Madame Bovary (Bantam Classics) by Gustave Flaubert (Epub)

Description

“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 judgement.” – Henry James

Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and sentimental desires lead her only to suffering corruption and downfall. A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Who is Madame Bovary? Flaubert’s answer to this question was superb: “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.” Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, the work catapulted Flaubert to the ranks of the world’s greatest novelists. This volume, with its fine translation by Lowell Bair, a perceptive introduction by Leo Bersani, and a complete supplement of essays and critical comments, is the indispensable Madame Bovary.

User’s Reviews

Review “Madame Bovary is like the railroad stations erected in its epoch: graceful, even floral, but cast of iron.” — John Updike From the Publisher This exquisite novel tells the story of one of the most compelling heroines in modern literature–Emma Bovary. Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and sentimental desires lead her only to suffering corruption and downfall. A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Who is Madame Bovary? Flaubert’s answer to this question was superb: “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.” Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, the work catapulted Flaubert to the ranks of the world’s greatest novelists. This volume, with its fine translation by Lowell Bair, a perceptive introduction by Leo Bersani, and a complete supplement of essays and critical comments, is the indispensable Madame Bovary. From the Inside Flap te novel tells the story of one of the most compelling heroines in modern literature–Emma Bovary. Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and sentimental desires lead her only to suffering corruption and downfall. A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Who is Madame Bovary? Flaubert’s answer to this question was superb: “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.” Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, the work catapulted Flaubert to the ranks of the world’s greatest novelists. This volume, with its fine translation by Lowell Bair, a perceptive introduction by Leo Bersani, and a complete supplement of essays and critical comments, is the indispensable Madame Bovary. From the Back Cover This exquisite novel tells the story of one of the most compelling heroines in modern literature–Emma Bovary. Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and sentimental desires lead her only to suffering corruption and downfall. A brilliant psychological portrait, “Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Who is Madame Bovary? Flaubert’s answer to this question was superb: “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.” Acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its publication in 1857, the work catapulted Flaubert to the ranks of the world’s greatest novelists. This volume, with its fine translation by Lowell Bair, a perceptive introduction by Leo Bersani, and a complete supplement of essays and critical comments, is the indispensable “Madame Bovary.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ I bought this because I heard it was a classic, a sort of landmark work of literature. But ultimately I couldn’t really finish it. Yes, I recognize how artistically clever it is, but one can sense the angst and negativity of the mindset that produced it. This novel represents an attack on the previous ideals of romanticism and the enlightenment- nature, sincerity and hope. Flauberts sarcasm and mocking tone is obvious from the first page. He does not view other people with humanity or empathy, but as debased caricatures at the mercy of their lowest human urges, which he imagines to be the only reality. His worldview is essentially heavy and dark, but wrapped up in a sort of smug cockiness. He describes in Charles Bovary the sort of cruel public school-type upbringing that presumably produced the sense of disconnection that emanates from his pen. It is also a relentless and slow-motion attack on the institution of marriage and on Christianity. Unsurprisingly, Flaubert was sued for outraging public morality, thus allowing him to look like a victim.

⭐ This literary work has haunted me like no other novel has. Flaubert has declared “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.” In that utterance he is speaking for all of us. That dark, unpleasant side side to our characters is what Emma so unabashedly flaunts. I could relate to Emma’s base yearnings; her egotistical and selfish ways. We all wonder “what if” and “what might have been”. Not to the point that she takes it. To become an adulterating wretch that weaves the sordid web of her own demise. The tale itself will stay with me always. It was eloquent, romantic, comical, and heartbreaking. Emma was your mother, your sister, your best friend, your neighbor and your most hated enemy. You longed for what was coming to her, but yet also dreaded and mourned her maniacal existence. This is one of my five best novels I’ve ever read and cannot wait to read more of Flaubert’s works.

