Rating: 
Summary: x
Review: A decently written novel of Paris, 1840s, centers on young student Frederic Moreau matriculating through 10 years of his young life amid personal struggles and tumultuous revolutionary period in France. Various characters pop in and out, all possessing presumed intelligence, and quirky "with it" personalities. There are artists, editors, students, lawyers, bohemians, politicos, sharing common friendship, daily chat sessions, a little coterie of characters reminding of Greenwich Village 1960. The stage is set for a series of interesting interactions between Paris intellectuals with multiple possibilities for a powerful story. Even the title here suggests a subtlety of creativity and art. In my opinion, Flaubert falls far short of potential here, and my maximum comment re the book is that it is somewhat cute. The author fails to develop the characters. We get bits and pieces but finish without full understanding of any of them. The story line basically degenerates to Frederic Moreau's seduction of various women, mostly other men's wifes with the modus operendi being befriend the husband, seduce the wife. In the end, with the protagonist's 100% failure rate, we have "Sentimental Education" I suppose. But despite the cuteness, the basic story is of hypocrisy and the ironic disgusting behavior of the main character all without comment by the author. Little to redeem this and very forgettable.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the great ones
Review: At the end of Woody Allen's movie "Manhattan," Isaac Davis lists the things that make life worth living. Along with Louis Armstrong's version of "Potato Head Blues," Gustave Flaubert's "Sentimental Education" makes the list. Allen was right. This is undeniably one of the finest novels ever written. I hated "Madame Bovary," with its pessimistic fatalism and distasteful characters, but "SE" is, in more ways than one, an entirely different story -- a panoply of widely varying characters centering around one young man and his seemingly endless attempts to set up a tryst with the married woman he loves. Perhaps no other novel has been written that better exemplifies the "romantic spirit" -- in its classical sense. The book also has prose passages of breath-taking beauty. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: One of the great ones
Review: At the end of Woody Allen's movie "Manhattan," Isaac Davis lists the things that make life worth living. Along with Louis Armstrong's version of "Potato Head Blues," Gustave Flaubert's "Sentimental Education" makes the list. Allen was right. This is undeniably one of the finest novels ever written. I hated "Madame Bovary," with its pessimistic fatalism and distasteful characters, but "SE" is, in more ways than one, an entirely different story -- a panoply of widely varying characters centering around one young man and his seemingly endless attempts to set up a tryst with the married woman he loves. Perhaps no other novel has been written that better exemplifies the "romantic spirit" -- in its classical sense. The book also has prose passages of breath-taking beauty. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Wanting it all
Review: Frederic Moureau is a young man who wants it all... he wants the great romantic life, the social commitment, the financial success, the respect from everyone. This is the perfect example of what a novel is, if we are to accept Lukacs definition of it as the epic of the ages with no gods. There is nothing in this young man's life that gives a sense of totality to his world... there are many ways to be followed, but none to actually enclose in itself the sense of the eternal horizon of time. As he meets Mme. Arnoux, one could think, by the way he thinks about her, that she is going to be his entire world, but she is not... a few moments later we find him completely devoted to the cause of his friends, and later, to his physical involvement with a woman of doubtfull reputation... etc, etc. Along with his discovery of the world and its mechanics, he submerges in his own feelings, without really finding a north to any of his purposes in the external world (be it the world of social dynamics, ambitions, of affections and of responsabilities). His journey begins when he leaves his birthplace in the country and goes to Paris. In this travel, he knows Mme. Arnoux, and then, her husband, with whom he relates very well. Once established in Paris, he keeps this relationship, in hope allways to see the wife.
From that point on, he will get involved in projects of papers, bussiness trades, purchases and social awareness. As the revolution falls upon the city, he tries to get a role in it, but he is soon rejected because of his previous (and allways ambiguous) relations with the burgouise spheres of Paris.
