“Flaubert’s Parrot“ By Julian Barnes

“Flaubert’s Parrot“ is a novel by Julian Barnes, published in 1984. The novel is structured around the theme of the search for identity, and centers on the life and work of the French writer Gustave Flaubert. The novel is narrated by a character named Geoffrey Braithwaite, a retired English doctor who becomes obsessed with Flaubert and his work, particularly the novel “Madame Bovary“. Braithwaite becomes fixated on the idea of finding a stuffed parrot that appears in the novel, believing that it holds some sort of key to understanding Flaubert’s life and work. As Braithwaite delves deeper into his research, he becomes increasingly obsessed with Flaubert and begins to see connections between the writer’s life and his own. He begins to question his own identity and purpose, and becomes increasingly isolated from the people around him as he becomes more and more consumed by his research. Throughout the novel, Barnes interweaves Braithwaite’s story with ane