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miagw962's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
But this one taught her nothing, knew nothing, wished nothing. He thought her happy; and she resented this easy calm, this serene heaviness, the very happiness she gave.
Boy oh boy was this tricky to get through sometimes. There were many moments where I was like 'what is going on?' and for a while that made me kind of lean towards not liking this book. BUT I think the moments I did love in Madame Bovary outweighed the moments I didn't. There were so many beautifully written chapters that just absolutely blew me away. It was really the ending that solidified my opinion that this is a good book and it was worthwhile reading. I did struggle through some of it but most of it I loved for how melodramatic everything was. The narration I felt was also kind of uncaring towards a lot of the characters which I thought added another interesting layer to the story. I don't know, it really was just the vibe at the end that pushed my original thoughts of a 3 or 3.5 star read to a 4 star. Sidenote: why is every young lady from the 1800s named Emma? Or Jane?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Minor: Death
lina_reads_to_escape's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
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
1.0
I hated this book. Regardless of the fact that it’s considered a classic, for whatever reason, I found it completely uninteresting and irritating. I read this in French, the original version, for class, and I hated every moment of it. The character of Emma is completely unlovable and irritating. She keeps chasing an unachievable dream, wanting more in life, a fairy-tale-like existence, and when she doesn’t achieve something so obviously impossible for her time, she blames absolutely everyone else but herself for such expectations. There is no character development. Continuously, more things happen to her, she has new experiences, meets new people, she is still unhappy, she blames it on everyone and any one. Her husband is too mediocre, her lovers don’t love her enough and don’t give her enough thrill, this book is completely « one note », and it absolutely didn’t require 400 pages to tell me that Emma is a flawed person with unachievable expectations which lead to her inevitable demise. Boring, repetitive, trust me, there are far better classics, do NOT recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death
ingridpasker's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore
betweenthelinesbookclub's review against another edition
dark
sad
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Death
joneseuro's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The introduction to this book is interesting, explaining how it's publication was basically an early victim of The Streisand Effect and also the background of Delphine Delamare.
The actual story is OKAY. The main character is really unlikeable, which I understand isn't accidental . The moral lessons get a bit fable-y (as in "This is what happens when you do this bad thing!") and the Church vs Science parts are a bit on the nose.
I do appreciate its influence, though, and kept being reminded of Stoner by John Williams - one of my favourite ever books - published much later and that no doubt took a big scoop of influence from Madame Bovary.
The actual story is OKAY. The main character is really
I do appreciate its influence, though, and kept being reminded of Stoner by John Williams - one of my favourite ever books - published much later and that no doubt took a big scoop of influence from Madame Bovary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death
Minor: Racial slurs
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