Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary is a novel by the French writer Gustave Flaubert. Published in 1856, it is acclaimed as one of the best books ever written. Some consider it to be the first modern novel.

When Flaubert was asked who Emma Bovary represented in real life, he replied with a puzzling response, “Madame Bovary, c'est moi” (“Madame Bovary, it’s me”). Following Madame Bovary’s serialized publication in Revue de Paris in 1856, the novel was attacked for being obscene and glorifying adultery. This led to a trial in 1857, which brought greater attention to the story. Flaubert was cleared of all charges against him, and Madame Bovary was published in two volumes.

I thought Madame Bovary was a stunning read, and it is lingering with me even now after I have put the book down. The story was so deliberately repulsive and grim. For me, the realism was hard to bear. There were no sympathetic characters, and while I could pity some characters and believe them to be true to life, I could not feel akin to any of them, at least not fully. When I finished the novel and went to bed last night, I felt ill about it.

While it is easy to understand and identify with dissatisfaction and boredom, Emma Bovary's behavior is so irrational and her feelings of guilt are so fleeting. It was hard for me as a reader to understand Emma. I wonder if anything could have satisfied Emma’s cravings in the end—clothing, riches, sex, words of love, lovers? It does not seem likely. Emma’s expectations are so different from reality. She craves lovers who bore her. She struggles with a banal existence. Emma believes fictional drama and romance are fact, making her appear unreasonable and ridiculous.

Flaubert did not want the reader to understand and sympathize with Emma Bovary. Despite this, I did pity her. Emma asked so many for help, and these people turned her away or didn't recognize what she needed. I wonder though if she really knew what she needed? Emma was incapable of finding a direction that pleased her.

Although Emma was in charge of the household finances, she fails to understand business. Here, Emma has the power of a man, but she squanders it. Emma is upset when she gives birth to a daughter, Berthe, and would rather have a son, who is free. But Emma underestimates her own freedoms. Her husband Charles puts little restraint on her and tries to please her with affection, gifts, and by relocating his practice. Emma fails to appreciate his sacrifices and devotion. While Emma searches for endless, dramatic love outside of her marriage, she misses the constant love Charles lavishes on her until it is too late.

The story begins and ends with Charles. The beginning of the story introduces Charles as weak, and contrasts him with his father. While his father would probably be attractive to Emma, the young Charles is too helpless to even correct his name when it is being mispronounced and mocked.

This set up foreshadows what Emma will do to Charles. At the end of the novel, Charles learns that he has gone through his entire married life deceived. There were ironic touches and symbolism throughout the story like the blind beggar, the tour guide in the church bringing up the fires of hell, and Homais winning the Legion of Honor. The end of the story is also anticipated by Emma’s multiplying problems and lies, but Emma is unaware as to where her choices are leading her.

Overall, though Madame Bovary was very sad, I found the book to be perfectly paced and lush. The story felt true to life even while the dialogue and events sometimes seemed ridiculous. The novel was unconventional in having an adulterer as a heroine. There is no truly good character in the novel to root for and sympathize with fully. As a reader, I simultaneously have both contempt and sympathy for the characters, which is a jarring feeling.

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Going Solo by Roald Dahl

Following the release of Roald Dahl’s autobiographical book Boy about his childhood, he published a second autobiographical collection, titled Going Solo. The stories in Going Solo begin in 1934 when Dahl is 22 years old. Dahl has just taken his first job working for the Shell Oil Company in Dur es Salaam, Tanganyika, East Africa (now Tanzania). He drives about and delivers oil to British colonists, some of whom are very, very quirky. His memories of the time period involve the deadly black and green mambas and a lion who made off with the chef’s wife.

Dahl’s later stories chronicle his life as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II. With very little training in aerial combat, he learned to fly with other volunteers in Nairobi. From there, Dahl went to Egypt, and then to Libya. On his final leg to Mersah Matruh, the coordinates for his landing strip were incorrect (in a no man’s land between the English and Italian forces), and he crashed in the desert. Dahl’s flight and survival later became the subject of his first published work. The accident fractured his skull, smashed his nose in, and temporarily blinded him.

After months in the hospital, Dahl was discharged and given the task of flying a Hurricane, but was given a day to learn to fly this new plane. He was to join the forces in Greece, where only 14 planes were assigned to defend the entire region. Dahl describes near-death encounters, accidents, combat, and death without fuss or worry, understating the dangers he and his fellow pilots faced. After the Battle of Athens, he flew in Palestine and Syria until he began having severe headaches from his earlier injury. Unable to continue to fly, Dahl headed home to England.

Throughout the book, Dahl includes his own photographs and excerpts from his letters home to his mother. These additions complement his words to bring his memories to life. Reading Going Solo gives the reader a sense of the sheer luck Dahl had in life and the inspirations behind many of his stories.

