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    Madame Bovary
    Madame Bovary
    Madame Bovary
    Audiobook13 hours

    Madame Bovary

    Written by Gustave Flaubert

    Narrated by Davina Porter

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Emma Bovary, the bored wife of a French provincial doctor, scans her solitude with desperate eyes, like a shipwrecked sailor searching for a white sail on the distant horizon. And when Emma's ship finally comes in, it carries with it vast and tragic consequences upon which her own life and the lives of those around her are wrecked.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 4, 2014
    ISBN9781490623696
    Author

    Gustave Flaubert

    Gustave Flaubert was born in Rouen in 1821. He initially studied to become a lawyer, but gave it up after a bout of ill-health, and devoted himself to writing. After travelling extensively, and working on many unpublished projects, he completed Madame Bovary in 1856. This was published to great scandal and acclaim, and Flaubert became a celebrated literary figure. His reputation was cemented with Salammbô (1862) and Sentimental Education (1869). He died in 1880, probably of a stroke, leaving his last work, Bouvard et Pécuchet, unfinished.

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    Reviews for Madame Bovary

    3.5/5

    99 ratings87 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I felt obligated to read this novel since I had a used copy lying around free for the taking and Nabokov had praised it so highly, but I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. Because I had heard that the eponym was pretty unsympathetic, and the course of the plot was dreary and depressing. Well, it turns out I didn't hear wrong: Emma is horrible and nothing good happens for all 400 pages of it - but I hadn't been told the most important thing about the book, which is that it's a black comedy. The incredible pettiness and stupidity of all of the characters' (not just Emma's) self absorption and the way they hurtle towards their own ruin as if filled with zeal for the prospect make it an entertaining spectacle. An ironic anti-spectacle as everything about their fuckups is unrelievedly trite and banal. It's like watching a trainwreck, and then watching someone get the bright idea of clearing the wreckage from the tracks by ramming another train into them, and then following through on that idea by sending two trains one from each side. It's glorious in it's utter lack of gloriousness.I'm going to dock it a star though because in my current mood I really could have done with something a little more upbeat.
    • 3/5
      Perhaps I've been reading too much classic literature lately, but I didn't find Madame Bovary all that special -- it probably didn't help that I read another novel with an affair of a similar nature in it, Anna Karenina, just now. In terms of characters, I found it quite realistic: I could believe in all of the characters. Emma, unable to find any satisfaction, quickly getting bored; Charles, a little dense, boring, loving; all the more minor characters. The descriptions of their lives felt realistic, too. But I found it hard to get absorbed in the story: probably because, despite recognising her as a well-written, realistic character, I don't identify with Emma Bovary at all.
    • 3/5
      Language was not as absorbing as I'd heard to expect from Flaubert. Try another translation.
    • 2/5
      I agree with Will Cuppy in preferring Salammbo to Mme. Bovary, but I felt I should have it as a classic. I was ashamed because once in class i said Mme. B. herself was stupid without having read it and a student who had read it disagreed.
    • 3/5
      I was really looking forward to reading this book as two of my friends cited it as one of their all-time favourite books. I would definitely not agree with then although it did grow on me. None of the characters are very likeable and I felt that Emma got what she deserved, although overly descriptive and slow in some parts I did enjoy it overall.
    • 4/5
      I wanted to punch Emma in the face throughout the entire book. Flaubert's writing made me continue the novel though. I enjoyed the novel, not because of the plot but because of the fact it was a realistic novel.I'm pretty sure I am the only person who actually cackled when Emma's death was painful. She is so dumb.
    • 3/5
