Items related to Gemma Bovery
Synopsis
Gemma Bovery
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Review
The Chunnel has made no difference. The French remain utterly foreign in English eyes, a peculiar and self-absorbed race that can give us cartoon books, call them la bande desinée and pretend they are as high an art form as, say, the novels of Gustave Flaubert. When plain English folk venture even as far as Normandy, they are letting themselves in for culture shock on a grand scale. Gemma is your average girl-about-London. Dumped by her ambitious lover, she rebounds onto a safe bet, gentle furniture restorer Charles Bovery. But Charles comes with an ex-wife and children and Gemma baulks at being the unpaid baby-sitter. When money falls into her lap, Gemma flees London and drags Charles to Normandy, where she spices up her increasingly dull marital life with a bit on the side named Patrick Large. But then she dies, under mysterious circumstances.
The English would see this as poetic comeuppance for adultery and emigration, of course, but to Bailleville baker Raymond Joubert, it's a tragedy of epic proportions, as befits Gemma's namesake (OK, near-namesake), Emma Bovary. So, with brilliant novelistic pomposity, Joubert traces Gemma's life through the diaries she left, reading Gallic depth and meaning into every trite occurrence. Posy Simmonds is of course best known for her Posy cartoons in the Guardian, but if you have never believed you could get through an entire book of cartoons, think again. This is a brilliantly funny and beautifully sustained book, that in its very form skilfully illuminates the gaping void between English and French sensibilities. You don't need to know Flaubert to read Simmonds, but after reading this, then Madame Bovary is bound to be back on your wish list of Books You Always Meant to Read. --Alan Stewart
Review
"Truly original, witty and well-observed... A work of genius" (Sunday Telegraph)
"A tour de force of comic storytelling" (Roger Sabin Observer)
"Wickedly funny... This book is so good that one can hardly bear to reach the end" (Daily Mail)
"Hilarious... Gemma Bovery deliciously exploits Posy Simmonds' talent for observing, in words and in pictures, the absurdities of daily life among the aspiring metropolitan middle class at home and abroad" (The Times)
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- PublisherJonathan Cape
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0224061143
- ISBN 13 9780224061148
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages112
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Gemma Bovery
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR001830898
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Gemma Bovery
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Gemma Bovery
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Condition: USED_FAIR. This is a paper back book: Used - Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may be missing bundled media. Seller Inventory # 3O6WBH000ZKQ_ns
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Gemma Bovery
Published by
Vintage Publishing, United Kingdom, London, 2000
ISBN 10: 0224061143
ISBN 13: 9780224061148
Used
Paperback
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. The brilliant graphic novel behind the major new film starring Gemma Aterton (Quantum of Solace), Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Fabrice Luchini (In the House) and Mel Raido (Spooks) Gemma is the bored, pretty second wife of Charlie Bovery, the reluctant stepmother of his children and the bete-noire of his ex-wife. Gemma's sudden windfall and distaste for London take them across the Channel to Normandy, where the charms of French country living soon wear off. Is it a coincidence that Gemma Bovery has a name rather like Flaubert's notorious heroine? Is it by chance that, like Madame Bovary, Gemma is bored, adulterous, and a bad credit risk? Is she inevitably doomed? These questions consume Gemma's neighbour, the intellectual baker, Joubert. Denying voyeurism, but nevertheless noting every change in the fit of her jeans, every addition to Gemma's wardrobe, her love-bites and lovers, Joubert, with the help of the heroine's diaries, follows her path towards ruin. Adultery and its consequences. Disappointment and deception. The English in France. Fat and slim. Then and now. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR001226169
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Gemma Bovery
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Gemma Bovery
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Gemma Bovery
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0224061143
ISBN 13: 9780224061148
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Paperback / softback. Condition: USED_GOOD. Used copy in good condition - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Seller Inventory # D9780224061148
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Gemma Bovery
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
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Condition: Very Good. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 13388895-6
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Gemma Bovery
Seller: Better World Books Ltd, Dunfermline, United Kingdom
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Condition: Very Good. Ships from the UK. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 9262837-6
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Gemma Bovery (Paperback)
Published by
Vintage Publishing, London, 2000
ISBN 10: 0224061143
ISBN 13: 9780224061148
New
Paperback
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: NEW. Paperback. The brilliant graphic novel behind the major new film starring Gemma Aterton (Quantum of Solace), Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Fabrice Luchini (In the House) and Mel Raido (Spooks)The brilliant graphic novel behind the major new film starring Gemma Aterton (Quantum of Solace), Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Fabrice Luchini (In the House) and Mel Raido (Spooks)Gemma is the bored, pretty second wife of Charlie Bovery, the reluctant stepmother of his children and the bate-noire of his ex-wife. Gemma's sudden windfall and distaste for London take them across the Channel to Normandy, where the charms of French country living soon wear off.Is it a coincidence that Gemma Bovery has a name rather like Flaubert's notorious heroine? Is it by chance that, like Madame Bovary, Gemma is bored, adulterous, and a bad credit risk? Is she inevitably doomed? These questions consume Gemma's neighbour, the intellectual baker, Joubert. Denying voyeurism, but nevertheless noting every change in the fit of her jeans, every addition to Gemma's wardrobe, her love-bites and lovers, Joubert, with the help of the heroine's diaries, follows her path towards ruin. Adultery and its consequences. Disappointment and deception. The English in France. Fat and slim. Then and now. Gemma is the bored, pretty second wife of Charlie Bovery, the reluctant stepmother of his children and the bete-noire of his ex-wife. Gemma's sudden windfall and distaste for London take them across the Channel to Normandy, where the charms of French country living soon wear off. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780224061148
Quantity: 1 available