"His true Penelope was Flaubert."

Wow, what an amazing piece of art. Flaubert is the most precise writer I've ever had the pleasure of reading. He's clever, plain, funny, serious, passionate, distant, and intimate all at once. This novel will make your heart ache.

You can see how many great writers, writing very diverse prose, all come back to Flaubert as influence. The language is masterful and direct, while the story is tragic. I both love and hate Emma for her actions. If one is to learn anything from this novel, it's to not make the same mistake Emma makes; reading bad literature.

I knew this would be one of my all-time favourite novels 1/3 of the way in and it only got better.