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Translated by Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant.
Introduction and Notes by Harold Tarrant. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Like a TV epic miniseries, tightly edited but loosely scripted
Perhaps if Anthony Burgess wrote a screenplay directed by Werner Herzog that remade a sword-and-sandals Victor Mature epic by Cecil B. DeMille from storyboards abandoned by D.W. Griffith during "Intolerance," this might match this 1862 historical novel. Based on Polybius' accounts of the First Punic War of 241-238 B.C., this elaborates the war between Carthage against anarchic mercenaries and vengeful barbarians. It's the clash of corrupt civilization with its spiteful negation. Futility dominates both camps. The conflict's rousing but dispiriting.

Alternating battle scenes with municipal intrigue, Flaubert drew upon his journeys to the Levantine and North Africa in the 1850s. Readers of his previous novel, "Madame Bovary," may be disoriented by the sheer mass of archeology, military data, obscure erudition, and formidable description of exotic flora and unfamiliar fauna within these pages that contrast vividly Flaubert's earlier exploration of extra-marital lassitude amidst the petit-bourgeoisie.

A better comparison? Flaubert's aborted "Temptation of St. Antony" with its lavish visions, and his letters edited (also in Penguin Classics, also reviewed by me on Amazon last year) as "Flaubert in Egypt." These prepare you for the voluptuous and violent contrasts revelled in by the author here. Salammbo's temple priestess serves the moon-goddess Tanit amidst overwhelming luxury atop festering decay; inside its walls and outside its gates, the wealth of Carthage constantly arouses the greed and revenge of those dominated by its power. These contending forces undermine its status and provoke its proles and slaves to seek its destruction, even though the capital will fall along with the capitol, so to speak, as the city faces assaults by mobs of mercenaries and barbarians.

Whether or not this short but stuffed narrative is suited for you depends on your ability to stomach lots of blood and guts, mixed with a frippery of allure and a heap of data. Flaubert wishes to tell you all he learned, and this may deter the casual reader. Like a lavish miniseries, the dialogue may not live up to the staging, and the costume drama may bemuse or stupify you as often as it entices. Still, as these samples of his style at its most splendid will reveal, the entry into this overlooked and little-read novel today may prove as rewarding as six hours spent watching a made-for-TV "star-studded event" today.

Carthage's predicament: "Usually the city kept its promises. This time, however, its burning greed had led it into disgrace and danger. The Numidians, Libyans, all Africa were poised to hurl themselves on Carthage. Only the sea was free. There she met the Romans; and like a man set upon by murderers, she felt death all around." (65)

After dark in the temple grounds: "Here and there a stone phallus rose up, and big stags wandered about peacefully, kicking fallen pine cones with their cloven hoofs." (77)

Carthage's relevance to our own political economy? "First of all, power depended on all without any being strong enough to seize it. Private debts were considered as public debts, men of Canaanite race had the monopoly of trade; by multiplying the profits of piracy with those of usury, by crude exploitation of the land, the slaves and the poor, some people achieved wealth. Wealth alone opened up the magistracy; and although power and money were perpetuated in the same families, the oligarchy was tolerated because one could always hope to attain it." (91)

After one battle: "Night fell. The Carthaginians and the Barbarians had disappeared. The elephants, who had run away, were roaring on the horizon with their towers on fire. They burned in the dark, here and there, like beacons half-hidden in the mist; and nothing was to be seen moving on the plain but the rippling of the river, swollen with corpses which it was carrying to the sea." (149)

After another battle: "The Greeks dug pits with their sword points. The Spartans took off their red cloaks and wrapped them round the dead; the Athenians laid them out facing the rising sun; the Cantabrians buried them beneath a heap of stones; the Nasamones bent them in two with oxhide straps, and the Garamantes went to inter them on the beach so that they should be for ever watered by the waves. But the Latins were grieved not to be able to collect the ashes in urns; the Nomads missed the hot sands in which bodies become mummified, and the Celts missed the three rough stones, beneath a rainy sky, deep in a bay full of islands." (197)

Weak depth of character
I was not expecting anything from this book, though I loved Madam Bovary. The problem with the character, Salambo, a temple girl, is that she was missing in action. Instead, the author uses the title as a pretense to explore and describe ancient Carthage, and gives us little opportunity to know the main characters. Salambo says a few vague lines and then she's off, usually in a huff over her father, then Flaubert starts his travelogue on Carthage again, panning the lens around. If you love sheer exotic scenery then you might like this story--but if you also want memorable characters, this is not the book.

