Gemma Bovery

Posy Simmonds does a great job expanding the world of comic books or graphic novels or illustrated novellas or how ever you want to call this good stuff.

This graphic novel begins in Bailleville, Normandy with the death of 31-year-old Gemma Bovery. Narrated alternately by the French baker Raymond Joubert and through excerpts from Gemma's diary, Gemma's story slowly unfolds. The beautiful British decorator marries Charlie Bovery, becomes caught up in a dead-end career, and is reluctantly involved in Charlie's domestic conflicts with his ex-wife and children. She decides to flee her dreary London life, and she talks Charlie into buying a home in the rural French countryside. Small town life seems no better for her, however, as her charming country cottage develops water leaks and is infested with pests. She tries to escape her boredom through adulterous love affairs and a spending spree that causes financial problems. Joubert, her next-door neighbor, becomes obsessed with Gemma, spies on her, and becomes jealous of her lovers. If you have any familiarity with French literature, the title "Gemma Bovery" should immediately remind you of the Flaubert novel "Madame Bovary." And if that's not enough, the parallels in the two story lines should make it obvious that this is not mere coincidence. But this story is more than a retelling of the classic novel, and there are as many differences from as there are similarities to the original. It is a witty modernization of a timeless tale that satirizes the aspirations and foibles of the yuppie middle class as well as the cultural differences between the French and British. In no way are the similarities between Emma Bovary and Gemma Bovery subtly presented. Author Posy Simmonds revels in them through the observations and machinations of Joubert, who warns others of parallels between the two and tries to prevent Gemma from coming to the same tragic end as Emma did. For a graphic novel, there is a lot of text. But the cartoon panels are interspersed with the text, diary entries, and snippets of partially translated French dialog in a wonderfully layered fashion and are rich in detail. There are twists in the story as the details about Gemma's death are revealed. Whether you have read the original French classic or not, and whether you are a graphic novel fan or not, this is a creative and entertaining story you will enjoy. Eileen Rieback