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Madame Bovary: beautiful book, but also somewhat scary. Warning against idealism and condescension (the 'Belle' complex from Beauty in the Beast, ie too good for someone or some society). With it is an oddly inspiring ability to romanticize and imagine heights and a life different from reality, to dream big dreams. It maps well, though exaggerated in a fatalistic sense, onto the types of people today as it relates to love and relationships (the nice guy who is clueless and mistreated, the neighborhood wife who is motherly but not sexy, -- similar to Susan in the Waves -- the social climber whose credibility is self-fabricated and manages to achieve high renown and accolades despite being an imposter, the mysterious bachelor ie the ladies man who has accumulated his aura and attractiveness by focusing on himself rather than on a woman, the creepy old rich guy who offers money for sex to attractive women in financial/general distress or life threatening circumstances)

Lots to say about, and lots to learn, it's a short book but it is packed with substance. Honorable mentions for its depiction of the swings of neuroticism and depression, the allure and mystery of the feminine, how it characterizes art/theater, and all around creating a beautiful, rich, vibrant world. Apologies for the run on sentences; I don't want to get too caught up in this unless people are interested