      I am really enjoying diving into these books with only whatever vague notions about them I have picked up over the years. What I knew about Madame Bovary when I started it: she has an affair? So I was a little thrown when the book started with some boy named Charles who was going to school and being made fun of, and we followed him on to being a not-very-good student and a not-very-confident doctor. He marries a woman chosen by his mother, but although both of them have the same name, neither his mother nor this wife are the Madame Bovary. The wife is a widow who is supposed to be rich, but she is older and not very attractive. Finally, when Charles attends to a man on his farm and meets the man's daughter Emma, I realize she will become the title Madame Bovary.And so she does, after the widow dies and a decent amount of time has passed. Emma is beautiful and vivacious, and positive that married life will be incredibly romantic, just like in the novels. Soon, she realizes that she is not exactly swept away by a great love for Charles. She finds herself attracted to a young man in their town, and they do that dance of wondering if the other one is interested, but no one will come out and say it because it would be unseemly. Eventually, he leaves town. Emma tries devoting herself to being the best wife (and mother, there is a child in the book who is clearly not on Emma's radar and therefore not really on ours), but she finds that she now not only doesn't have that all-consuming love for Charles, she kind of can't stand him. What to do, what to do? Enter Rodolphe, who we are introduced to as a serial seducer. At this point, I started calling Emma "poor, stupid Madame Bovary." Of course, she falls for him. Of course, he is not nearly as committed as she is. And it doesn't end well for her. There's a lot more plot after that, but I really want to talk about what the book is saying. Two things stood out to me. One: adultery is just as boring as marriage if you carry it on long enough. Two: adultery is bad, but buying on credit is worse. I enjoyed the read, although the last 10% was sort of pointless to me. Some quotes:"Charles's conversation was commonplace as a street pavement, and everyone's ideas trooped through it in their everyday garb, without exciting emotion, laughter, or thought.""But the disparaging of those we love always alienates us from them to some extent. We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.""Besides, speech is a rolling-mill that always thins out the sentiment."
    • 5/5
      A true classic. Everyone should read this once. Romantic yet a thriller. Authors today just don't write with this much depth to their characters. (quite racey, as well!)
    • 5/5
      'Madame Bovary', as with Kate Chopin's 'The Awakening', is a classic that shows how properly written characters and beautiful prose will find an audience across the span of time. Considered scandalous in its day, this story of a woman living in a world of romantic delusions is like watching a slow motion train wreck- it can only come to a horrible end, and yet it rumbles down the track while everyone watches from the sideline, apparently baffled by what is to come. Emma's character can be a little distasteful at times, with fits of selfishness and childish behavior displayed at its worst in her treatment of her daughter, but these are symptomatic of her greater character flaws, and without them, her character would not be the cohesive element that has propelled her tale to the respect it has earned among literary classics. Flaubert labored over every word in the writing of this book, often proofing sentences with incredible attention to detail. And though this is obviously not in the native French, the beauty and musical sound of his language is preserved in this translation. If nothing else, if the intention is to read a book of prose of incredible beauty, read 'Madame Bovary'. If one is interested in a greater exposure to portrayals of woman 'led astray' in nineteenth century literature, Kate Chopin's 'The Awakening' makes a wonderful companion to Flaubert's tale.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this classic more than I thought I would and did not dislike Emma at all, more I felt sorry for her. This book was hard going at times and I sometimes got lost in the dialogue but it was worth persevering with to its bitter end.
    • 3/5
      I liked this book and am glad I read it, especially since it is a classic. Reading it for English class and having discussions definitely helped me get through to the meanings of some parts that i didn't quite get and helped me understand exactly what Flaubert was trying to say. In this book, Emma reminds me of a classical version of a desperate housewife. She is never satisfied with what she has and carries on several affairs while her husband stands idly by.
    • 5/5
