A Simple Heart

3.4 stars. The life story of a simple, good-hearted, hard-working young woman, jilted by a potential husband, who becomes a servant for an upper-class French family in the early 1800's. Felicite' suffers a number of losses through her life, but remains completely loyal to the lady of the house, Mme. Aubain. This is a short, accessible piece of realist fiction from Flaubert, for those of us who have tried and failed to complete Madame Bovary, but would like to try a bit more of Flaubert. Having gotten used to Flaubert's rhythms in this short novel, I may go back to Bovary and finish it.

Now this is how you write a short story! Beautiful, moving and sublime story of the life of a simple maid in 19th century France. It's both funny and heartbreaking, and has that inscrutable quality that makes you keep thinking about it and its various layers of meaning, like a prism that radiates light in different colors depending on which way you turn it.