Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer. He is one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protege of Flaubert, Maupassant's short stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless dénouement. He also wrote six short novels. A number of his stories often denote the futility of war and the innocent civilians who get crushed in it - many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s.
What a dry sly unsparing fabulous voice. Like bumping into a stranger at a noisy party who's got the lowdown on everyone in the room, and gives it to you over a shared Chartreuse . . . He had an eye for the darkness, too, and an artist's taste for truth. Don't read them all at once, let them swirl and settle.
Interesting writing style... His writing was cynical of life, beauty, and aging. I need to read more of his short stories to get a better grasp of his approach. Overall, I found the writing interesting even when I disagreed with his worldview or approach to some other aforementioned subjects...
Some short stories were nothing special, while others belonged to the most satisfying literature I've ever read. Some stories that especially stood out were La Folle, L'aventure de Walter Schnaffs, Moiron, Vieux Objets, L'Aveugle, Rêves. Many others were also brilliant.
wasn’t very interesting to me, i didn’t like many of the characters, especially the men. they all seemed like shallow, stupid creatures that took advantage of women whenever they felt like it but also couldn’t commit to one. must’ve been hard times for women back then, ugh. there doesn’t seem to be much depth to these stories even. i got a good way through the book, but i couldn’t finish it. it’s just not very fun or noteworthy, i don’t think.
He definitely has a way with words and a style that I can appreciate. Beautiful imagery, a ghastly approach to the horrors of reality, a quirky and disgusting humor.
This was an utter slog to get through. Parts were shocking, parts were hilarious, parts were quite sad.
Maupassant has to be the father of boring, depressing short stories that go nowhere and have no point. Every one I've read so far leaves me in despair and makes me wonder "Why did I just read that?"
Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) in translation comes across as a competent short story writer and a keen observer of the French society of his time, with a wide variety of subject matter: horror stories, love stories and what could be termed social naturalism or stories on social mores.
I would recommend reading some of his better known stories before attempting to read through his entire production in the genre.
It is true that these were read when I was about 12 years old , and only because my mother said to me `` these are too heavy for you do not read them``. It was the moment she left that I started reading them. They were intriguing and I enjoyed the romantic part but generally neither BelAmi nor Le Mal d’André (The Matter with André) became my favourites. I prefer the romanticism of Jane Austen than the dark side of Maupassant, if dared to compare.
I came across "The Jewelry" in my literature class. I guess it's not one of Maupassant's more famous short stories, but for me reading this piece of his writing with a well-crafted narrative is entertaining.
One of a few early 18th century writers I really admire and try to emulate in my writing. Together with Poe introduced me to how to build suspense in a story as well as plot twists and memorable endings. I have the book however, which I annotated, not the Kindle version