      Having put off reading this novel, thinking it would be hard to read, in that I would need to be "in the mood" to get through the languge of the writers of the time, I was surprised at how easily it flows and how I couldn't put it down.I felt rather sad for Emma, although her seeming lack of feeling for her young daughter was a times perplexing, I felt she suffered depression, and anxiety, and a sense of feeling as if she had no idea what she wanted or needed. Of course, she lived in a time where she wasn't expected to "do much" of anything. Her life probably seemed meaningless. Was this why she was so easily swayed by an admiring glance, and so easily seemed to fall into affairs of the hear. The characters all seemed to lack much emotional depth, except perhaps poor Charles, who tried so hard to please Emma and everyone else. I was shocked at how she died, although not surprised. I am sure, now I have been gifted this favourite book of a friend, that I too will read it often, for the joy and sadness and despair of it.
    • 2/5
      Classic it may be but I did not enjoy Madame Bovary. Emma is a horrid, unsympathetic character (who actually deserves worse than she gets) and the supporting cast is almost as contemptible. For such a detailed book, Emma aside, the characters end up with surprisingly little depth and that is extremely frustrating when reading this novel. Flaubert's realist style can be a chore to read through and is actually boring in its exact precision. His sort-of-student, Maupassant, wrote much better, as did other contemporaries, such as Turgenev.
    • 4/5
      Well, first let me say that I am 95% sure that I will never read this novel again. That is not to say that I'm not glad I read it, or that I disliked it particularly, more that I don't think I could put myself through it again.* SPOILER ALERT *It is a novel riddled with complex moral and social issues - and Emma Bovary is a complex anti-heroine. At times I felt sorry for her. She is a woman seeking something bigger for herself, something that her role as wife and mother can't offer her. But she is also a very silly character, reminding me somewhat of Catherine in Northanger Abbey in her futile pursuit of idle dreams. Every emotion coursing through her body is absolutely genuine and heartfelt - until disillusionment comes and it vapourises again. She is reaching for a love and a life that exists only in stories, a terminal case of greed, of always seeing that vibrant, greener grass on the other side of the fence, of vanity and utter selfishness. Yet have we not all occasionally felt unhappy with our lot in life? Can we not look around nowadays and see hundreds of selfish and deluded young people indulging their vanity and trying to win fame, fortune, more money, a richer partner?Was Madame Bovary just too vain for her time? Should she have taken a long hard look at her life, at her loyal husband and little daughter, at her friends and her situation, and been content? Of course. But then, with such corruption dragging her down, could she be blamed entirely for her downfall? One of the most dreadful things about this novel is the violence of Emma's end, the torment of her descent into despair. Worse still is the fact that in the last chapter, the fairytale she has been seeking is utterly demolished: everyone who contributed to her downfall continues with their life, while those around her are ruined. While Berthe is poor, Charles dies of a broken heart and her father is paralysed, Homais is applauded, Lheureux continues to gain from others' ruin, and her two lovers walk away without so much as a word of recrimination or a twinge of remorse.All in all, a novel that is valuable for its portrayal of society in the 19th century, including its ideas about women, marriage and adultery, religion, and about medical theories and advances. The characters are strongly drawn and as real in their complex and flawed personalities as any I've ever read. It raises questions, it provokes thought about blame and morality, it parallels certain worrying trends that continue into today's society... and despite everything, I was moved by Emma's tragic demise. But I think the repetitive nature of the novel - mistake, regret, repentence, repeat - and the unlikeable, unredeemable nature of the title Madame will stop it being a keeper for me. * SPOILER END *
    • 4/5
      This book was a cyncial summary of the French culture and classes of the time. Despite it being written long ago, the basic themes can still apply to our world today. Gustave Flaubert definantly had a jaded perspective and used extremity to illustrate his views. Madame Bovary is a twisted story, but is so interesting because it can also be relavent to modern times.
    • 4/5
