Thank you for sharing and mainly for choosing this magnificent novel! I read it so many times and always discovered new elements. Just love it. Flaubert invested so much even his health in writing this master piece.
I'm 2/3 through this and, to me, Madam Bovary is an absolute villain. Very similar to Humbert Humbert in Lolita. She's not in love with a person. She's in love with her own fantasies. I wonder if her notions about Charles being pathetic are fantasy too. I don't find him unsympathetic. He actually loves his wife and daughter. His mistakes are always trusting the advice and sincerity of others; sometimes against his own judgement.
Ok, I will dig mine out as soon as I finish my Trollope with Steve. I remember parts of it from waaaay back, how clueless everyone was... well that is what happens when you are 17-18 and read it. Then thinking 'that's not how grown ups are " !!!! Thanks Matthew.
HI Matthew, great video! I have not yet read any Flaubert, but I really want to give him a go. Should I start with Bovary, or some of his other (albeit few) works? Also, any translation that you deem superior to the rest? Thanks! :D
Hi! I would probably just recommend Madame Bovary to start with, I think it's terrific, and it's not very long. Though if you wanted a shorter introduction, maybe 'A Simple Life', it's one of his short stories. I've never read a Flaubert translation that I thought was flat out bad, so anything you find at the store, library, or online will probably be companionable. But I've read the Lydia Davis translation of Madame Bovary twice now and I think it's superb. Let me know what you think when you get to him! Warm regards,
I also love this book, I totally agree with you, it's the perfect book. I'd like to suggest a book that is a sort of companion to Madame Bovary, it's by a literary critic (who's also a writer himself), he loves the book and decided to write about it with a personal approach, it's called The Perpetual Orgy by Mario Vargas Llosa
It’s hard not to get swept along in your enthusiasm to promptly share with us your latest observations upon reading Madame Bovary. I laughed at the so very telling chicken vs. cannon analogy as well as the presence of the phrenology head. It’s been decades since I read MB. I remember reading and enjoying the novel on it’s face value despite some slow passages. If I were to read it now from the perspective of a much more (ahem!) mature reader 🤔who often seeks out literary metaphors and symbols, I would probably get much more out of it. However, with so many Anthony Trollope novels yet to explore, I probably won’t re-read it any time soon.
Strangely, for all the love it receives from people, Madame Bovary is a novel that I despise. I thought I was virtually alone in my loathing of it, until discovering that Steve Donoghue also hates it (which is odd, as Steve and I rarely agree on anything), as does - if memory serves - Robert from Barter Hordes. Upon learning of this common feeling, I felt less alone. I grudgingly admit that it might be a question of translation (I read the Eleanor Marx-Aveling, I think is her name), but I doubt it. Steve has read multiple translations and hated them all. If it weren’t for the magnificent finale - one of the greatest ever written - the book would be a total wash, in my view.
Hatred I can understand, but I've talked to people who thought the novel totally average, a run of the mill pot boiler, which completely boggles my mind.
Even though I have not read this novel, I can appreciate your take on how ordinary the novel appears. Now ... I’m tempted to move the book closer to my pending reads.. I read novels like i a watch film .. I look at direction, clothing, art sets, quality of the acting , balance and time... I especially look at how the camera itself tells the values presented. I look at quality of the writing... although that is often hard to judge with translation.
Yes, I only speak English, everything else is read in translation. The translation of Madame Bovary that I read in this video was by Lydia Davis. I always forget to mention the translator, which I really need to correct.
What a great commentary of a great novel. Many thanks!
Thank you for sharing and mainly for choosing this magnificent novel! I read it so many times and always discovered new elements. Just love it. Flaubert invested so much even his health in writing this master piece.
I loved this novel. It's a masterpiece.
I'm 2/3 through this and, to me, Madam Bovary is an absolute villain. Very similar to Humbert Humbert in Lolita. She's not in love with a person. She's in love with her own fantasies. I wonder if her notions about Charles being pathetic are fantasy too. I don't find him unsympathetic. He actually loves his wife and daughter. His mistakes are always trusting the advice and sincerity of others; sometimes against his own judgement.
Ok, I will dig mine out as soon as I finish my Trollope with Steve. I remember parts of it from waaaay back, how clueless everyone was... well that is what happens when you are 17-18 and read it. Then thinking 'that's not how grown ups are " !!!! Thanks Matthew.
This is how I feel about The Remains of the Day. Perfect. Ian McEwan has many perfect novels too. But I'm a big McEwan fan.
I'd love to hear his commentary on McEwan
@@Mark-fv8vt I'll ask him about it on his latest video.
HI Matthew, great video! I have not yet read any Flaubert, but I really want to give him a go.
Should I start with Bovary, or some of his other (albeit few) works? Also, any translation that you deem superior to the rest?
Thanks! :D
Hi! I would probably just recommend Madame Bovary to start with, I think it's terrific, and it's not very long. Though if you wanted a shorter introduction, maybe 'A Simple Life', it's one of his short stories.
I've never read a Flaubert translation that I thought was flat out bad, so anything you find at the store, library, or online will probably be companionable. But I've read the Lydia Davis translation of Madame Bovary twice now and I think it's superb.
Let me know what you think when you get to him! Warm regards,
@@MayberryBookclub will do! Thanks :)
I also love this book, I totally agree with you, it's the perfect book. I'd like to suggest a book that is a sort of companion to Madame Bovary, it's by a literary critic (who's also a writer himself), he loves the book and decided to write about it with a personal approach, it's called The Perpetual Orgy by Mario Vargas Llosa
I'll have to look it up, thank you for the recommendation!
It’s hard not to get swept along in your enthusiasm to promptly share with us your latest observations upon reading Madame Bovary. I laughed at the so very telling chicken vs. cannon analogy as well as the presence of the phrenology head. It’s been decades since I read MB. I remember reading and enjoying the novel on it’s face value despite some slow passages. If I were to read it now from the perspective of a much more (ahem!) mature reader 🤔who often seeks out literary metaphors and symbols, I would probably get much more out of it. However, with so many Anthony Trollope novels yet to explore, I probably won’t re-read it any time soon.
I need to get on the Trollope train!
Strangely, for all the love it receives from people, Madame Bovary is a novel that I despise. I thought I was virtually alone in my loathing of it, until discovering that Steve Donoghue also hates it (which is odd, as Steve and I rarely agree on anything), as does - if memory serves - Robert from Barter Hordes. Upon learning of this common feeling, I felt less alone. I grudgingly admit that it might be a question of translation (I read the Eleanor Marx-Aveling, I think is her name), but I doubt it. Steve has read multiple translations and hated them all. If it weren’t for the magnificent finale - one of the greatest ever written - the book would be a total wash, in my view.
Hatred I can understand, but I've talked to people who thought the novel totally average, a run of the mill pot boiler, which completely boggles my mind.
Even though I have not read this novel, I can appreciate your take on how ordinary the novel appears. Now ... I’m tempted to move the book closer to my pending reads.. I read novels like i a watch film .. I look at direction, clothing, art sets, quality of the acting , balance and time... I especially look at how the camera itself tells the values presented. I look at quality of the writing... although that is often hard to judge with translation.
Yes, it is a perfect novel!!!
Well now I feel like I need to reread Madame Bovary.
I'd be interested to hear what you think!
Are you reading in translation?
Yes, I only speak English, everything else is read in translation. The translation of Madame Bovary that I read in this video was by Lydia Davis. I always forget to mention the translator, which I really need to correct.