⭐ If you can’t stand anything but happy endings, just skip this book and move on to the next aisle. I’m not going to spoil it for you (some other reviewers have inadvertently done it anyway), but you may as well know going in that the plot and main characters of this novel are tragic in nature. In provincial France, Charles Bovary falls in love with and marries the beautiful Emma. But the problem is that he’s such a “nice guy” and Emma wants to have fun, wants to be dominated to some extent. Emma quickly discovers that she’s married to a man she doesn’t love and never will. In fact she despises him because he dotes on her so much, never gets upset with her, does whatever she wants, etc. She wonders why she ever married him. What’s wrong with having fun? Well, there’s fun and then there’s fun.The solution? Escape into adultery of course. She has secret affairs with a couple men who are more than eager to indulge her wild fantasies. With one she hatches a plan to run away to Italy. To the other she pays weekly visits where they fool around all day in an expensive hotel room. She commits this adultery practically right under her poor husband’s nose, yet he suspects nothing because he thinks she returns his love. She buys fancy clothes to make herself irresistible and expensive gifts for her lovers. She continually upgrades the furniture in her house with items well beyond her husband’s means.All because she read a few too many romance novels as a teen and wished to be like the women in them. You know: high society, dances, men all over her, reckless lovemaking with abandon, etc. No you won’t get explicit descriptions of sex in this book (it was written in the late 1800s). The sex is largely implicit, with only one scene that I recall where she actually rips her clothes off and jumps on her lover.You might come to despise Charles too, like Emma did, because he’s so *blind* to what’s going on. But you know what’s amazing about this novel? You’ll actually feel sorry for Emma too. Despite the fact that her actions are to blame for *everything*, you’ll still sympathize with her. I’m not exactly sure how Flaubert managed that, but it’s the main reason I give Madame Bovary the high rating I do…It’s a fairly quick and easy read, only 300 pages or so. Some of the imagery is incredible, I often felt like I was an observer in the setting described. I read the Penguin translation, which is endnoted to explain many of the unfamiliar concepts and to translate the names of French novels or works of art etc that some of the characters refer to. I don’t know, maybe the original French version is even more powerful, but the Penguin translation is very potent. And poignant too; the more emotionally pliant of you may actually shed a tear or two.Very highly recommended for fans of classics!

⭐ This is not among my few favorite novels, but no one who is sensitive to great literature can fail to see the brilliance of this work. In doing a bit of background work, I made the following discoveries:Virtually every French writer of the late 19th acknowledged Flaubert as their model. In England, Thomas Hardy essentially tried to write Flaubertian novels in an English rural context. Later in England, D. H. Lawrence explicitly wrote novels that were polemical to Flaubert, so that he wrote in reaction against MADAME BOVARY. In Russia, Tolstoy decided to write his own version of the story of Emma Bovary, ANNA KARENINA. In the 20th century, James Joyce–who was proud of how few writers he had studied–confessed that he had read virtually every line of Flaubert and himself tried to carry to the furthest extreme the Flaubertian dictum of art for arts sake. And this is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg.Is this the most influential novel ever written? I honestly don’t know, but if one wanted to construct a case for that assertion, a very, very powerful one could be made.

⭐ I think this is a wonderful novel. Although it carries around the “classic” label, I think Madame Bovary is an enjoyable, accessible, reader-friendly read. The story is actually quite simple. A French woman marries too rashly, for the wrong reasons, is unhappy, conducts two affairs, and eventually gets into tremendous debt and commits suicide. With that plot, Flaubert manages to create a masterpiece that subtly ridicules all types of human folly, not just Emma’s overwhelming romanticism. Science, religion, realism as embodied by various characters all come off unsympathetically, yet the book is still a joy to read, which I believe is Flaubert’s brilliance. The only drawback to the novel is that it is in translation (at least it is for me). There are some passages that are stunning, yet I know in French they would be even more so. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in literature.

⭐ As for the shipping and book’s condition…EXCELLENT. Now, the plot? Ehh. Simple and predictable (for the most part). It was a decent read, but I had hoped for more since it is one of those classics that everyone recommends. I’d read Anna Karenina or Les Mis a 2nd time over M. Bovary any day.

⭐ A rather depressing novel on the life of a woman who is consistently dissatisfied with everything around her, often making bold gestures and spontaneous actions, only to find later on that she wishes she hadn’t made those gestures/actions. She then begins the cycle of craving for something new and romantic, which she never succeeds in finding. Again, a rather depressing read.

⭐ I read this in college in the 1980s. I thought it was a great book so I bought it for my daughter this year. I don’t remember all of the details, but it has stayed with me all of these years.

⭐ Not much to like with the players: cheaters, liars, and just plain clueless. In another time, maybe this story would be considered a part of noir genre, especially considering the ending. Lesson here is boredom can be very dangerous.

⭐ its a book I read it.. its worth reading a classic

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