Both women are boring.
- Both women are only happy as the centre of attention. They would probably think David Lurie's line from Disgrace that "A woman's beauty does not belong to her alone, it's part of the bounty she brings into the world. She has a duty to share it" is something nice you can say to a woman, and not at all misogynistic or rapey.
- Both women need men in their lives to consider it worthwhile or interesting.
The one thing I liked
“Those pathetic objects that are deeply expressive in their dumb ugliness, like an idiot’s face.”
This is on, like, the second page and it's great. I feel like I could use this line as a literary insult in literary circles, with guys who are pompous. And all the literary people would say "She has read Madame Bovary and so have I so now we can be friends". And then we would talk about books, and they would say "Wow you have so much insight Marie [I would need to trick them into this with other literary quotes] tell us more of your insights please!" and I would be popular.
End.
This book is boring. There is nothing particularly offensive about it, except for its boringness. I've found myself on public transport staring off into space instead of reading. I would rather the situational boredom of a 1hr train ride, than inducing boredom on myself by reading this.
Why Boring?
I'm going to talk about Love in the Time of Cholera, because I love to hate on that book, and also it may be (slightly) relevant. When I read Cholera and then told everyone who had recommended that book and Marquez that I thought nothing really interesting happened, they were like "Well he's good at describing stuff". Well, I don't care. I don't care how pretty something is and how eloquently you describe it. I don't care about the aesthetics near as much as I care about plot and character motives and interaction.
This book is a lot like that. Flaubert paints word-pictures and you feel like you are looking at pretty shit in France. I've looked at pretty shit in France. When I was twelve my family took me to 40+ chateaus in the span of three weeks. I was bored. Nothing else has really happened. The Bovaries have moved and Emma's had Berthe but she's still whining about how she wishes something exciting would happen, and nothing exciting is actually happening, and Charles is still oblivious.
How I think the book will end
- Emma will either die, or at least be really old and looking back on her life.
- Emma will never really be satisfied, whether or not she finally sleeps with anyone else.
Maybe it will be different. Maybe she will have lots of jungle sex and then gets shot by poachers. I don't know. This is just the direction I feel like the story is heading in.
Comparisons
We're supposed to compare this book to Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures for a book-club-thing. They aren't really very similar but okay.
- Both women are boring.
- Both women are only happy as the centre of attention. They would probably think David Lurie's line from Disgrace that "A woman's beauty does not belong to her alone, it's part of the bounty she brings into the world. She has a duty to share it" is something nice you can say to a woman, and not at all misogynistic or rapey.
- Both women need men in their lives to consider it worthwhile or interesting.
The one thing I liked
“Those pathetic objects that are deeply expressive in their dumb ugliness, like an idiot’s face.”
This is on, like, the second page and it's great. I feel like I could use this line as a literary insult in literary circles, with guys who are pompous. And all the literary people would say "She has read Madame Bovary and so have I so now we can be friends". And then we would talk about books, and they would say "Wow you have so much insight Marie [I would need to trick them into this with other literary quotes] tell us more of your insights please!" and I would be popular.
End.
Honestly , I can’t this was wayy too boring and idk i didn’t like the story it’s good in general but not enough to keep me interested .
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
I didn't like the story but the storytelling was okay.
This Madam Bovary was detestable and rendered deplorable by her ultimate act of selfishness but that stupid Charles was even more useless than her as a being to not only have ever existed but procreated as well
The pharmacist was just abhorrent
A story about awful people all around
This Madam Bovary was detestable and rendered deplorable by her ultimate act of selfishness but that stupid Charles was even more useless than her as a being to not only have ever existed but procreated as well
The pharmacist was just abhorrent
A story about awful people all around