A review by maggiegould
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

emotional 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

4.25

well. this was exhilarating. truly, i cannot explain why or how i enjoyed this book so much. emma is not a likeable main character, and she is incredibly hard to relate to. but i just found everything so interesting! her selfishness, her lack of consideration, her draw to the absolute worst men...not great characteristics. but, for some reason, i was deeply interested. I'm not going to stand here and say that this is a book of absolute substance, or is incredible, but it sure as hell is quite a bit of fun! i love seeing not only complex female characters but also those that just, quite frankly, suck, when the majority of female characters of this time were stuck in an endless loop of romance and perfection. flaubert's writing, and the translation of my copy done by eleanor marx, was beautiful, engaging, and easy to understand. this truly was fun!!