The Nature of Things

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert My rating: 5 of 5 stars Earlier this year, I read Julian Barnes' Flaubert's Parrot and enjoyed it tremendously. Reading that book about the protagonist's obsession with the great 19th century French writer made me want to re-read his masterpiece, Madame Bovary . I first read the book long ago in my youth, in what I now think of as my "romantic period." Quite honestly, although I remembered the broad outlines of the plot, I had long since forgotten many of the details. Thus, reading it this week has been much like reading it for the first time. The book was published in 1856 and was subjected to attacks for obscenity by the public prosecutors. The resulting trial, which cleared Flaubert of the charge, was held in early 1857 and had the predictable result of making the book a sensation and a best-seller. Reading the book today, one is amazed that it could ever have been thought to be obscene. It seems so mild by present-day standa...