Not too wild
I didn't dislike the book.And in retrospect, there were some well-created scenes.But a lot of it is flowery language that doesn't really move a plot.So in short, very vivid background and characters, not a whole lot of interaction.If you're looking for excellent French literature that is both descriptive in detail and maintains momentum in prose, you're best off with Dumas.

A Bit of a Disappointment, Very Slow, and Sometimes a Confusing Read
One must admire the research that went into the book, and for that the novel has some value. Beyond the historical research, there are few positive things to recommend the novel.

There are no literary hooks and overall it is not a well balanced novel.There are many characters and lots of killings and confusion. One wonders if Flaunbert was the author. Is this the same Flaubert that created the masterpiece "Madame Bovary"? Yes it is, but what a change. The writing is good, but the subject is bad and the novel lacks warmth and charm. Perhaps fatal for the novel, it lacks realistic and interesting characters and good dialogue.

I bought and read "Madame Bovary" in a day and loved every moment of that reading experience. It was a compelling novel, balanced, charming, concise, great characters, great prose, etc. It was impossible to put down that 500 page masterpiece. Since then I have read other works by Flaubert such as "Sentimental Education" and was not disappointed.

This book has lots of historical detail, many characters, and lots of blood and gore but little else. The characters are wooden. The plot is hard to follow. The ending is a bit unrealistic. The rest of the novel has too many twists and turns, and too many characters. The protagonist Salambo is an enigma. The character Matho is too far from reality as is Hamilcar, the Suffete of Carthage.

The greatest disappoint is the read itself. I could read only 10 or 20 pages at a time before losing interest. This is a great novel if you are having trouble sleeping.

By the time I got to the end of the 300 pages, I was happy to be done with the book. Yes, I am finished this crazy book!

Mark this one down as Flaubert's folly or one of his mistakes.

Better reads from Flabert:

- Madame Bovary
- Sentimental Education
- The Temptation of Saint Anthony
- Three Tales

Clouded, Debauched Banquet
I enjoyed this novel enough to recommend it, but I'm sure it's not for everyone. In a way the things I like about it are integrally interwoven with its flaws. For example, I love the luxurious detail that Flaubert gives. You'd think he was actually there, the way he describes every morsel of food, each tribe's jewelry, customs, idiosyncracies. He has details that he lays out like a lush banquet, way too much to actually eat, but beautiful to gaze at. The flaw in this for me is that Flaubert in the notes makes such a big case for how everything is historically accurate. That's silly. He can't possibly believe that he can reach back two thousand years and render everything with complete precision. I mean reporters writing things that happened this afternoon only ever get it partially right, so how could he manage it? The answer is that he couldn't and that he doesn't have to. This is a novel and as such all the detail works; I just wish Flaubert hadn't taken himself so seriously. Sort of spoils the viceral enjoyment of the whole thing.

He also lets fly completely on a negative image of all things Carthaginian, which would have been true to his times. Some modern scholars are starting to doubt many of the nasty things we've assumed about Carthage all these years. Some are starting to ask just how much of that stuff is Roman propaganda. I don't have any answers or opinions myself, and this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book one way or the other. I did also enjoy a recent novel, Pride of Carthage, which doesn't exactly paint a rosy picture of Carthage, but might give a slightly more full bodied consideration of both sides. I recommend it highly.

And I recommend this. Not exactly cause it's great though. Like I said, it's a banquet, a feast, a debauched evening that gets decidely nasty and that you wake up from feeling rather ill... That doesn't sound that pleasant, does it? And yet we all remember such nights with clouded awe. That's how I'll remember this book. ... Read more

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A guide to reading "Madame Bovary" with a critical and appreciative mind encouraging analysis of plot, style, form, and structure. Also includes background on the author's life and times, sample tests, term paper suggestions, and a reading list. ... Read more

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A detailed summary of the novel's plot is followed by a close examination of the novel's genesis, its publication history, and the merits of various editions and translations. Later chapters discuss the social and cultural contexts informing the work, Flaubert's literary craftsmanship, and the novel's critical reception. ... Read more

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Trois contes is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Gustave Flaubert is in the French language. If you enjoy the works of Gustave Flaubert then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great stories / flimsy book
The stories are of course magnificent. C'est Flaubert, alors!

