Flaubert wrote Bibliomania when he was fourteen, right after the case of Don Vicente appeared in a French newspaper. Was it necessary to practically write the same story all over again? Maybe not, but the result is decent, so I don't mind. Another and the more interesting question is whether Flaubert would have wanted this published, something that he scribbled when he was very young. Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily consider this a must-read for all Flaubert fans, but it's always fun to read about book craziness à la The Ninth Gate (1999). Although I don't understand Giacomo's (or anyone's for that matter) obsession with books as solely physical possessions instead of sources of knowledge as well, I fully endorse the need to fondle beautiful book covers. I need the first edition of Dracula that I saw in an episode of one of the Anthony Bourdain shows. I NEED IT.