From AudioFile
Many listeners would give this work a 9 or a 10--and just as many a 1 or a 2. A nineteenth-century French novel suffused with lots of talk and much less action, it's about a new law student, the impoverished Frederic Moreau, and his vain attempts to secure the intimacy of Madame Arnoux. Its myriad conversations will not appeal to everyone. Reader Michael Maloney, however, will receive high marks from all. He consistently differentiates well among characters, handles French like a Parisian, and earnestly attempts to make the colloquies palatable. Still, listeners should be warned: This is no MADAME BOVARY. T.H. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Sentimental Education FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Frederic Moreau is a law student returning home to Normandy from Paris when he first notices Mme Arnoux, a slender, dark woman several years older than himself. It is the beginning of an infatuation that will last a lifetime. He befriends her husband, an influential businessman, and their paths cross and re-cross over the years. Through financial upheaval, political turmoil and countless affairs, Mme Arnoux remains the constant, unattainable love of Moreau's life. Flaubert described his sweeping story of a young man's passions, ambitions and amours as 'the moral history of the men of my generation'. Based on his own youthful passion for an older woman, Sentimental Education blends love story, historical authenticity and satire to create one of the greatest French novels of the nineteenth century." Geoffrey Wall's fresh revision of Robert Baldick's original translation is accompanied by a new introduction discussing the personal and historical influences on Flaubert's writing. This edition also contains a new chronology, further reading and explanatory notes.
Art & Photography
Book Info