The end of the novel will have him remembering his awakening as a man: he goes to a house, where he can pick from a group of women... but the horizon of possibilities offered by all of them frighten him and he ends up running away... being followed by his best friend; who will allways have to run following Frederic... the one with the money.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest novels ever written
Review: My short list of great novels changes from time to time -- but it will always include this knock-out masterpiece by Flaubert. To be honest, I hated "Madame Bovary" (too depressing and contrived!), and tried this only on the recommendation of Woody Allen, whose character Isaac Davis in "Manhattan" lists this book as one of the things that make life worth living. He was right. The prose is flawless, the characters brilliant, the portrait of romanticism unexcelled. Don't miss this; it's one of the greats. (In case you're wondering, my current short list of "greats" also includes "Lonesome Dove," "Invisible Man" (Ellison), "The Stranger," "Heart of Darkness," and "The End of the Affair" (Graham Greene).) Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest novels ever written
Review: My short list of great novels changes from time to time -- but it will always include this knock-out masterpiece by Flaubert. To be honest, I hated "Madame Bovary" (too depressing and contrived!), and tried this only on the recommendation of Woody Allen, whose character Isaac Davis in "Manhattan" lists this book as one of the things that make life worth living. He was right. The prose is flawless, the characters brilliant, the portrait of romanticism unexcelled. Don't miss this; it's one of the greats. (In case you're wondering, my current short list of "greats" also includes "Lonesome Dove," "Invisible Man" (Ellison), "The Stranger," "Heart of Darkness," and "The End of the Affair" (Graham Greene).) Happy reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly modern
Review: The American author, Thomas Wolfe, wrote that one of the keys to life was to "get reason and emotions pulling together in double harness". This novel by Flaubert could be said to examine the consequences of letting emotions take over completely.We are presented with a world in which hedonism, materialism and narcissism take precedence over truth, and care and respect for others - the only value system is self-gratification. Other people have no intrinsic worth. Given its take on life, I found this a novel to have a curiously modern feel - it reminded me in parts (in approach if not style)of Bret Easton Ellis. The initial surprise was that it was written so long ago. However, when one considers the socio-economic changes prevailing at that time, I questioned my surprise. Is it strange that a critique of the "unacceptable face of capitalism" (and one may add politics) should come at such a time? The real value of "A Sentimental Education" is that it's a reminder that at various periods of history, some people do pause and reflect on human progress and the price we pay for it - does "progress" have any worth unless our values develop too?
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly modern
Review: The American author, Thomas Wolfe, wrote that one of the keys to life was to "get reason and emotions pulling together in double harness". This novel by Flaubert could be said to examine the consequences of letting emotions take over completely. We are presented with a world in which hedonism, materialism and narcissism take precedence over truth, and care and respect for others - the only value system is self-gratification. Other people have no intrinsic worth. Given its take on life, I found this a novel to have a curiously modern feel - it reminded me in parts (in approach if not style)of Bret Easton Ellis. The initial surprise was that it was written so long ago. However, when one considers the socio-economic changes prevailing at that time, I questioned my surprise. Is it strange that a critique of the "unacceptable face of capitalism" (and one may add politics) should come at such a time? The real value of "A Sentimental Education" is that it's a reminder that at various periods of history, some people do pause and reflect on human progress and the price we pay for it - does "progress" have any worth unless our values develop too?
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing cold bath of realism
Review: This is one of those books that every college Freshmen should read. No novel protrays intellectuals more accurately than this one. Flaubert documents their vanity, their dishonesty, their pettiness and their depravity. He shows us what really awful human beings they are. Young people well advised to read the novel before entering the college scene. It will help them enter the academic world with at least some inkling of what the majority (admittedly, not all) intellectuals are really like. There is an additional reason for reading "The Sentimental Education." It may very well be the most perfect novel ever produced. Not a single word, description, phrase is wasted. It belongs on any short list of the greatest books of all time.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing cold bath of realism
Review: This is one of those books that every college Freshmen should read. No novel protrays intellectuals more accurately than this one. Flaubert documents their vanity, their dishonesty, their pettiness and their depravity. He shows us what really awful human beings they are. Young people well advised to read the novel before entering the college scene. It will help them enter the academic world with at least some inkling of what the majority (admittedly, not all) intellectuals are really like. There is an additional reason for reading "The Sentimental Education." It may very well be the most perfect novel ever produced. Not a single word, description, phrase is wasted. It belongs on any short list of the greatest books of all time.
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