There is a resonance between Flaubert's "gueuloir" and John Jarndyce's "Growlery" from Dickens' Bleak House. One so emotional and French, the other much more reserved, British.
Thanks for this post. I'm currently reading Bovary.
Wonderful piece. You write beautifully. Reading Bovary was one of the great experiences of my reading life. I'm fairly widely read, but not deeply, so it struck me as something completely unlike anything I had read before. It was like watching a planet-sized trebuchet ratcheting up to take some giant perfect narrative shot; the Nabokov lectures on it were a perfect companion. Will certainly read the letters now. Again, great piece, cheers.
Certainly Flaubert's character brings forward the definition of who is a 'normal' person. Persons with apparently bizzare behaviours become excellent writers, or artists. They have insights into the soul which 'ordinary' people do not have. F. is an excellent example but hardly the only one. Here are a few who come into my mind first : Josef Roth, Junichiro Tanizaki, Yukio Mishima. Extreme phantasies create unusual feelings which once put in writing get many readers.
I have so many notes on my copy of Madam Bovary: the first modern novel. Terrific essay about Flaubert, Sontag and art and style.
There is a resonance between Flaubert's "gueuloir" and John Jarndyce's "Growlery" from Dickens' Bleak House. One so emotional and French, the other much more reserved, British.
Thanks for this post. I'm currently reading Bovary.
Wow, that first sentence pulled me in! Now I need to read Mme. Bovary.
Wonderful piece. You write beautifully. Reading Bovary was one of the great experiences of my reading life. I'm fairly widely read, but not deeply, so it struck me as something completely unlike anything I had read before. It was like watching a planet-sized trebuchet ratcheting up to take some giant perfect narrative shot; the Nabokov lectures on it were a perfect companion. Will certainly read the letters now. Again, great piece, cheers.
Henry, I haven't read a word of Flaubert. Your essay compels me to. A beautiful, engaging read.
I have to reread Madame Bovary now.
I’m just agog. What an absolute shit he was. (geniuses, eh?) God, poor Louise. Thank you fir another excellent essay.
Certainly Flaubert's character brings forward the definition of who is a 'normal' person. Persons with apparently bizzare behaviours become excellent writers, or artists. They have insights into the soul which 'ordinary' people do not have. F. is an excellent example but hardly the only one. Here are a few who come into my mind first : Josef Roth, Junichiro Tanizaki, Yukio Mishima. Extreme phantasies create unusual feelings which once put in writing get many readers.
Thanks Henry. I haven't read AK in many years so I may feel differently when I read it again.
Thanks for the articles you linked to. I look forward to reading them.
I'm reading Lydia Davis's translation of Bovary. I thought her translation of Swann's Way was an improvementover previous ones.
Do you have favorite translations of these two books?
The writing is precise and the details masterful. But I'm having a hard time relating to Emma. I'm only a third in.
Great post. I agree that the letters are wonderful. I'd say that Sentimental Education is also a great novel.
This essay is such a searing insight - and critique - of the cruelty of the artist’s craft and the ruins which genius often leaves behind.
Thank you for this.