Madame Bovary
by Gustave Flaubert · first published 1856
42% recommend45% neutral13% critical
Why HN recommends it
Stylish, economical prose with rhythm and psychological insight, still fresh and engaging. Suits readers who enjoy a lyrical 19th-century novel and learning about love and idealism, though it asks some effort.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Charles Bovary, médecin de campagne, veuf d'une mégère, fait lors d'une tournée la rencontre du père Rouault et de sa fille, Emma. Après leur mariage, Emma reste insatisfaite et rêve d'une nouvelle vie. Son premier amant lui donne le goût du luxe et fait miroiter un avenir à deux avant de l'abandonner. Une fois remise, Emma continue à faire de folles dépenses, qui peu à peu la mènent à la ruine et au déshonneur. (Résumé par Nadine)
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…Prufrock", "Return of the Magi", "Hollow men" Ernest Hemmingway: A Clean Well-Lighted Place Herman Melville: Bartleby, the Scrivener Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness and The Secret Agent Gustave Flaubert: Madame Bovary George Orwell: Any and all of the essays, but especially "Shooting an elephant" and "A hanging" Stendahl: Red and Black James Joyce: A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man Andre Dumas: The Three…
on “Becoming "well read"” ↗Are you gonna learn about dating by reading romantic novels or real life stories? I contend that you'd learn an awful lot more about love and relationships from a novel like Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina, than you ever will from 'non-fiction' like The Game (which you've mentioned up-thread). Drawing a clear distinction between fiction and non-fiction is in my opinion pointless - you…
on “The Best Books I Read in 2013” ↗If you are up for a bit of a challenge, that will prove very rewarding, I recommend reading "Madame Bovary". Flaubert writes with such poise that it's like being there, experiencing the emotion of the room. But it's very different from a modern book.
on “What Would You Recommend to a Bright 14 Year Old?” ↗…great books than one can read in a lifetime. It's a resource that can't be spent. Some excellent examples: Middlemarch, by George Eliot Brothers Karamazov, or Crime and Punishment, by Dostoyevsky Madame Bovary by Flaubert, or Bel-Ami by Maupassant The Book of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen The Corrections by Franzen Recognitions by Gaddis Foster by Claire Keegan (short but…
on “Ask HN: Books that helped you become a better person?” ↗I created an account just to refute this ridiculous comment. Flaubert genius was he was incredibly economical in his writing. Salambo, Temptation of St Anthony, Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education are all so wildly different. Event translated into English the fragrant, elegance comes through. Nabokov, James Joyce, William James and Cormac McCarthy all tooks lessons from…
on “Flaubert's letters are as hilarious and humane as his best fiction” ↗…life. As you like Russian literature, I suppose you've read Goncharov's Oblomov and Chekov's theater, especially Uncle Vania. That theme is central in one of the most famous French novel, Flaubert's Madame Bovary. The excellent Italian writer Alberto Moravia also has many novels about this, the most famous being Il disprezzo and my favourite being Gli indifferenti. I also like D'Annunzio's Il piacere much more…
on “The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel” ↗85. Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
…enchantment, as a whole and fractally, down to each single sentence, to each single word. Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu" is an enchantment, a very long river of neverending sentences. Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" is the work of a mean and sarcastic enchanter who uses rythm as a weapon. Just as reading Joyce makes you speak in his special brand of English (or if you venture into Finnegans Wake, his special brand…
on “James Joyce's "Ulysses": Why you should read this book” ↗…boring and I stopped.) I don't like Star Wars. I am not in particular interested in Sci-fi. I think the time can be better spent in other books. For example, the non-technical books I just finished are Madame Bovary (translated by Lydia Davis. Highly recommend), On the Move (autobiography by Oliver Sacks). I am re-reading The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Also, I don't like beer. When I go out with colleagues,…
on “What Really Keeps Women Out of Tech” ↗> From today's perspective, it's boring, it's not insightful and the style is excruciatingly dated From your perspective. From my perspective, Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education are exceptional. Fresh, engaging and psychologically insightful. I would recommend anyone who enjoys reading to try Flaubert.
on “Flaubert's letters are as hilarious and humane as his best fiction” ↗…from the selection available, or Anna, the tragic focal point of the novel) - there are no villains and no heroes, only bumbling humans dealing with problems entirely of their own creation. I also liked Madame Bovary from the same period, another riff on doomed attempts to escape unhappy circumstances - perhaps all happy novels are alike, whereas every unhappy novel is unhappy in its own interesting way?
on “Ask HN: What are the books that changed the perspective of your life?” ↗Madame Bovary: beautiful book, but also somewhat scary. Warning against idealism and condescension (the 'Belle' complex from Beauty in the Beast, ie too good for someone or some society). With it is an oddly inspiring…
on “Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?” ↗A solid contender for the title "best book of the 19th century". Together with Madame Bovary. Which wins, IMHO. But still: great book.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books or essays written at least 100 years ago?” ↗…more. I even got rid of my beloved Austen anthology that's how seriously I was paring down. I figured I can get everything I love on e-format. I kept three physical books I'll never be without: Lolita, Madame Bovary, Les Misérables. Merely looking at the words does something to me. "-- and I looked and looked at her, and knew as clearly as I know I am to die, that I loved her more than anything I had ever seen…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗I liked Madame Bovary so much :( I did read it in my late 20s though. It's such a slick book, I loved the... style/aesthetics. True nothing happens in it, but still. I guess I was going through a more lyrically motivated reading…
on “A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (1992)” ↗