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Loading... Bouvard and Pécuchet (1881)by Gustave Flaubert
The intellectual adventures of two Parisian clerks who, at the end of the story, are sitting in the same pisspot as before, like in the fairy tale of the fisherman and his wife. "Neither Wilder nor Dos Passos are "good writers." Wilder is a very minor writer who knows his limitations and was over inflated in value and as quickly de-flated. Dos Passos is often an excellent writer and has been improving in every way with each book he writes. Both Dos and Wilder come from the same class and neither represents that class-- Wilder represents the Library-- Zola and Hugo were both lousy writers-- but Hugo was a grand old man... Flaubert is a great writer but he only wrote one great book-- Bovary-- one 1/2 great book L'Education, one damned lousy book Bouvard et Pecuchet. Stendhal was a great writer with one good book-- Le Rouge et le Noir-- some fine parts of La Chartreuse de Parme (wonderful) but much of it tripe and the rest junk." Letter to Paul Romaine, 1932 Selected Letters, pg. 366
A typical chapter begins with Bouvard writing his banker to send books on his latest obsession, which he and Pécuchet utterly misunderstand. (“The problem with reading,” warns Blanchot, “is the reader.” He probably had this book in mind.) They set about putting their wrongheaded expertise to use, attracting acolytes from a nearby village of colorfully stupid rustics, whose enthusiasm curdles into rage when Bouvard and Pécuchet plunge them all into scandal. Depressed, the heroes mope, but they quickly recover and, bursting with enthusiasm, announce a new obsession and send for more supplies. Like us, when inspired, they go shopping. Is contained in
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A vast rambling, hilarious journey throughout all of human history and science and endeavor. The antics of the title characters are jabs and scorns at everything from agriculture to history. Despite the age and distance of the book, so much is still relevant today - the hilarity of their archaic medicine is particularly funny.
The end notes and dictionary of terms are also excellent. (