59. Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert (100 book challenge)

For the first time in my life I’ve joined a book club. It’s through my local gym and will be a lot of fun, but I’m not expecting the chosen books to be anything too deep or challenging to read. After all, book clubs are less about plot, structure and character arcs, and more about wine and cheese and gossiping about last week’s gym instructor, right?

Our book club book for September was This Summer will be Different by Carley Fortune, and I have to say it was a refreshing change to the classics I’ve been reading as part of this 100 Book Challenge. I couldn’t help making comparisons between the book club book and Madame Bovary, which was my 59th book in the challenge.

This Summer with be Different (2024) is described as a ‘sexy romance’ and, in a way, Madame Bovary (1857) would have been described as something similar in its time. Both books are about complex relationships, secrets kept over many years, and that uncontrollable passion between human beings that remains constant throughout time.

But I did find Madame Bovary difficult to read. Perhaps in 1857 I would have been more shocked about Madame’s affairs and that alone would have kept me quickly turning the pages to see what comeuppance she would receive. But in 2024, when I’m also reading Carley Fortune’s book that describes in minute detail about what body part is going where, Madame Bovary just felt very slow and drawn out. Even Madame and Leon’s infamous sexy carriage ride (a scene that was removed in earlier published versions) seemed, at the time, a little disappointing. I wondered whether maybe I’m just not attracted to French men?

This Summer will be Different was easy to read, but I also suspect it will be easy to forget (even with the stark visual imagery of Felix’s body parts doing quite impressive things). Whereas Madame Bovary‘s carriage ride with Leon, through the countryside, over the bumps, and with nothing more than a single hand exposed outside of the carriage, that image will stay with me forever.

And that’s what makes a book a classic.

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In July 2014 I set myself the challenge to finish 100 must-read books before I die. For my ongoing tally click here.

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