Gemma Bovery

It a coincidence that Gemma Bovery has a name rather like Flaubert's notorious heroine? Is it by chance that, like Madame Bovary, Gemma is bored, adulterous, and a bad credit risk? Is she inevitably doomed?

Gemma is the pretty second wife of CharlieMore It a coincidence that Gemma Bovery has a name rather like Flaubert's notorious heroine? Is it by chance that, like Madame Bovary, Gemma is bored, adulterous, and a bad credit risk? Is she inevitably doomed?

Gemma is the pretty second wife of Charlie Bovery, the reluctant stepmother of his children, and the bete noire of his ex-wife. A sudden windfall and Gemma's distaste for London take them across the Channel to Normandy, where the charms of French country living soon wear off.

Gemma's neighbor, the intellectual baker Joubert, is consumed by fascination for her. Denying voyeurism but nonetheless noting every change in the fit of Gemma's jeans, every addition to her wardrobe, all of her love bites and lovers, Joubert -- with the help of the heroine's diaries -- follows her path toward ruin.

Adultery and its consequences. Disappointment and deception. Fat and slim. Then and now. Familiar ingredients of the novel are given new life in Gemma Bovery's unique graphic form.

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MJ Nicholls rated it liked it

over 3 years ago

I read this for a light Sunday evening pleasure. In the UK we have dramas about country doctors or midwives on Sunday TV, followed by two-hour detective shows with cuddly folk like Steven Fry, to reassure us the world is a kind and fuzzy place and set us up for the Monday. Read full review

Elizabeth added it ∙ review of another edition

almost 6 years ago

Just finished the second read of this. Loved it, though it does have its flaws. the breathless attempt at a humorous and happy (?) ending falls a little flat, especially as when taken as a whole the story is not only tragic but also a bitter indictment of both British a. Read full review

Lauren rated it really liked it

about 7 years ago

Contemporary re-telling of Flaubert's Madame Bovary in a graphical form. British cartoonist/illustrator Posy Simmonds creates a beautiful scene: she breaks out of box of framed comics and uses the whole book page - formatting the graphic amidst walls of text. It really wo. Read full review

Tina rated it really liked it

This modern retelling of Madame Bovary is quite entertaining. Its a quick read and I must admit I really enjoyed the format. The story lent itself fairly well to it.

I do have a couple of squabbles. Not all of the french that is spoken by the characters is translated. It. Read full review

Ma rated it it was amazing

Dans Gemma Bovery, la référence au roman de Flaubert est plus qu'explicite. les personnages vivent dans un monde où le roman existe, et sont donc capables de faire le rapprochement avec le nom de notre héroïne. Ce petit twist, qui pourrait être naïf, virant à l'hommage b. Read full review

Lindsay rated it it was amazing

almost 2 years ago

Loved this, really liked the artwork and the storytelling, took me back to memories of A-Level French studying Flaubert's novel!

Anna rated it really liked it

over 5 years ago

Posy Simmonds is seriously underrated. I may be wrong on this but I rarely ever see her graphic novels in those lists of the ones you 'must read', and if they are included they are never near the top. But she is brilliant and unique and 'Gemma Bovery' was like a breath of. Read full review

Sam Quixote rated it did not like it

over 5 years ago

Posy Simmonds is the middle class graphic novelist. Her topics are middle class people in the countryside, middle class people in the city, middle class people being literary, and her work (collected in Literary Life) appears in The Guardian - how middle class can you get. Read full review

Rachel rated it it was ok

over 8 years ago

An adaption on the Flaubert novel Madame Bovary, this graphic novel tells the tragic tale of Gemma Bovary an English woman who moves to Normandy, France with her new husband Charlie to experience the quaint life of the country. True to her namesake she soon becomes bored. Read full review

Jason Mills rated it really liked it

almost 7 years ago

Recommends it for: Fans of comics, chick-lit and Flaubert

Recommended to Jason by: My friend Jane!

This is a graphic novel, I suppose, although it mixes text and (b/w) pictures freely rather than in a frame-by-frame layout. Our eponymous heroine is a mildly screwed-up young woman bouncing between relationships. Most of the story takes place in a small French town where. Read full review