Madame Bovary

Flaubert's 1857 masterpiece, about the adulterous wife of a dim-witted village doctor, hardly needs abridgment, except to keep the recording within the bounds of an affordable four-cassette set. There is hardly a wasted word. One cannot cut the text without losing something vital. However, having excised the book, Naxos has given what remains a fine rendering, prettily read by British actress Imogen Stubbs, tastefully bridged by piano music, and boasting excellent sound quality. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

The familiar music of Debussy's "Clair de Lune" begins the reading of this classic story of lost dreams, romance, infidelity and retribution. Unfortunately, the theme music is not repeated. Claire Bloom's soft, feminine voice and British accent convey the mid-nineteenth-century French setting well. The abridgment, however, is rushed. There are too many hasty transitions from scene to scene. Some of these scene changes are a quick sentence which, if half-heard because of a wandering thought or a minor interruption, leave the listener wondering what is happening. From the narration, one learns the story line but loses the impact of the novel. D.W.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

In narrating this unique and brilliant work, the world's most sensuous, most physical, and finally, most bourgeois novel, Davina Porter performs not only superbly, but without flaw. Her voice is rich, fluid, precise and enthralling, wonderful in both narrative role and those of the many characters, upon whom she bestows body, presence and personality. Her pronunciation of French place names is pure music. Emma is at once beautiful and corrupt; tragic and banal; naive and damned. Each word in this novel is exactly the right word and it cannot be read inattentively. Porter's performance demands equally vigorous participation from the listener. E.J.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

There's much to admire in this production, yet it's difficult to recommend. Its pace, more leaden than leisurely, is only the most obvious problem. Narrator Ronald Pickup skillfully distinguishes each character, but he invests the same energy in describing the agricultural fair as he does in delivering Emma's intimate conversations. Madame Bovary is considered a masterpiece in part because of Flaubert's command of detail, but here Pickup is so entranced with the minutiae that he loses his balance. His main characters are crudely drawn, especially the manipulative Rodolphe, in sad contrast to the lovely miniatures he so deftly paints of the village inhabitants. After a while, a mere coatrack can seem heavy with portent, and the listener feels the storyteller has lost sight of Emma's story--perhaps even of Emma herself. J.L.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

This nineteenth-century novel tells the story of a young woman who takes desperate measures to escape her stultifying marriage and provincial life, with tragic results. Simon Vance's leisurely reading mirrors the pace of small-town life, and his clear, gentle voice, with its lovely timbre, seems especially suited to delivering the text's many descriptive passages. As for the dialogue, his voicing of youthful Emma Bovary sounds a bit strained in places, but it's always expressive, and he does a solid job with the various male characters. Particularly amusing is his portrayal of Monsieur Homais, the voluble village chemist who fancies himself a learned man, and this brings some welcome comic relief to an otherwise tragic story. A.E.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine