BookShelfBook 2021
France. I so dream to go there one day. Until then books it is.
Madame Bovary. A classic that has been sitting on my shelf way too long. I have now read it and I just loved it! Four stars! I do love classical literature anyway, it is fun to get another classic to love on my shelf. While created in the 19th century, the character of Emma Bovary, a yearning, unfulfilled woman; “the original Desperate Housewife” in one modern-day critic’s words still resonates with writers and artists alike. I so agree. The book is widely reported to be based on a scandal at the time.
“Madame Bovary’s plot was partly inspired by a sensational news story featuring a French woman named Delphine Delamare. At the age of 17, Delamare left her rural home to marry a health officer who, like Charles Bovary, was also a widower. Delamare cheated on her spouse, spent his money on frivolities, and ultimately incurred so much debt that she killed herself with poison at the age of 27.” This is just a speculation but it’s an interesting tidbit.
Madame Bovary, originally published as Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners, is the debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life.
“What better occupation, really, than to spend the evening at the fireside with a book, with the wind beating on the windows and the lamp burning bright…Haven’t you ever happened to come across in a book some vague notion that you’ve had, some obscure idea that returns from afar and that seems to express completely your most subtle feelings?”
This book now has a permanent home in my book shelf.
Provence 1970. I so so tried to read this book! This is a second February I’ve tried to read this book. I so do love Julia Child and I am a true foodie. Alas this book was EH. I did finish it, but it was work. So I will instead bask in the love of my other read!
On to my next FRANCE book.
