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joyceontheroad's review against another edition
4.0
Loss is beautifully described. Enjoyed reading this.
waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Unrelated to the story itself: I really like these miniature Penguin Classic short stories and short story collections because I’m interested in reading more classic short stories, but I have no interest in printing out pdfs or downloading pdfs onto one of my devices. I can see myself collecting these as I stumble upon them.
Félicité and A Simple Heart are both aptly named! It’s such a sweet, sad story about love, grief, and loss. We watch Félicité struggle with losing important figures in her life, but she is determined to seek joy and love everywhere and in everything an everyone, and her persistence and strength are so beautifully and believably written.
I spent the whole time reading wishing I could give Félicité a hug. Her heart and her capacity to love is so damn big that it pulled on my heartstrings. Is it kind of cheesy, kind of sappy, kind of predictable? Sure. But sometimes it’s nice to read a story that is designed to make you feel something beautiful and wholesome.
Félicité and A Simple Heart are both aptly named! It’s such a sweet, sad story about love, grief, and loss. We watch Félicité struggle with losing important figures in her life, but she is determined to seek joy and love everywhere and in everything an everyone, and her persistence and strength are so beautifully and believably written.
I spent the whole time reading wishing I could give Félicité a hug. Her heart and her capacity to love is so damn big that it pulled on my heartstrings. Is it kind of cheesy, kind of sappy, kind of predictable? Sure. But sometimes it’s nice to read a story that is designed to make you feel something beautiful and wholesome.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, and Classism
stormymonday's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
madelinepuckett's review against another edition
5.0
This novella left me with a profound sense of sadness and tranquility. Flaubert's full portrayal of a life using only a few pages baffles me. The details he chooses to include are so precise - his portrayal of each character, of religion, and a brief glimpse of "provincial life" through the eyes of a servant is so deliberate, yet so fluid and readable.
Felicite's especially; the reader feels mixture of despair because of her desperate loneliness, but also relief that she is able to keep her best companion close to her even after death.
I've read this novella before, and it still hits me hard even in re-reading it. Reading Flaubert is always a full experience.
Felicite's
Spoiler
dead stuffed parrotI've read this novella before, and it still hits me hard even in re-reading it. Reading Flaubert is always a full experience.
mariamushu's review against another edition
3.0
Me siento un poco Félicité, la verdad. Sigo sin saber lo que es un barómetro.
bastibooks's review against another edition
5.0
This short story was super weird and I loved it a lot.
susana82's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This is a book with 2 short storiew: "A simple heart", and "The legend of Saint Julian the Hospitalier".
We follow Felicité in "A simple heart" from a young age until her death. We get to see her falling in love, but also having her feelings betrayed, and once she was afraid to love again, she dedicates her life as a maid. She goes through life in a dedicated and humble way. She owns nothing of her own, but she is kind. She grows fond of the people in her surroundings, and faces loss after loss through the years until we finally lose Felicité.
It might seem a too much of a humble and insignificant life, but... it is not. Even simple lives as this matter.
The second story introduces us to Julian who seemed like he was going to have a brilliant life, but I couldn't care for him much during most of the story. He behaves like a psychopath killing every single wild animal around him. Always eager to spill blood and the end result is carnage around him.
Years go by, he ends up being afraid of engaging in such carnage as before, goes on adventures and finally he marries the daughter of a lord. He might have had a good ending, but he caves in again to his murderous cravings and without meaning it, commits the murders he was afraid to. Lives the rest of his days as an hermit and does one final good deed.
We follow Felicité in "A simple heart" from a young age until her death. We get to see her falling in love, but also having her feelings betrayed, and once she was afraid to love again, she dedicates her life as a maid. She goes through life in a dedicated and humble way. She owns nothing of her own, but she is kind. She grows fond of the people in her surroundings, and faces loss after loss through the years until we finally lose Felicité.
It might seem a too much of a humble and insignificant life, but... it is not. Even simple lives as this matter.
The second story introduces us to Julian who seemed like he was going to have a brilliant life, but I couldn't care for him much during most of the story. He behaves like a psychopath killing every single wild animal around him. Always eager to spill blood and the end result is carnage around him.
Years go by, he ends up being afraid of engaging in such carnage as before, goes on adventures and finally he marries the daughter of a lord. He might have had a good ending, but he caves in again to his murderous cravings and without meaning it, commits the murders he was afraid to. Lives the rest of his days as an hermit and does one final good deed.