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Super underrated book, and Madame Bovary is clearly great, but this is also great, and sort of outlandishly, almost tauntingly ahead of its time
Mar 29, 2022
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a classic! i recommend the translation by lydia Davis from the original French. The book is full of nuance, subtle humor, and wordplay. The wordplay is present even in the title as the name Bovary relates to the word bovine. The significance is that it implies that any wed-able(marriageable? idk) woman is comparable to a cow that can traded and bartered with. There is so much symbolism and depth that is carried by exceptionally flowery language that is just so fun to read and reread (because sometimes it is difficult to comprehend). Main character Emma marries into a mundane and provincial life and finds herself terribly bored (she is just like me fr!) as she desires to live with passion and exuberance. Some say she is neurotic and immature but to me she is just a girl with a bad case of financial irresponsibility and a desire to live for the plot (she is dissatisfied with her boring ass life and you would be too!). I won’t spoil the rest but bitches hate to see a slut in society and Emma knows slutery like no one else! Also she grew up in a monastery which is so funny to me. It is packed full of the most ironic romanticism and it is so fun to learn what everything could represent and reflect as a criticism of the bourgeoise.
May 2, 2024
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Gustave Flaubert (Bouvard & Pecuchet), Dashiel Hammet, Seung Sahn
Mar 29, 2022
In all seriousness there’s my life before this book and my life after this book.
So shamelessly focused on interior, domestic and the mundane but written in the most extraordinary prose style which worships at the shrine of the beauty of words. One of the best opening pages of all time (gonna post on here later) and completely changed my outlook on my own writing.
Also trivia, Leduc was a real writers writer and championed by the greats of her day, Cocteau, Genet and de Beauvoir to name a few.
Nov 5, 2024
Top Recs from @brad-phillips
Feb 18, 2024
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Refutation is exhausting. What if everyone was right and everything was true? Big load off my back honestly
Jan 31, 2024
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I play this 12 hours of applause when painting or writing it helps me feel encouraged. Nobody applauds at an art show which has always been a bummer to me
Jan 21, 2024