Last name: Bovary
First name: Berthe
Occupation: Main character of this novel.
You just woke up from the reality of daily life, is that true? Well, wake-up to fiction! Yes, in this novel, Berthe had a mother named Emma and a father named Charles. Emma despised Charles. Charles adored Emma – while Gustave (Flaubert) smartly included their relationship in his equation of the human condition – Madame Bovary.
When Flaubert dotted the final ‘i’ in his story, Berthe had already been dismissed by fate. Now, in this story, Mademoiselle Bovary is, and I quote: “young, rich, beautiful, without a worry, even though, as I said in the beginning, she has a difficult mission ahead of her”. A mission? Of course, but it has to be unraveled slowly, gently.
Sabina de Rochefort, a gifted storyteller, plays her last card to the end, keeping you guessing until the last page. Mademoiselle Bovary in New York is a breathtaking novel. One that just might keep you up all night reading it. And after some time has passed, you might just want to come back to it. My advice is to start at the beginning — with the first page. — Gabriel Rusu