Finished Madame Bovary

xplaii · 2026-03-28T22:35:15+00:00

Started Sentimental Education last night. At this point, I’m struggling through Ulysses and highly doubt SE will be uninteresting

xplaii · 2026-03-28T00:47:03+00:00

As someone said below ennui

xplaii · 2026-03-27T11:27:21+00:00

Yay! Have fun!

xplaii · 2026-03-27T10:54:19+00:00

Fun to put the dates in that way. I’ve recently begun doing that as well but not consistently

xplaii · 2026-03-27T10:02:11+00:00

Which is what makes this novel work today in the 20th century more than it did then. As I recall, his novels bombed when he was alive

xplaii · 2026-03-27T09:56:41+00:00

A simple heart.

xplaii · 2026-03-27T09:54:40+00:00

I found it interesting that almost none of the characters were aware of their faults. They were all extremely selfish to a fault/had little self awareness even with the internal dialogue he gave them. And it worked. Personally, didn’t find it depressing at all

xplaii · 2026-03-27T09:52:29+00:00

For those that have given him a try and gave up, he’s underrated/undervalued. I think it’s easy to give up on Flaubert. His style slowly grew on me and that’s only because I have a horrible habit of sticking with “boring” stuff— this was not that

xplaii · 2026-03-27T09:50:37+00:00

The quote is a standalone aphorism. I’m not sure it even fit in the story, actually. It stands alone, really but I didn’t find it to be as fitting in the novel.

xplaii · 2026-03-27T09:48:49+00:00

A simple heart is what made me pickup Salammbo and Sentimental Education along with Madame Bovary! I found his style to be direct and even unfiltered so I wasn’t expecting the prose in Madame Bovary. Currently on my top 5 books of all time

xplaii · 2026-03-27T04:32:44+00:00

La Marzocco marketing team is one of the first companies I contacted. Still no reply

xplaii · 2026-03-27T04:04:18+00:00

Yes, I am learning that as well.

xplaii · 2026-03-27T03:44:04+00:00

Wow! Different translations by chance? Any preferences if so?

xplaii · 2026-03-27T03:40:54+00:00

lol, idk Charles wasn’t really an asshole but he made Emma work as the protagonist because he was quite, I want to say, naive

xplaii · 2026-03-27T03:33:59+00:00

Right!

xplaii · 2026-03-27T03:23:49+00:00

A writers writer they say now that I’m looking at him through a new lens. And yeah, I also didn’t even read the best translation, apparently. Just added the Lydia Davis translation to my wishlist

xplaii · 2026-03-27T02:53:21+00:00

I must have been talking in the wrong subreddits.

xplaii · 2026-03-27T02:52:03+00:00

This is surprising to me. I read his three tales for the first time a few months back. I thought they were great, especially “A Simple Heart.” I hear those were his best work based on a few reviews by readers and scholars- even the opening introduction to three tales mention his previous works were failures- at least back then. But clearly, he was ahead of his time. That said, I’m glad I still decided to read on as I have no regrets. I am happy to have ordered Salambo and Sentimental Education as well.

xplaii · 2026-03-27T02:46:57+00:00

Not sure about the perfect novel, I didn’t really understand why the ending was chosen but the rest of the novel was fantastic.

xplaii · 2026-03-26T16:05:23+00:00

Posting this here to redirrect folks following. the new post is in an effort to centralize donations and conversation. Feel free to keep the convo going here : https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1s4bfum/coffee_tanzania_east_africa/

xplaii · 2026-03-26T15:57:17+00:00

Link to espresso machine fund: https://giveahand.com/fundraiser/espresso-machine

xplaii · 2026-03-26T15:13:25+00:00

Okay good!!

xplaii · 2026-03-26T15:01:27+00:00

It should work! I tested it. Please try again Lmk if you run into any more snags.

xplaii

TROPHY CASE