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Madame Bovary

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Madame Bovary

By: Gustave Flaubert
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Emma Bovary is a sensuous, sentimental young woman whose romantic ideals make her dissatisfied with her humdrum married life. Attempting to escape into an exciting world of passion and dreams, she drifts into sordid affairs with Rodolphe Boulanger and Léon Dupuis. The first of these lovers, an older man, dominates the affair, while the second, inexperienced and young, is dominated. The eventual collapse of Emma’s romantic dreams is inevitable, and her disillusionment leads ultimately to her doom.

A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, it catapulted Flaubert to the ranks of the world’s greatest novelists and ushered in a new age of realism in literature.

(P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Fiction Dream
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Critic reviews

“Madame Bovary has a perfection that not only stamps it, but that makes it stand almost alone; it holds itself with such a supreme unapproachable assurance as both excites and defies judgment.”

(Henry James)

“Madame Bovary is like the railroad stations erected in its epoch: graceful, even floral, but cast of iron.”

(John Updike)

“Flaubert established for good or ill, what most readers think of as modern realist narration, and his influence is almost too familiar to be visible.”

(James Woods, author of How Fiction Works)

“Simon Vance’s leisurely reading mirrors the pace of small-town life, and his clear, gentle voice, with its lovely timbre, seems especially suited to delivering the text’s many descriptive passages…Particularly amusing is his portrayal of Monsieur Homais, the voluble village chemist who fancies himself a learned man, and this brings some welcome comic relief to an otherwise tragic story.”

(AudioFile)
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A wonderful classic. This is a simple but exquisitely crafted novel with beautiful prose. Wonderful descriptions of provincial life and insightful portrayal of the banalities of everyday life. I can thoroughly recommend this download - a definite must for the discerning listener!

Highly recommended

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Madame Bovary is a book we all should read or listen. The story is catchy, we want to carry on listening to it in order to know how it's going to end. Narrator is good as well. It's not a long book. Flaubert is great.

Another classic that must be read

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As much about Homais the chemist as about M Bovary. Both characters are uncaring of those around them, people get hurt because of their actions but somehow there is more sympathy for her. He seems so sure of everything and she is constantly lost and dissatisfied. He ponders and plans while she dreams and reacts. Beautifully written and a fascinating time for writers, Dickens and Elliot were going strong over here and there's much to compare. Certainly a classic

Bovary and Homais

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The book is beautifully written, with fantastically detailed accounts of the French countryside and the people, warts and all. In the days before cinema, books had to paint the backdrop with words and this is a wonderful example although it sometimes became a bit tedious.
I don't know whether it was fashionable at the time for French writers to depict the peasants as mean spirited and grasping, or if they really were like that. Not one character in the book is likeable but in particular Madame Bovary is so horrible that I couldn't help wondering if Flaubert disliked women in general, or if such an unrelenting lyrics selfish and mean person could really exorbitant.
I enjoyed the book but was glad when it was over

More interesting than enjoyable

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Very little happens in this novel and the characters are not easy to like. It isn't really an insight into a slice of life in France either.

Well narrated but not an exciting book

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