Flaubert's Parrot

So out of the books we have read this year is easily the most understandable. When you read it, it is pretty straight forward. I liked how he would talk about Flaubert then randomly go off on some tangent about his life. It is funny because so many people talk and go off on tangents. What I liked most about the book was how he compared Flaubert to a bear. That description was quite interesting and useful. It really conveyed a sense of what he was like. He was very good at critiquing Flaubert. Is it ironic about his views of critics when he is a critic? There is a lot of critiquing in his life, some dealing with Flaubert, some dealing with himself and his past. He dislikes critics for what they say, and maybe he feels that because of himself critiquing others he feels that it is useless. It doesnt serve a purpose?