Flaubert's Parrot

This is a novel about a doctor who is investigating the Parrot in A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert. The doctor goes into great length about Gustave Flaubert’s life and commentary across his works.

I really loved the section where he categorized Flaubert’s life in 3 sections. I particularly love how he started with the ‘greatest hits’ but then turned things on you with what some of the realities behind those ‘greatest hits’ were. Where one success lived, a tragedy or suffering also occurred in Flaubert’s life.

I thought the insights into internal and external author mistakes were fascinating…internal: Emma Bovary’s eye color were so interesting, it made me much more interested in re-reading Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. External: how it was impossible for when in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Piggy uses his glasses as a magnifying glass to start a fire.

I learned a word I’ll definitely use again: Valetudinarian: a person who is unduly anxious about their health.

All in all, Flaubert’s works and Barnes’ study of them through the doctor, are quite fascinating for those of us interested in literary minds. You finish this book contemplating what makes a writer a writer.