Every summer I pick a classic to read, and this year it’s Madame Bovary.  Emma’s hand in marriage has been given to Charles Bovary, a doctor, a widower and a naive man who is madly in love with her.  For her, each year her marriage to Charles becomes more intolerable.  Two affairs and living way above her means doesn’t alleviate her unhappiness.

When Madame Bovary was published in France in 1857, it was scandalous and Emma Bovary was considered a fiend.  However, judging her today one might think about how awful it was for her to be forced into a marriage with a man she hardly knew.  Several times I have been disappointed in a well-known, much lauded classic.  Not this time-Madame Bovary is a good read with well defined characters and interesting topics to think about.