Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
What a rollercoaster! I felt really warm and fuzzy at the start of the book and then super stressed out when things were coming to the conclusion. I think I would have enjoyed it more if Emma had a few more redeeming qualities. Overall I really enjoyed it. It was easy to follow and I always enjoy super descriptive prose about landscapes.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is one of those books whose structure, writing, and character detail I admire while I am left utterly cold by the story itself. I may reread it--I will if I get my French up to speed--but it's not on my TBR pile.
challenging
sad
emotional
funny
sad
slow-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
dark
reflective
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
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (but she get’s progressively less the Madame of Bovary, iykwim.)
Emma Bovary is never satisfied, never quite happy in the way she thinks she should be, could be, if she just had something more, lived a better life had a better man. She longs for a change, for some unforeseen event, for a prince that rescues her, for anything, anything, everything that interrupts the impotent boredom from which she suffers, that magically changes the course of her life, that takes her back to a time in which she wasn’t particularly happy either but longs for now.
I think this book captures an almost universal feeling – having a lot of reasons to be content with our lives, but wanting more, longing for the love out of poems, for the plot in novels, the aesthetic of movies, for anything that lets us believe that we are special in some tragic way, or for someone who treats us like we are. For the one event, or even catastrophe, that will change the course of our random existence entirely.
While this book really spoke to me and made me think… idk, it could’ve been shorter. I liked the beginning but after a time it became a bit boring 👀
read this if:
- you relate a tiny bit too much to Richard Papen in TSH
- you have a concerning amount of book bf’s
- you nourish an unhealthy obsession for the lives of other people & the things they own
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
A well constructed and beautifully written classic. Extremely controversial at the time and was initially banned due to the subject matter of a provincial adulterous housewife seen to be a threat to public morals.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced