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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
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
i love this and surprisingly even loved charles which i did not expect going into this. he was naive and clueless when it came to his wife’s feelings but seemingly pretty sweet otherwise. it was ironic he had no clue about how miserable emma was in their marriage though, considering he had just been in a loveless marriage himself. this is pretty dense - it felt like so much happened but also nothing at all so it was a slog to get through occasionally. i loved the style of the prose and the flowery language it felt almost poetic in places - i wish i was fluent in french because i imagine the prose would flow even better in the original text.
i did get a little bored in the middle since i’d assumed the fun was over for our titular character (and the pacing of this was pretty strange) but she got a second wind and i ended up loving it!! emma had no redeeming qualities that i can recall but she was really engaging to read about and i found myself empathising with her, especially towards the end. she came across as quite naive and disillusioned so i had a lot more vitriol for rodolphe on account of his shameless manipulation of her. he wasn’t the only man to take advantage of her naïveté and it was both gratifying (because she was pretty awful) and frustrating to watch it happen as the reader.
the copy i read had a section at the end of “explanatory notes” which was referenced to constantly throughout and it massively contributed to my enjoyment since i ended up learning so much about 19th century france and flaubert himself. it was genuinely really interesting and i had no idea just how advanced medicine was in those times. i don’t think i agree with the moral of the story (from my interpretation) but i still really enjoyed this. no plot little character development just vibes but the vibes were gorgeous. i loved the setting and the prose was incredibly pretty.
i did get a little bored in the middle since i’d assumed the fun was over for our titular character (and the pacing of this was pretty strange) but she got a second wind and i ended up loving it!! emma had no redeeming qualities that i can recall but she was really engaging to read about and i found myself empathising with her, especially towards the end. she came across as quite naive and disillusioned so i had a lot more vitriol for rodolphe on account of his shameless manipulation of her. he wasn’t the only man to take advantage of her naïveté and it was both gratifying (because she was pretty awful) and frustrating to watch it happen as the reader.
the copy i read had a section at the end of “explanatory notes” which was referenced to constantly throughout and it massively contributed to my enjoyment since i ended up learning so much about 19th century france and flaubert himself. it was genuinely really interesting and i had no idea just how advanced medicine was in those times. i don’t think i agree with the moral of the story (from my interpretation) but i still really enjoyed this. no plot little character development just vibes but the vibes were gorgeous. i loved the setting and the prose was incredibly pretty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, Antisemitism
Child neglect and Prostitution/Sex work
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
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
Mouth is wide open and my heart torn. Again, please…
Nothing wrong with a cheeky reread - even if it is curtains for Emma.
emotional
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I acknowledge it was a valuable read, I did not enjoy it as throroughly. Being trapped in Emma's perspective was often very irritating. While sometimes I hoped she would finally wisen up, by the halfway point I resigned myself to see if she ends up causing a trainwreck for her family.
I found the overarching themes good. New exciting things becoming habitual and mundane. The need to appreciate what is real and there instead of fantasies. Aging.
I noticed at some point Madame Bovary senior had told them after one of the earlier visits that they'll end up in a workhouse if they don't get their finances in order. I was wondering if that would come back by the end and while I was devastated for Berthe's fate, it was pretty poingnant.
Part of me was disappointend Emma was spared from long term accountability even if her last day's weren't as romantically serene as she imagined.
Overall the book felt irritating, uncomfortable, verbose and very real. It isn't my favorite piece of writing but I can't deny it's an important book that definitely left an impact on me. I'll be thinking back on it every now and then.
I found the overarching themes good. New exciting things becoming habitual and mundane. The need to appreciate what is real and there instead of fantasies. Aging.
Part of me was disappointend Emma was spared from long term accountability even if her last day's weren't as romantically serene as she imagined.
Overall the book felt irritating, uncomfortable, verbose and very real. It isn't my favorite piece of writing but I can't deny it's an important book that definitely left an impact on me. I'll be thinking back on it every now and then.
reflective
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
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
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
I’m glad I read it, I likely will never return to it. One must dig rather deep to find a single character had a single redeeming quality.
medium-paced
Il libro è molto scorrevole e non ho trovato punti stagnanti nella trama. I personaggi sono tutti odiosi e ben caratterizzati.
Ti tiene incollato alle pagine e speri sempre nel colpo di scena imminente.
Quanti schiaffi avrei voluto dare a Charles per farlo svegliare un po'! Come fai a non avere nemmeno il dubbio che tua moglie possa tradirti?
Per non parlare di Emma... che innamoramento facile!
La vittima di tutta la situazione è la povera Berthe.
Ti tiene incollato alle pagine e speri sempre nel colpo di scena imminente.
Per non parlare di Emma... che innamoramento facile!
La vittima di tutta la situazione è la povera Berthe.