What to Read Next: a French edition

Issue #329, featuring Flaubert and Finkel

Happy Friday, readers!

Today, just 68 days away from the summer Olympics, I’m bringing you a couple of books set in that most romantic of places: France. The first is one of the most recognizable titles in literature; the second is a true crime tale unlike any you’ve encountered before.

I also need to mention Louise Penny’s All the Devils Are Here, which I finished about a week ago. It’s #16 in her Inspector Gamache series and undoubtedly one of the best. Most of the books are set in Quebec, but this one takes place in Paris. Penny makes the City of Lights come alive and raises the stakes more than any other entry in the series. It’s heart-pounding from start to finish. If you’ve never read Gamache, it’s not a bad place to start — it’s the book that got my wife into the series, and she got me into it.

As always, I’d love to hear what you’re reading and enjoying!

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Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert’s 1857 classic novel is found on nearly every “Best Books of All Time” list. Why does this ~175-year-old story about a discontent Frenchwoman continue to resonate in our modern era?

Emma Bovary is married to Charles, a doctor. He’s fine — seemingly average on all fronts. Their life in the French countryside with their one child is fine, but Emma yearns for more. This restlessness leads her into affairs that, predictably, end poorly. (These aren’t spoilers.)

What I really enjoyed as a reader was trying to figure out Emma’s motives. Was she a feminist, driven by genuine longing but stuck in a meager existence? Was she just a selfish young woman, unable to find happiness in ordinary life? Did she suffer from untreated depression, which led to unhealthy behaviors? Flaubert does not give clear-cut answers, which makes the story all the more powerful and realistic — life rarely provides easy explanations.

Frankly, who am I to rate an all-time great book like this? It’s on every list for a reason. Madame Bovary is a story that spotlights our deepest, most universal human complexities and desires — and it’s written damn well. That combination is always found in our timeless novels, including this one. Bovary is not a happy-go-lucky tale, but it’s absolutely one worth having on your lifetime TBR. I’m glad to have finally made time for it and will surely revisit it someday.

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The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

Michael Finkel writes about some of the most interesting criminal characters you’ll ever find. His first book, True Story, is a memoir mixed with a horrific true-crime tale in a story that’s truly stranger than fiction. The Stranger in the Woods details the life of Christopher Knight, who spent 27 isolated in the Maine woods. Finkel’s most recent book, The Art Thief, is the jaw-dropping story of Stéphane Breitwieser, one of the most prolific thieves of all time.

From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, Breitwieser stole artwork from museums around Europe at the average pace of one piece every 15 days. The jaw-dropping part is just how audacious and arrogant Breitwieser was in his thievery. There was little in the way of advance planning; with the help of his girlfriend, he’d walk in, take the art right off the wall (or pedestal), hide it in a bag or large coat, and walk right back out.

No security guard would think a criminal to be so stupid, and yet that’s exactly what led to Breitwieser’s success rate.

Though it’s a short book, the author goes deep into Breitwieser’s uncontrollable compulsion. He couldn’t stop himself — and still can’t. What’s the real motivation? Does he suffer from the controversial Stendahl syndrome? These questions, rather than the criminal logistics, deliver the best moments of the story.

Never short on intrigue and head-scratching moments, The Art Thief is a fascinating and engrossing true crime tale.

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Thanks so much for the time and inbox space. I deeply appreciate it.

-Jeremy