The book itself is really more of a flimsy "plaquette" (booklet) that won't hold up very long. Also, the print is rather small.

Flaubert!
Flaubert's stories are, with "Madame Bovary", his greatest creations.They show a style that was never before seen in French literature, a purity of expresion and depth of meaning, that will live forever. ... Read more

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A Simple Soul and Herodias ... Read more

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A kind of detective story, relating a cranky amateur scholar's search for the truth about Gustave Flaubert, and the obsession of this detective whose life seems to oddly mirror those of Flaubert's characters.Amazon.com Review
Just what sort of book is Flaubert's Parrot, anyway? A literarybiography of 19th-century French novelist, radical, and intellectualimpresario Gustave Flaubert? A meditation on the uses and misuses oflanguage? A novel of obsession, denial, irritation, and underhandedconnivery? A thriller complete with disguises, sleuthing, mysteriousmeetings, and unknowing targets? An extended essay on the nature of fictionitself?

On the surface, at first, Julian Barnes's book is the tale of an elderly Englishdoctor's search for some intriguing details of Flaubert's life. GeoffreyBraithwaite seems to be involved in an attempt to establish whether aparticularly fine, lovely, and ancient stuffed parrot is in fact oneoriginally "borrowed by G. Flaubert from the Museum of Rouen and placed onhis worktable during the writing of Un coeur simple, where it iscalled Loulou, the parrot of Felicité, the principal character of thetale."

What begins as a droll and intriguing excursion into the minutiae ofFlaubert's life and intellect, along with an attempt to solve the smallpuzzle of the parrot--or rather parrots, for there are two competing forthe title of Gustave's avian confrere--soon devolves into something obscureand worrisome, the exploration of an arcane Braithwaite obsession that isperhaps even pathological. The first hint we have that all is not as itseems comes almost halfway into the book, when after a humorouslycantankerous account of the inadequacies of literary critics, Braithwaitecloses a chapter by saying, "Now do you understand why I hate critics? Icould try and describe to you the expression in my eyes at this moment; butthey are far too discoloured with rage." And from that point, things justget more and more curious, until they end in the most unexpected bang.

One passage perhaps best describes the overall effect of this extraordinarystory: "You can define a net in one of two ways, depending on your point ofview. Normally, you would say that it is a meshed instrument designed tocatch fish. But you could, with no great injury to logic, reverse the imageand define the net as a jocular lexicographer once did: he called it acollection of holes tied together with string." Julian Barnes demonstratesthat it is possible to catch quite an interesting fish no matter how youdefine the net. --Andrew Himes ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

G Braithwaite: c'est moi!
Created from a jumble of non-narrative forms--from anecdote to glossary to literary criticism to timetable--Flaubert's Parrot is a showcase of postmodern fiction and its devices. What makes it so special and so rich is its central character, or rather the respect and sensitivity Julian Barnes brings to the creation of that character. In many ways, the pyrotechnical brilliance that shapes Flaubert's Parrot can be seen as an ingenious method of description created for the sole purpose of NOT belittling the novel's central character, Geoffrey Braithwaite. Much like Flaubert, Barnes champions the butt of jokes. But where Flaubert could only see unhappy endings, Barnes finds it in his heart to imagine Geoffrey Braithwaite a meaningful if eccentric survival. No cynicism, no surprise endings, just a firm and gentle belief that acceptance is a measured life's crucial virtue and a life story to prove it. I'm not so sure that I love Geoffrey Braithwaite after reading Flaubert's Parrot, but I adore Julian Barnes for taking his side. In doing so, he gently proposes that the interconnected narratives of life and art find ways to sustain each other in the humblest of circumstances and through the least auspicious among us.

Barnes and Falubert
Flaubert's Parrot is a novel, but I will concern myself with its nonfictional aspects, for I'm afraid that this book has had greater popular appeal than any full-length biography of Flaubert. And for those who may take Barnes' book as a primary source for understanding the life of Flaubert, I give a warning. Barnes throws doubt on the possibility of any person truly knowing another,this being perhaps the deepest message of his book. But Barnes, in this process, obscures an aspect of Flaubert that towers above any other: that Flaubert was a priest of a cult of literature like few have been since and like no one before him.