      This book should have been the mister rather than the missus Bovary. In my opinion Charles Bovary is what you would call a nineteenth century sad sack. When we first meet Charles (for he starts and ends the book as you'll soon see) he is a shy student who grows up to become a second rate doctor (more on that later). He has an overbearing mother who convinces him to marry a much older, supposedly rich, but nevertheless nagging woman who makes him miserable. oh yeah, and add insult to injury, she's nowhere near wealthy. After the lying lady's death Charles meets Emma Rouault (our ahem - heroine), the daughter of Charles's patient. He falls in love and wins her heart only to have her mope about because her life soon after the wedding isn't exciting or wealthy enough. Poor Charles! But, the sad tale of Charles Bovary doesn't stop here. There's more! As mentioned before he is a second rate doctor so his attempts to heal a clubfooted patient fail miserably. That failure only irritates our dear Emma even more. She soon convinces herself she deserves better in the way of the company of other more exciting and accomplished men and by spending Charles's money. Emma convinces herself adultery isn't a sin because it's cloaked in beauty and romance and how can those things be bad? And isn't she, as Charles's wife, entitled to Charles's money? So, Charles is in debt and his father dies. What's left? Emma attempts suicide and our Doctor Bovary (irony of ironies) can't save her. After her death he finds her illicit love letters and learns of her infidelity...then he dies. The end.Nope. Not a stitch of happiness in this classic.
    • 3/5
      Excellent narration but I didn't care much for the story.
    • 4/5
      Another women, limited by social conventions, makes some bad choices. Sometimes I feel these books are written to convince women they shouldn't try to be anything more than wives and mothers.
    • 4/5
      Dear Emma, what were you thinking?! With Madame Bovary, Flaubert has the reader mocking the main character one minute, despising her the next and feeling sorry before long. Great read today, I can only imagine the shock effect back in the mid 1800s!
    • 5/5
      This was a surprisingly good read. I should have known this, of course, seeing as it is an acknowledged classic, but I was afraid it was going to be a classic romance - a book with more feminine appeal. As it turned out it was a fairly biting criticism of the notions in those very books that I dislike. This is a story about romantic notions, unrealistic expectations, destructive behaviours and where these things lead. One strength of the book is the way the characters are so carefully drawn from an every day experience that could be us. We can all see bits of ourselves mirrored in the lives of one or other of the characters in this book - and the reflections we see are unflattering.The writing style of this book, to my mind, was a little too highly narrated. A more modern work would probably make greater use of dialogue. And indeed, where there was dialogue it was sometimes the case that I felt I was missing its intent, and I had to reflect upon it a little more. However, considering that this is not a modern book, it was highly readable - and it would be unfair to expect modern conventions in writing to be adhered to in a book of this age.The story, however, is timeless. The message is one that needs to be heard again and again, and it will certainly sit on my recommended books list.
    • 3/5
      Straight out i have to say that Emma is the most selfish, self-centered, delusional, manipulative, corrupt, pathetic protagonist i've ever come across. The plot is practically the template for what we know today as telenovelas, cheap entertainment and totally inane. Nothing in this book would shock us modern readers, but i do imagine the scandal it made when it was first published in the 1850s. BUT, Flaubert writes brilliantly, able to evoke clarity, depth and feeling in few words, weaving a narrative that is fast-paced but not hurried, and effectively developing characters who, while deplorable most times, rightly portray human tendencies. It is one of those rare books where the farther u get on with the story, the stupider and more histrionic the characters seem to get, but u keep on because the writing is simply flawless.
    • 5/5
      An emotional story about flawed humanity. Each of the characters in the book has their own flaws, which inevitably leads to a fitting disaster. Although I didn't like many of the characters (although Mr Bovary grew on me towards the end) and at times I felt like thowing the book across the room (which I would never do), the insight Flaubert shows into human nature makes this a beautiful work.
    • 3/5
