MADAME BOVARY

Contemporary tolerance for adultery is a good deal higher than it was when Flaubert wrote his shocking novel, but Madame Bovary remains an unsettling work even for contemporary readers. Its heroine is in many ways a most unappealing character. She's avaricious, self-centered, a terrible mother. Yet, somehow, Emma Bovary never completely loses our sympathies. She clings to a belief and a desire all of us harbor at some level: that each of us deserves of a romance for the ages, a love that is passionate, consuming and elevating. As Madame Bovary's narrator, Porter brings both intelligence and empathy to her reading. More impressively, she conveys a sensuousness thoroughly in keeping with so heated a novel. Even her rendering of French names and geography is lyrical and sexy. Through Flaubert's writing and Porter's fine performance, Emma's longing is palpable and powerful. So, finally, is her abasement and sorrow. M.O. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB 98]