Barnes is never categorical. He is witty, trivial, irreverent, and suggestive. But he does make a case against the image of Flaubert as the hermit of Croisset, hidden from the world, inaccessible in his study as he pored over books and manuscripts. Flaubert saw friends frequently. He traveled widely. In 1856, he took an apartment in Paris and enjoyed the social life of some of the highest nobility and of the most famous literary personages of the day. Barnes also makes a case for Flaubert being a more passionate and sensual man than had hitherto been believed.
But Flaubert's intense friendships were all extremely literary, and his travels were above all for literary inspiration. He was a sensuous man but his only long-lasting affair, with Louise Colette, shows a man devoted to books, not women. When Louise dared to do the forbidden--come to Flaubert's home at Croisset--he turned her out without hesitation into the pouring rain, and thus the affair ended.

Milton, Dante, Virgil all felt their poetry required divine inspiration, long years of preparation in study, long years of work to polish each line, to reconsider each phrase. But no one, before Flaubert, felt that prose fiction was worthy of such devotion. Flaubert spent six to seven years writing each of his novels, and these were years of long, daily work. The 300 pages of Madame Bovary were refined down form 4000 pages of notes and revisions. Flaubert read 1500 books and pamphlets in order to write Bouvard and Pecuchet, where he ridicules pompous erudition. Since Flaubert, we have had such worshipers of this cult as Henry James, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and Franz Kafka. For all of these writers, Flaubert was an inspiration.

A writer's obsession with another, over a hundred year's removed...
Julian Barnes has written an immensely witty, erudite novel, in a tongue-in-cheek style, concerning his obsession with one of the greatest French novelists, Gustave Flaubert, whose most famous book was "Emma Bovery."As Barnes indicates however, it was "A Sentimental Education" that Flaubert considered his magnum opus. The `structure' of Barnes' novel, which is certainly an exaggeration for such a free-wheeling style, centers around the true identity of the stuffed parrot that Flaubert supposedly had on his desk when he wrote "A Simple Heart." For reasons that did not seem to be particularly necessary, Barnes tells the story from the point of view of a widowed, retired doctor, Geoffrey Braithwaite, who is depicted to be 20 or so years older than Barnes, and who, among other aspects of his life, participated in the Normandy invasion. One chapter is a straight, 10-page, chronology of Flaubert's life. Another is entitled "Braithwaite's Dictionary of Accepted Ideas," going from A-Z, with an entry for each letter, concerning some aspect of Flaubert's life. Another chapter concerns the musings of Braithwaite on a cross-channel ferry, and the nuanced differences between the French and the English. Barnes even structures one chapter as a school examination paper, in which the "student," (i.e., the reader) is supposed to answer questions on Flaubert's life and works. Quite clearly, such a style did not work for many readers; however, it worked very well for me. I was particularly impressed by two chapters ofBarnes's, an imaginative description of the long-term affair between Flaubert and the much older Louise Colet, from her point of view, and the chapter entitled "A Pure Story," on Braithwaite, and his philandering wife.

Barnes' novel is short, at less than 200 pages, but so very rich in "take-aways." Early on, he asks fitting questions that the novel pursues: "Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well enough alone? Why aren't the books enough? Flaubert wanted them to be..." Barnes metaphors are fresh and evocative: "Isn't the most reliable form of pleasure, Flaubert implies, the pleasure of anticipation? Who needs to burst into fulfillment's desolate attic?" Observations: "And yet sometimes I wonder if the wittiest, most resonant irony isn't just a well-brushed, well-educated coincidence." "The whole dream of democracy...is to raise the proletariat to the level of stupidity attained by the bourgeoisie." And perhaps the ultimate observation, Barnes leaves it in French, and it purports to be about Braithwaite and his wife: "Les unions completes sont rares."

Literary references abound throughout. Flaubert was a friend with Georges Sand, and she supposedly said to him: "You bring them (the reader) desolation; I bring them consolation." In the "Dictionary" chapter, Flaubert is described as the "pontoon bridge linking Balzac to Joyce." Both Sartre and Nabokov pay more than their "passing respects" to Flaubert, and we even learn that the American writer, Willa Cather, discussed him with his niece, Caroline, when she was 84, in Aix-les-Baines, in 1930.