      I struggle because I want to give this book 4 stars but I didn't "really like it". 3 1/2 stars only because Flaubert's writing is so detailed and the characters all so despicable that I didn't enjoy reading it very much, although I can't help but appreciate the excellence of its author. The story is extremely well written in a style far ahead of its time. I found some sympathy for Emma's position as a powerless woman and yet, she was so bi-polar about her desires and lacking in any real display of human feeling and affection that I felt her to be nothing but a drama queen. "Whoah is me, my life sucks, I think I'll ruin everyone else's life too." As far as the author's attention to detail, the more I get into the story, the deeper I like to be transported. I did feel as if I were right there at the wedding banquet along with the peasants, awkward in their niceties, hearing the clock tick in an empty room, listening to the blind beggar's song, viewing Hyppolite's gangrenous leg. Which in this case was all very depressing and made me feel as if I were wading slowly through the book.
    • 4/5
      This book was a surprisingly easy and quick read (the Francis Steegmuller translation). Flaubert shows himself to be a master of finding the perfect phrase, perfect term, perfect analogy to describe, well, everything. But in particular, the female psyche, thought processes, and emotions. The novel is divided into three parts that more or less reflect the three phases of Madame Bovary's downfall. After the first I loved her. After the second you start to think she is pathetic. By the end you're pretty much through with her-- as is everyone else, except Charles. Despite this story being known as a tale of adultery, I felt it was more of a cautionary tale of excess and self control. Her lack of self control-- with money at least as much as with love-- is what led to her downfall. There are lots of interesting comparisons to Lily Bart and House of Mirth. (I liked Lily and HoM much better than Emma.) On the whole I liked the book, especially the writing, but it was hard to muster any sympathy for the characters (except Berthe). Even Charles, in the end, just fell to pieces and really was the bland weakling that Emma hated him for being. Also, the end of the book-- post Emma's death-- was odd, like it didn't quite fit. It seemed like Homais was being demonized but it wasn't clear to me why. Madame Bovary is a must read for the writing and the novels' influence, but I think there are better similar novels out there.
    • 2/5
      Yes, I know this book is a classic. But boy, was it a depressing book--not at all what I wanted to be reading while backpacking! I only ended up reading it because it was one of the few non-German books in the hostel book exchange, and I found that I almost had to force myself to plow onwards. Yes, it was well-written, and yes, Flaubert did a very good job of creating characters that I could not bring myself to care about at all.
    • 1/5
      I want the last two months of my reading life back, please. This is the absolute worst book that I have read in a decade or more. Emma, the main character, is a terrible woman who makes terrible choices, and who I just do not care one bit about. This book is like listening to your much prettier younger sister whine for roughly 300 pages. I didn't feel pity for Emma in the slightest, nor did I enjoy one thing about this book except for the characterization of Charles Bovary.
    • 4/5
      An inexperienced, passionate, romantic dreamer of a girl marries a boring, medicre, widowed, milksop, country doctor with predictable consequences.My feelings about Madame Bovary are ambiguous. At times the writing seemed uneven. There were many brilliant passages, but many that were not so great. That might have been the fault of the translation.I really couldn't sympathize with either Emma Bovary, nor her husband. The character that I had the most compassion for was Berthe, a minor character.I'm glad that I read this, though, because I did enjoy some of the more outstanding passages, and it was so rich with symbolism and other literary devices, such as foreshadowing.I can't help but conclude that Flaubert was a gifted writer.
    • 5/5
      How could a book in which nearly every character is contemptible be so compelling? Two reasons: it is faultlessly constructed, and it is heartbreakingly true. Easy to see why many people call it the perfect novel. (PS: Francis Steegmuller's transaltion is very good, being unobtrusive but not bland although it may be, as Clive James has quipped, that this novel loses very little even when it is translated into Japanese.)
    • 5/5
      Flaubert is flawless as a writer. It was Nabokov in his tome on Russian Literature which led me to discover him.
      This is world reknowned famous story of the tragic lives of Madame Bovary and her husband Mousier Bovary, a double tragedy where unbeknowns to either of them their losses are reflected in the ways their lives end up in a state of tragic self-destruction. Well worth the read and I will definitely read more Flaubert.
    • 4/5
      I'm in love with these kind of books, women who dare to change the social rules of a time when forms and conventions are compulsory. Loved the drama.