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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Omaha Public Library.
Nov 03, 2011Cecilturtle rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Urbach's premise is fantastic: what became of little Berthe Bovary after her parents' death? She starts off well by having Berthe meet the famous painter Millet and from there weaves fiction and reality. The descriptions of the living and working conditions are lively and precise, both in the country and the city. Berthe's exposure to couture and fashion is likely with delightful details on styles, innovations and fabrics. The story is told with a lot of panache and the characters are often multifaceted and intriguing. There are, however, many weaknesses: the villanous Rodolphe Boulanger is a laughable caricature of his counterpart in the original novel, Berthe's ascension requires much suspended disbelief, not to mention her unquestioned status as a single mother under the Restauration and some of the intrusions of history into the plot, particularly Levi Strauss's apparition, are sometimes stretched. A summer read full of passion and generally solid entertainment, but completely without the original's touching emotivity.