This text-dense graphic novel might prove overwhelming at first, but the story of Gemma Bovery–whose life mirrors a similarly named Flaubert heroine–is worth a few pages of feeling overwhelmed. Gemma’s life is punctuated by periods of adultery and discontent, and while she tries to will herself out of depression with everything from a move to the French countryside to retail therapy, she cannot shake the boredom of her marriage or her life in general. Those familiar with Flaubert’s work may know how Gemma’s story ends, but in the case of Gemma Bovery, the journey is worth more than the ending.
Image via Powell’s.
