Reviews

Three Tales by Gustave Flaubert

kanae's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

sktxaryaw's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

jordynsbookshelf's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

while i almost fell asleep while reading it i think herodias actually did a pretty good job of visualising the events leading to and the beheading of john the baptist or whatevah

jihyeeroy's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

3.0

rougonmacaque's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

2 contes ça suffisait c'était pas la peine de go off comme ça

annaelle's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

un cœur simple : 2,5/5
la légende de saint Julien l’Hospitalier : 3,75/5
hérodias : 3/5

orion_or_hyangwoo's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Sad stories; heavy on religious allusion and iconography. I read this book as a friend loaned it to me. I think I mustn't know enough to appreciate Flaubert...

aritacb's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

I enjoyed Flaubert’s imagery and the storytelling element in each of the tales but I wasn’t really fond of the time periods that they were all set in.  

The first tale was set in 19th century France, the second in the Middle Ages, and the third in Ancient Times. I enjoyed the second tale the most and the third tale the least. They started off engaging but the plot lines got weird towards the end. However, literature I’ve read that are similar to this also had strange plots. Flaubert was inspired by archaic literaure which explains that. 

Although Flaubert’s three tales isn’t an epic, the last two tales were reminiscent of epics like the Canterbury Tales and the Odyssey because of the tone and other elements of the plot. I like the imagery of epics but the plots have never really fascinated me. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys epic plot lines or anything set in the Middle Ages or Ancient Times. The writing was excellent but this just wasn’t really my preference when it comes to classic literature.

booktwitcher23's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mikhail_mascarenhas's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Thoroughly enjoyed 'A Simple Heart' and 'The Legend of Saint Julian Hospitator'. These short stories have common themes of compassion, regret and remorse.

The third tale 'Herodias' was dry. Brushed past the initial pages and ended up skipping the rest as it was considerably dull. Maybe the fact that I knew the story beforehand led to cursory glances towards it. Honestly, I'd rather be beheaded than read a further page (wink wink).