Sentimental Education, published in 1869, has officially become my favourite Gustave Flaubert's novel thus dethroning Madame Bovary in my heart which I had never thought possible.

The first aspect that struck me in Flaubert's Sentimental Education is how far it actually is from the literary realism movement that it is supposed to spring from. In fact, I strongly believe that Flaubert's novel lays down the foundations of modernism while certain scenes, especially those revolving around chance, seemed to lean towards surrealism making him a precursor of both literary movements. 

In Sentimental Education, much like in his other works, Gustave Flaubert makes fun of romanticism through the use of Frédéric Moreau, the main protagonist, whose lyrical flights are immediately succeeded by doubt, mundanity, ennui and dispiritedness. And yet, Flaubert expresses a certain fondness for the romantic literary movement throughout his novel just as he subtly voices his attachment to Frédéric, an inexperienced young man, who spends most of his time fantasizing his life without ever realizing his ambitions and dreams. In a way, Flaubert celebrates the non-exceptionality of being. And though he gives shape and corporality to his characters, he doesn't gift them with complete materiality.

Another aspect of Flaubert's writing is his distinctive irony though it doesn't constitute the sole strength of Flaubert's style. In fact, the author excels at depicting landscapes; he describes them in such a way that they might as well be the exact replicas of impressionist paintings (the first encounter between Frédéric Moreau and Madame Arnoux is the perfect example of that).

Flaubert's Sentimental Education is a magnificent novel about love, friendship and the disillusionment of life. 

Flaubert, G. Sentimental Education, Penguin Classics, 1869 (this edition2004).