The Dictionary of Received Ideas by Gustave Flaubert

I found this book while browsing the shelves of the Harvard Book Store, if I remember correctly, in the spring of 1996. Spotting it was one of those cosmic congruencies that happen extremely often to me (does this happen to you?) where, having no knowledge of a particular subject beforehand, I suddenly stumble upon at least three allusions to that same subject within a short span of time. This happens to me all the time. I love it.

Encounter #1:
The subject at hand was writer Julian Barnes. The congruency begins, however, with Gustave Flaubert himself. I had just read Madame Bovary for the first time (assigned reading for a course tantalizingly entitled, "Lives Ruined by Literature"). Shortly afterward, in a different literature course, we were handed a list of books to choose from for writing our final paper. I immediately chose a book from this list called Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes, for no other reason than the title. It’s not that I was so enchanted with Madame Bovary, but the idea that Flaubert might have had a stuffed parrot was good enough for me. (By the way, Flaubert's Parrot is an excellent book, especially if you've read any of Flaubert's other works already. It's also not a bad way to get acquainted with Barnes.)

Encounter #2:
A few weeks later, I was sitting in a friend's dorm room when I spotted a book on his desk. The cover was remarkable for its time- very postmodern, if that means anything- and the title was funny: A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. It was written by Julian Barnes! Within days it became my favorite book of all time (for the time being). I proceeded to systematically read all the novels that Julian Barnes had ever written.

Encounter #3:
So here I was, killing some time in the book store. Among the trade paperbacks on the fiction shelves, I noticed a very short, very thin stripe of yellow bookspine. There was no printing on it, requiring me to pull it out to satisfy my curiosity. The book was a tiny little paperback, no bigger than four inches by five and a half inches. The spine itself wasn't more than a quarter inch thick. A pamphlet, really, with a bright pink cover and that blank yellow spine. And this is what it was: The Dictionary of Received Ideas by Gustave Flaubert. Preface by Julian Barnes. Doesn't a shiver run up your spine when this kind of thing happens to you?

I don’t want to give the impression that the only reason I bought this little $3.95 book was that the preface was written by Julian Barnes. According to Wikipedia, The Dictionary of Received Ideas is “a satirical work by Gustave Flaubert, lampooning the cliches endemic to French... The book takes its form as a dictionary of catchphrases and platitudes, most of which are as paradoxical as they are insipid. In part, the book illustrates the transformation of modern man under machine capitalism by exploring the way that dialogue becomes prefabricated, and the ways in which meaning becomes divorced from context.” Ha!

It’s brilliant! According to Barnes, it is “one of the most ironical books ever written: it is the world placed in Flaubert’s press and squeezed until the pure oil of irony runs out.”

The book itself is a little packet of joy to me. Every time I open it and read a few entries, I’m charmed anew. Barnes says it best: “it might even be the sort of book that works while remaining on the shelf. You just need to think about it, its stance and technique, for a rueful smile to appear on your lips, and for the Dictionary to have done its job.”

NERVES Invoke them whenever faced by a baffling illness: ‘It’s your nerves!’ This explanation satisfies everyone.
NERVOUS AILMENT Always a sham.
NEWSPAPERS Impossible to do without them, but denounce them loudly all the same. Their importance in modern society… Leave them out on the table in your drawing room, making sure you cut the pages beforehand. Mark a few passages in red pencil, it makes an excellent impression. In the morning read an article in one of the sage and serious journals. Then in the evening, when you have guests, steer the conversation deftly towards the topic which you have been ready about. This is your opportunity to sparkle.
NICE Word for anything agreeable. ‘That’s really nice!’ expresses the very peak of admiration.

-The Dictionary of Received Ideas, Gustave Flaubert