Madame Bovary (in French)

Flaubert's genius lay in his infinite capacity for taking pains, and MADAME BOVARY, so true in its characterization, so vivid in its setting, is testimony to the realism of his work.

Perhaps no book in the history of the novel has received more attention than this tale of a provincial woman who cannot bear the discrepancy between her romantic dreams and the dull routine of her daily life. She seeks adventure but finds only tragedy.

"One precious quality distinguishes Flaubert from the more or less exact observers who pride themselves on conscientiously reproducing reality, and nothing but reality: he has style." --Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve