Probably my first Flaubert. I enjoyed it then and would probably enjoy a re-read. Funny thing is: I put off reading more of Flaubert for some while. I eventually went on to read his letters with George Sand, Sentimental Education, and Madame Bovary. I hope to read his letters soon.

A steamy travelogue of Gustave Flaubert's jaunt through egypt told via the letters he wrote to his mother and his lover.
There are plenty of prostitutes, pimps, transvestites, homo-sexuals among its breezy pages - to whet anyone's appetite. If you are looking for the descriptive sun-rise/sun-downer type of travelogue, this will not satisfy you. A great, romping read.

Flaubert's travel notes and personal letters on Egypt are an absolute delight!
For those who haven't been in this magnificent country, this book will enhance even further the notion one has of the historical remains that still lay there, against the test of time, waiting for a visit. Additionally, all the mystique around the Arab culture and religion, with its peculiarities and sometimes contradictions, when viewed and described through a XIX century magnifying glass, are even more romantic and surreal!
For those, such as myself, who have had the privilege to visit Egypt, this book allows a wonderful exercise of comparison. One peaks into an Egypt without massive hordes of tourists, 5-star hotels nor big cruise boats spoiling an otherwise perfect landscape of water, fertile green land and pure desert.
And I finish with a quote from one of Flaubert's letters to his mother, because he has captured perfectly my exact feelings while traveling in Egypt: "... you ask me whether the Orient is up to what I imagined it to be. Yes, it is; and more than that, it extends far beyond the narrow idea I had of it. I have found, clearly delineated, everything that was hazy in my mind. Facts have taken the place of suppositions - so excellently so that it is often as though I were suddenly coming upon old forgotten dreams."

UGHHH. Sometimes you should never read something personal by an author because you're going to find out they're repugnant as human beings. Flaubert seems chipper and makes jokes about people being beaten, raped and otherwise trod upon. There is so much more that is wrong with this travelogue through Egypt, but I'd rather just leave it at that. The occasional nice turn of phrase or observation does not make up for all the terrible trash in this book.

916.2043 F587 1996

I read this 30 years ago and found it extraordinarily beautiful. Each sentence part of a beautifully planned mosaic. Of course I was young and "Orientalism" wasn't quite a thing yet. I'm reading the comments other readers made. Were I to read this now, I might not give it five stars but I am going to be true to the me who read this long ago. I don't remember my reactions to his bordello life, just the writing itself.

Whitepower and colonization... Okay this is 1849, but seriously, add a warning to the book or something. This white european travels to Egypt like it's conquered land, fucks 15 yo teenagers with no remorse whatsoever, shoots at dogs, describes "niggers" and slavery as they are the most normal thing. No questioning. Describing the ass of a 12 year old, or the sex of a prostitute with the same neutral descriptive tone he uses for sand and trees. He has no interest in arabic culture, food or people. This was painful to listen to.

Gustave sure loved himself some prostitutes.

AWFUL. Such a terribly flat book. It's mostly really dull descriptions of him on the road, interspersed by very few entertaining passages about the culture and scenes.

لماذا التقييم 4 نجوم لأن الكتاب عرفني كم هو حقير فلوبير أكد لي كم هم أوساخ المستعمرون .. وأكد لي صحة أغلب آراء إدوارد سعيد عن هؤلاء البشر المغاليين في الشهوة والمشهويهن فكريًا

i dont love traveling but i respect how uninterested he was in getting to know anyone new

I read this on the flight back, and it was especially meaningful being in egypt and visiting the places he was writing about...he trip was a bit different though...i'd say it was 50% brothels, 30% shopping, 10% moping around and 10% site seeing...he did capture the essence of luxor perfectly though! :

"When we arrived off Thebes our sailors were drumming on their darabukehs, the mate was playing the flute, Khalil was dancing with his castanets: they broke off to land.

It was then, as I was enjoying those things, and just as I was watching three wave crests bending under the wind behind us, that I felt a surge of solemn happiness that reached out towards what I was seeing and I thanked God in my heart for having made me capable of such a joy: I felt fortunate at the thoughts, and yet it seemed to me that i was thinking of nothing: it was a sensuous pleasure that pervaded my entire being."