We also learn that Flaubert contracted syphilis during his stay in Egypt (it seems that most 19th century writers contracted this disease, at a time when the only treatment was slow-poisoning by consuming mercury, which turned Flaubert's saliva black.) In the "Dictionary," the Egyptian courtesan, Kuchuk Hanem, who gave him the disease, is defined, vis-à-vis, the Parisian poetess, Louise Colet: "Gustave had to choose sides between the Egyptian courtesan and the Parisian poetess - bedbugs, sandalwood oil, shaven pudenda, clitoridectomy and syphilis versus cleanliness, lyric poetry, comparative sexual fidelity and the rights of women. He found the issue finely balanced."Alas, such it the ying and yang of man.

And the parrot?Barnes uses the same technique, and returns to the subject at the end; as with so much that happened 150 years ago, it could have been this, or it could have been that, and we are left to pick the right one. Overall, Barnes has written an exquisite, insightful look into Flaubert, his times, his writing, and Barnes also looks at ourselves, and why we do what we do. Solid 5-stars.

Stylish writing but it could have used some narrative.
The main narrator, Geoffrey Braithwaite, a retired Dr. and Flaubert buff, spends some time in France investigating the author of Madame Bovary. It start's off with Braithwaite spending alot of time wondering about Flaubert trivia, for example looking into what happened with the stuffed parrot Flaubert had for a time, viewing places Flaubert once lived in, etc. As the novel progresses it goes a little further afield with one chapter where Braithwaite talks about his own life, mostly relating to his wife (who has some parrallels with Madame Bovary), one chapter written as a retort by Louise Colet, Flaubert's paramour, and towards the end a mini Flaubert dictionary and a mock exam.

PROS
It's different. At just under 200 pages it's lean, compact. Barnes has a very nice prose style - elegant and detailed. (Maybe he learned a little something from Flaubert.) It was kind of interesting learning about Flaubert and the time he lived in.

CONS
It had no dramatic tension. I don't really care about Flaubert's parrot (or a lot of the other trivia) and I don't believe the narrator did either. It was a little too aloof.

SUMMARY - I'm not likely to reread this book, but I'd like to check out some other books by Barnes, if he's written something more conventional, less gimmicky.

Like reading a term paper
My book club chose this book as a companion piece for Madame Bovary.The conceit appeared interesting -- a riff on Flaubert scholarship, but the wit was negligible.Most of it read like a parody (but unfunny) of term-paper research.The narrator/"scholar", also a doctor with an unfaithful wife (like Madame Bovary) seemed tacked on to a compendium of factoids. I would not recommend this to anyone but die-hard Flaubert nuts. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the acknowledged masterpieces of 19th century realism, Madame Bovary is revered by writers and readers around the world, a mandatory stop on any pilgrimage through modern literature. Flaubert's legendary style,his intense care over the selection of words and the shaping of sentences, his unmatched ability to convey a mental world through the careful selection of telling details, shine on every page of this marvelous work. Now the award-winning translator Margaret Mauldon has produced a modern translation of this classic novel, one that perfectly captures the tone that makes Flaubert's style so distinct and admired.

Madame Bovary scandalized its readers when itwas first published in 1857. And the story itself remains as fresh today as when it was first written, a work that remains unsurpassed in its unveiling of character and society. It tells the tragic story of the romantic but empty-headed Emma Rouault. When Emma marries Charles Bovary, she imagines she will pass into the life of luxury and passion that she reads about in sentimental novels and women's magazines. But Charles is an ordinary country doctor, and provincial life is very different from the romantic excitement for which she yearns. In her quest to realize her dreams she takes a lover, Rodolphe, and begins a devastating spiral into deceit and despair. And Flaubert captures every step of this catastrophe with sharp-eyed detail and a wonderfully subtle understanding of human emotions. Malcolm Bowie, a leading authority on French literature, explores Flaubert's genius in his masterly introduction to this must-have book for all lovers of great literature.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

The unforgettable Madame Bovary......
This is a paragraph from my own review of Madame Bovary on my website (see my profile for link).

"Emma Bovary is the central character in Gustave Flaubert's masterpiece which is written from third person point of view. She comes into the novel rather late. Flaubert first focuses on Charles Bovary's grim childhood and adulthood, his studies to become a doctor, and his first marriage to the rich and dull Madame Bovary who dies quickly, leaving Charles to marry the young and dreamy Emma. The author certainly tries my patience as a reader before gluing me into Emma's entangled and conflicted character....."

For the rest, visit my blog.

Gustave Flaubert paints an unforgettable and unique character in Madame Bovary, and I am extremely glad to have finally read this, especially right before reading Anna Karenina, Tolstoy's masterpiece.