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Boy by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl is a captivating writer, and one of my favorites. Though I have read much of his fiction, I had never read his nonfiction before. Boy, is an autobiographical book about Dahl’s childhood, which was published in 1984. Rather than writing an autobiography full of uninteresting details, Dahl chose to write a series of personal sketches about the moments that stood out most to him and sat on the surface of his memories.

Dahl writes about his mother and siblings, candy stores, visits to Norway, having his nose nearly sliced off, and other surgeries, all without anesthesia. He tells stories of his early schooling, and of violent headmasters and older students and their use of the cane. Dahl reveals real-life events, which shaped his later fiction. For instance, Dahl and his classmates were mailed new Cadbury chocolate samples to evaluate, which later provided inspiration for his story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You will recognize the models for the hateful adult figures who are out to harm children in Dahl's fiction.

Dahl's gift for storytelling extends to his autobiographical anecdotes. They are filled with childlike innocence, horror, humor, darkness, and joy, often all within a single story.

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At the Foot of the Rainbow by Gene Stratton-Porter

At the Foot of the Rainbow (1907) by Gene Stratton-Porter is the story of a three people: a deceived man and woman and a second man who is haunted by the lies he told them over fifteen years ago. The story is set in Rainbow Bottom on the Wabash River in Indiana.

Dannie Macnoun lives next door to his best friend Jimmy Malone and Jimmy's wife Mary. Although Dannie rarely expresses his feelings, he has been in love with Mary for over fifteen years. Years ago, Mary chose Jimmy over Dannie. Rather than becoming resentful, Dannie is a good man, who continues to be devoted to both Jimmy and Mary.

Dannie does more than his share of the work. He looks after Mary and takes care of any troubles Jimmy gets into. When Jimmy spends his savings on drinks at the bar, Dannie gets him home safely and even lends him money. Dannie is steadfast and devoted in contrast with Jimmy, who is childish, spoiled, and loves telling stories.

Jimmy's cheer fades as the story proceeds, and he is haunted by a sin from his past. Jimmy did not marry his wife Mary fairly, and he stole her from Dannie. All three characters are unhappy for different reasons, and Jimmy's growing torment begins to tears them apart.

Related Reviews:
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter

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The Dangerous Summer by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemmingway wrote The Dangerous Summer in 1960 for LIFE magazine. Here, Hemingway recounts the summer he spent in Spain in 1959 watching a series of bullfights between two great matadors. Luis Miguel Dominguin and his brother-in-law Antonio Ordonez became rivals in a mano a mano (hand-to-hand duel). Throughout the summer, Dominguin and Ordonez tried to show one another up as performers in the ring while traveling from city to city and match to match.

I read an edited version of Hemingway’s LIFE magazine piece with an introduction by James Mitchener. The book serves as an introduction to bullfighting, gives insight into Hemingway’s personal life, and gives the reader beautiful glimpses of Spain as they travel the country. The Dangerous Summer is one of Hemingway’s last stories, and in it, Hemingway looks back upon his life.

Hemingway was friends with both Dominguin and Ordonez, and had broken his personal rule to stop being personally involved with bullfighters. Ordonez was the son of Cayetano Ordonez, a friend of Hemingway's in the 1920s and the model for Pedro Romero in The Sun Also Rises. Although Hemingway is friends with both Dominguin and Ordonez, he favors Ordonez throughout, believing him to be an exceptional bullfighter. Hemingway draws a contrast between these young, vibrant matadors and provides lasting sentiments on their bravery and immortality.

External Link:
"The Last Ole” By William Kennedy, The New York Times

Related Review:
In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway

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The Reef by Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton’s The Reef (1912) tells the story George Darrow and his former love Anna Leath. Darrow was interested in Anna when he was young, but she married another man. After the death of Anna’s husband, they resume contact and plan to meet in Paris.

As Darrow is ready to travel from London to France to see Anna, she postpones their meeting with a short note, giving him no explanation. Darrow feels angry and humiliated, but decides to go to France. He meets a young woman named Sophy Viner. Sophy is a poor and sincere woman, and while Darrow cares little for her, he enjoys charming her and treating her to fancy meals and nights at the theatre. Darrow also wants to put Anna out of his mind. Darrow and Sophy have an affair.

It is unclear how their affair ends. Months later, Darrow is at Anna’s home, where she lives with her daughter, former mother-in-law, and stepson Owen. The plot thickens when Darrow meets Sophy again. She has taken a job as the governess of Anna’s daughter. Darrow and Sophy hide their relationship from the others.

Meanwhile, Anna and Darrow plan their wedding. Anna talks to Darrow about Owen’s interest in a young lady, and Darrow eventually learns that Owen has proposed to Sophy. His sympathy for Sophy conflicts with his opinion that she is not a suitable wife for Owen. Darrow and Sophy’s affair is eventually revealed in this perfectly executed plot.

Related Reviews:
Summer by Edith Wharton
Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton

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