I don’t care if Madame Bovary is a classic, I’m flat-out bored by it. I’m plugging along and don’t feel attached to any of the characters. It’s more than that…I’m annoyed with them. Half seem melodramatic and the other half are boring. It’s even more disappointing because I was actually expecting to really enjoy it…I usually like reading about 19th century love triangles. Hopefully the second half will be better than the first…ugh.
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There’s a reason that many consider Madame Bovary one of the greatest novels of all time. Emma Bovary’s melodramatic nature is part of what makes her disturbingly human. I found myself oscillating between loving her and hating her, blaming her and feeling pity for her, and I think that’s why the book is so successful. It’s a very perfect portrait of what it means to live a dull, middle-class life, aching for something better. It really doesn’t have that much in common with a lot of traditional 19th century novels, and it’s not quite a love story; it’s about suffering. Love is just a plot device.
Anyway, these things become more evident as the novel progresses. Hopefully, you’ll get into it a bit more. I thought it was rather slow to begin with as well, and considering my attention span lately, I’m very surprised that I finished it.
That’s about it.