Madame Bovary vs The Good Soldier: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Middle class, Adultery, Social life and customs, History, Fiction

Cover of Madame Bovary

Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert · 1856 ★★★★☆ 3.7 430 pages · ≈ 7 h 58 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

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Cover of The Good Soldier

The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford · 1915 ★★★★☆ 3.9 162 pages · ≈ 3 h 00 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Readers rate The Good Soldier higher: 3.9 vs 3.7 from 86 votes.
The Good Soldier is the quicker read — about 3 hours vs 7 for Madame Bovary.

Side by side