A Perfect Novel?
A perfect novel?

That's what the critics say. Some reviewers are more honest. They say it's admirably boring. The critics snub at them and say they don't understand the true literary value of the novel.

I for one found the first 140 pages supremely boring, with page after page of static descriptions and summaries of what happened. As a modern reader, I would've liked more scenes, but more than that, I wanted more drama. The novel may accurately and vividly depict what the provincial life was like back in the early 19th century France; it may make scathing social commentaries of the day; it may be rich in symbolism and themes that can be studied and discussed in English classes and further vivisected in academic papers; but despite all these seeming virtues, I just have to say that the first 140 pages was quite excruciating and the rest was just short of "good."

It got better after the first 140 pages, no doubt, but I must admit that I wasn't drawn into it. Punctuated by long expositions that didn't progress the story one bit or illuminate the characters in any way, the novel's tempo was much slow and the constant interruptions just plain annoying.

My philosophy is that literature ought to be entertaining as well as edifying and beautiful. Unfortunately, I found Flaubert's translated prose dull and clunky. And more importantly, it was, for the better part of the novel, hypnotically sleep-inducing. It may be edifying or informative or didactic or thematically and symbolically subtle. But without the beauty of the prose or an engaging story, I didn't think it deserves the high accolades it receives universally from anyone who studied literature.

I love reading literature, but when I'm evaluating any work of it, I try to leave what others have said before and be frank with myself. As far as Madame Bovary is concerned, the prose disappoints and the story sucks. That's my honest-to-God opinion of this much revered, (to me at least) overrated work.

Classics doesn't mean you must like it. If it doesn't make you fall in love with it, chuck it away and move on.

Overall, the first 140 pages sucked tremendously and the rest had its moments but was OK on average = it was OK

Madame Bovary -In the top 5 of my top 10
Madame Bovary, originally published in 1857, is in a very real sense the first modern novel, which had at its center the emptiness of bourgeois life.
After marrying Charles Bovary, the local physician, the young and bored Emma finds herself living in the small farming town in 19th century France of Yonville-l'Abbaye. The book evokes the petty ambitions that not only yoke Emma, but every character.There is Homais,the blow hard pharmacist.Lheureux, the wealthy merchant, who dupes Emma into unnecessary extravaganceswhile financing and refinancing the loans that will bring her to ruin. The criticalmother-in-law, who's mantra seems to be "Emma needs to be forced to work." as she goes on to brandish Emma for making fun of priests by quoting Voltaire.Then finallythe dashing and handsome Rodolphe, Emma's first lover, who seduces her even as he plans his escape. Emma is less a fallen woman than an extreme expression of a culture with no values. Flaubert mirrors a society in which he lived, one so unlike ours as to be completely alien. Or was it?The future for Emma was a long, dark hallway with a solidly locked door at its end. Yes, Emma is a shallow, amoral woman who debases herself increasingly as the book goes on.However, the same could be said of all the other characters, as ultimately no one is innocentwith the exception of the long suffering husband, Charles,who is too blind to see what's right before his eyes.

Madame Bovary is probably the most beautifully written book I have everread or ever will read.

Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary is a timeless clasic.I bought it for my daughter as part of her readings of the classics.She very much enjoyed it.

Madame Bovary-the Mauldon translation
Move over Steegmuller, move over Lowell Bair, Margaret Mauldon's translation is fantastic.The translation flows with elegant ease.This translation has proved better and more accurate than any other, as far as I can tell.I highly recommend this translation. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary; Literary Criticism / European / French; ... Read more

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One of 60 low-priced classic texts published to celebrate Penguin's 60th anniversary. All the titles are extracts from "Penguin Classics" titles. ... Read more

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The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Literary; ... Read more

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Although many writers blend autobiography and fiction, few have been so forthright in admitting it as Gustave Flaubert. In reference to his legendary novel and protagonist, he wrote: "Madame Bovary, c'est moi." Madame Bovary has become an icon for casual readers and feminists alike, but, as Dacia Maraini argues, she is one of the most problematic, though fascinating, female protagonists in modern literature. In this lively, learned, and very personal study, Maraini explores the profound and contradictory relationship between the writer Flaubert and the character his readers have grown to love.

