Book Description
This comprehensive reference begins with an introductory chapter that overviews Flaubert's life and career. 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. The volume concludes with extensive bibliographic information. Flaubert's determination to achieve stylistic and structural perfection led to the creation of his masterpiece, Madame Bovary. The achievement was long considered the exemplary novel in Western literature, and writers remain deeply indebted to its legacy. ... Read more

Book Description

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

Product Description
In this brilliant essay, Vargas Llosa examines Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert, who is considered the founder of the modern novel and an indisputable influence on future novelists. The first part of this book is autobiographical in tone; the second comprises an exhaustive analysis on the structure and significance of Madame Bovary, the third traces the relation between Flaubert s work with the history and growth of modern literature s most representative genrethe novel.

Description In Spanish:«Hacía años que ninguna novela vampirizaba tan rápidamente mi atención, abolía así el contorno físico y me sumergía tan hondo en su materia.»Mario Vargas LlosaEn este brillante ensayo, Mario Vargas Llosa analiza una de las novelas que han marcado su carrera como escritor: Madame Bovary, de Gustave Flaubert, considerado el fundador de la novela moderna y uno de los maestros indiscutibles de todos los narradores posteriores.La pesquisa del narrador peruano tantea tres diferentes vías de aproximación al texto flaubertiano: en una primera parte, de tono autobiográfico, Vargas Llosa se retrata a sí mismo como lector enfervorizado y pasional. La segunda parte es un análisis exhaustivo de Madame Bovary, cómo es y lo que significa una obra en la que se combinan con pericia la rebeldía, la violencia, el melodrama y el sexo. En la tercera parte se rastrea la relación de la obra de Flaubert con la historia y el desarrollo del género más representativo de la literatura moderna: la novela.Mario Vargas Llosa resulta tan solvente en su faceta de crítico literario como lo es en su oficio de narrador. Del encuentro de una inteligencia narrativa como la del novelista peruano con la obra más importante de uno de los autores esenciales de la literatura universal nace un ensayo que vale por todo un curso de literatura ... Read more

Book Description
This textbook series is ambitious in scope. It provides concise and lucid introductions to major works of world literature from classical antiquity to the twentieth century. It is not confined to any single literary tradition or genre, and will cumulatively form a substantial library of textbooks on some of the most important and widely read literary masterpieces. Each book is devoted to a single work and provides a close reading of that text, as well as a full account of its historical, cultural, and intellectual background, a discussion of its influence, and a guide to further reading. The contributors to the series give full consideration to the linguistic issues raised by each text, and, within the overall framework of the series, are given complete freedom in the choice of their critical method. Where the text is written in a language other than English, full account is taken of readers studying the text in English translation. While critical jargon is avoided, important technical terminology is fully explained and thus this series will be genuinely accessible to students at all levels and to general readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not the Novel! But good background for the serious student.
I was disappointed to discover that this was not the actual novel - which information was not readily available by just looking at the sales notes. However, if one is looking for serious background information and/orcommentary relating to Flaubert and his work and the impact it had onsociety, then this is the book to get. ... Read more

Book Description
This book opens crucial new perspectives on the vexing question of chronology in Flaubert's work. Claire Addison argues that Flaubert's manipulation of dates is deliberate, and that what have previously been dismissed as inadvertent errors are in fact evidence of the strong presence of Flaubert's personal mythology in his work, creating links among his family life, events in historical Europe, and events in the life of his literary characters. Her reading sheds new light on the subtle and complex interplay between the life and work of the author. ... Read more

Book Description
Gustave Flaubert is probably the most famous novelist of nineteenth-century France, and his best known work, Madame Bovary, is read in numerous comparative literature and French courses. His fiction set the standard to which other authors turned to learn their craft, and his cult of art and his unrelenting search for stylistic perfection inspired many later writers, such as Maupassant, Proust, Conrad, Faulkner, and Joyce. His denunciation of materialistic, corrupt society; his fascination with altered states of consciousness; his oscillation between metaphysical longings and a radical nihilism; and his deep-seated mistrust of the adequacy of words themselves anticipate the works of contemporary authors. This reference is a convenient guide to his life and writings. Included in this volume are several hundred alphabetically arranged entries on Flaubert's individual works and major characters; historical persons and events that shaped his life; the themes that run throughout his writings; the critical approaches employed by scholars studying his works; and related topics of interest. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and most close with a brief bibliography. All of his major works are treated at length, and the volume mentions nearly every unpublished project of his that has a title. The book concludes with a selected, general bibliography of major studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Eleni's accont of Madam Bovary
I thought this book was slow, dull, and all toghter non-entertaining. Madam bovary was a one sided person and through away the important things in life. Very poor novel.Only read it for its very detailed account of French provincial life.

hub bub
well I just finished reading this book.I still feel overwhelmed by the extreme amount of goings on that occurred in it.The book had me mesmerized for the first half of it.I began to lose a bit of interestwhen Emma began her niave love affair with the blatent user of women.Myinterest came back when it showed more depth about him.Throughout thebook I was hoping that Emma would 'snap out' of her dream like fake lifeand begin living the real life presented to her.Unfortunately, this neveroccurred.She was an escapist and coward in life, and the same in death. ... Read more