Maraini argues that in their desire to claim Emma Bovary as a standard-bearer of revolt, women have often overlooked the bitter, pitiless way in which Flaubert evokes Emma's insignificance and vulgarity.Searching for Emma guides the reader through Flaubert's novel and many of his letters, seeking out the sources of his obsessive cruelty toward Emma. Maraini relates Flaubert's contempt for Emma to his relationship with his mistress, Louise Colet, to his general terror of women, and to his own self-loathing.It was entirely in spite of himself, Maraini writes, that Flaubert created the female Don Quixote so admired for her restlessness and determination.

Searching for Emma offers a novelist's insight into the complex relationship between author and character, and into the deepest motivations of fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Easy to read and full of useful info.
I used this book as a source for my research paper.I found it very informative and was able to read it in a short time frame, which came in quite helpful.It was full of really good tidbits about Flaubert and his life during the time of writing Madame Bovary.It drew many good comparisons and was able to keep my attention. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Value for money collection of five Flaubert novels
"The Library of Essential Writers" series of books are affordable and beautiful editions, not to mention sturdy [they are all in hardcover] and number about 31 works in all. In this collection of Gustave Flaubert's 5 novels, the works are "Madame Bovary", "Salammbo", "Sentimental Education", "The Temptation of St Anthony",and "Bouvard and Pecuchet".The novels are all complete and unabridged and there is also a brief introduction by Brian Stableford. My main grouse with this compilation is the omission of the translator's name for each novel which is crucial for the purpose of comparing and contrasting as well as critical analysis.

Gustav Flaubert Unabridged Five Novels
A treasure of the finest literature for a pittance. Flaubert's writing is superb.It is rarely equaled by other writers and never surpassed.

Reading the English translastion makes one wish that they had learned French.

Barnes and Noble must be applauded for issueing this edition at such a low price. ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Que nadie pregunte por las cartas de Louise Colet a Gustave Flaubert: la piadosa mano de Caroline Franklin-Grout, preocupada por mantener limpia la memoria de su ilustre tio, destruyo aquellas misivas, harto indecentes a su juicio. Pero es inutil lamentarse al respecto. Las cartas de Louise a su amante dificilmente podrian contener nada muy nuevo, nada que no sepamos o podamos adivinar gracias a las cartas del propio Flaubert entre agosto de 1846 y marzo de 1855. En efecto, estas no constituyen la mitad de un todo truncado para siempre, la mitad del medallon que encaja en su otra mitad, las replicas de un dialogo perdido. Son una totalidad, un monologo completo y redondo salvo en aspectos nimios que solo podrian atraer a un miron, un retrato personal e intimo del joven Flaubert y de la poetisa madura. Poco importa que dichos retratos sean exactos o que esten falseados, sobre todo en las primeras cartas, por la pasion amorosa. Tal fuego, en todo caso, no duraria. Los entusiasmos iniciales de los primeros meses, ocasionalmente enfriados por rinas epistolares (sobre todo epistolares, pues las ocasiones de verse eran escasas), cederan pronto ante la serenidad de sentimientos mas tibios, y daran paso, antes de la ruptura final, a lo que da todo su valor a estas cartas para el lector no exclusivamente interesado por la vida sexual de los famosos: las reflexiones de Flaubert sobre la vida y sobre el pasado; consejos (desaprovechados) sobre lecturas, y sobre el arte de escribir; varias fobias, y ardientes filias; juicios apasionados sobre la amistad y el arte, sobre la sociedad y sobre la creacion literaria; larguisimas, detalladas anotaciones y correcciones de textos de Louise, que revelan la paciencia y el gusto artistico de Flaubert y, en definitiva, la lealtad a su amiga. Ni siquiera las correcciones de Gustave lograron que los versos de la Musa sean legibles hoy. La poetisa profesional ha muerto para la historia literaria, pero la amante de Flaubert vive en las cartas, lo que no deja de ser un consuelo, y algo que debemos agradecerle. ... Read more

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Any reader should find here something of interest in Gustave Flaubert's letters, whether it be the intimate revelations of an original mind, the rich portrait of a time and place or the linguistic and stylistic brilliance of a great writer. The reader learns of the young Flaubert, unhappy at school, tormented as a lover. We travel with him to the temples and brothels of Egypt; to Palestine, Turkey, and then later to Tunisia. They witness the genesis of some of the most remarkable literature of the 19th century, and on until his financially secure old age. Selected and translated by Franics Steegmuller, and with footnotes, this edition is a companion and introduction to Flaubert's work. ... Read more

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