Customer Reviews (1)

Cynical, disturbing, hilarious - a fine anthology
I picked this up on a whim - I like de Maupassant, but since the package didn't list which stories were included on the tapes, it was a bit of a gamble. It paid off, though; Anthony Quayle's reading is very good indeed, and the selection includes a number of stories that I hadn't read before. (The label says "Abridged," but as far as I could tell the individual stories were uncut; it might just mean that this is a subset of stories from a published collection.)

Here's the table of contents as I jotted it down:

Tape 1, Side 1:
Lost at Sea
In the Spring
In the Country
Tape 1, Side 2:
In the Country (cont.)
The Umbrella
A Deal
Playing with Fire
Tape 2, Side 1:
Playing with Fire (cont.)
An Encounter
The Hand
Tape 2, Side 2:
The Hand (cont.)
The Hostelry

Some are dark tales, some very funny ("A Deal," which begins in a courtroom during a trial for attempted murder, is unexpectedly hilarious); some, like "In the Country," are both (and rather cynical - the author doesn't seem to *like* people very much; even in the lightest stories, few of the characters come off in a very good light). Other tales are positively eerie; both "The Hand" and "The Hostelry" have appeared in horror anthologies, and the latter is wonderfully evocative of howling blizzards and snowbound isolation, as it grinds towards its icy, grim conclusion... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

One of the True Masters of Short Fiction
Guy De Maupassant's short stories are peopled with characters that the reader feels an almost immediate connection to. He is a master of characterization and pacing which is so critical to the writing of short fiction. This collection is an excellent introduction to his work with some of the stories standing out more than others although all are worth the time investment requred to digest a story that will typically inspire the reader with thought and reflection.
I don't know if I would agree with other reviewers that he is the best since others, most notably, Chekov have also produced masterpieces of short fiction. Nevertheless the reader's life will be enriched by becoming familiar with de Maupassant and this collection is a fine way to start.

The best short stories
I fell across Maupassant's "The Necklace" years ago and have been a fan ever since. Many writers believe that the well crafted short story is the hardest story to write and Maupassant is certainly one of the masters. Many of his stories are well known: "The Necklace," "The Piece of String," and "The Ball of Fat" are standard university faire but this volume brings together about thirty of his best stories. His keen insight and sense of observation make these stories timeless and interesting - you might even see yourself. The writing is surprisingly fresh and readable. A great book to have by the fireside.

Unequalled World-Class Short Story Writer
Never having taken a world literature class, I discovered Guy De Maupassant many years ago on my own ... to my utter delight! I love his insights into human behavior, his writing technique of emphasizing some human conditon, dilemma, or foible, his ability to contrast the behavior of the wealthy respectable class against the more common people, his humor, and his creative writing style. The reader learns about the lives of people during the 19th century, their cares, concerns, their vices and passions ... and their secrets, the subjects are as varied as life itself!

This volume of 30 short stories is an extremely fine selection of his works. I was familiar with three of the stories, "The Jewels", "The Piece of String" and the most well known titled "Boule De Suif" (translated as "Ball of Fat"). In this famous story, the prostitute of the region of Rouen is traveling with upper class companions in a coach as each traveler assesses the other one, making judgements as human beings often do. Eventually the upper class passengers are hungry, as they eye Boule De Suif opening her basket filled with fried chicken and other delicious foods. Boule De Souif takes compassion on her fellow passengers by offering them some of her food, to their embarrassment and pleasure, assuaging their hunger pangs. We learn a little about the character and background of the passengers, as the author builds his plot ... The passengers became more chummy, a most unusual situation that would not occur in normal everyday life between such different classes. The coach stopped for a rest at an inn. Prussians occupied the town and were staying at the same inn. As circumstances developed, the Prussian officer wanted to speak with Boule De Suif (Madame Elisabeth Rousset) ... she refused, recognizing at once the reason for his summons. The passengers on the coach sensed the tension and attempted pursuading Ms Rousset to join the officer ... they feared bad consequences for themselves if she did not cooperate, despite their disgust toward that sort of activity. They prevalied, Ms Rousset succumbed. The story ended on a sad note ... after "the event", the snobby behavior of the passengers toward Ms Rousset was evident as they reached their destination. They forgot her kindess in sharing her food, her resistance to the advances of the officer (she had pride in resisting the enemy) ... the passengers looked to their own selfish concerns and had no compassion for the sacrifice made by "Boule De Suif" on their behalf. This story exemplifies one of the main reasons the stories of Guy De Maupassant are so popular, in addition to his creative techniques and writing expertise, he contrasts certain extremes of human behavior to make a very strong point which emphasizes the human condition most accurately. These stories will delight a wide-range of readers. Most highly recommended. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

the undisputed master of the short fiction form
Guy de Maupassant is today considered by most literary historians to be the greatest short story writer who ever lived, in any century. When it comes to just telling a great story, he was the best, couldn't be topped. Both aspiring and established fiction writers should read Maupassant's finest stories to learn or brush up on the basics--plot, pacing, conciseness, character, mood, description, as well as to learn how simple naturalness and clarity of technique are important for writing engaging and readable fiction.

This is a very good selection of some of his most memorable tales. I would also recommend "A Day In The Country and Other Stories", which I believe is the best Maupassant collection available in English.

Maupassant was considered shocking a hundred years ago because he wrote about prostitutes and adultery in frank and unashamed terms. He was ahead of his time in that way. He never wrote a truly great novel, but 50 or 60 of his stories are real classics. Nobody who reads a great Maupassant story will soon forget it.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

Simply Guy
Guy de Maupassant is one of those few authors you just love to hate. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he's French, but that's another thing entirely. He's known for his fabulous short stories that can take you from feelings of sadness to joy to downright disgust. His collections of short stories incorporated here see to do exactly that.

Maupassant is one of those authors whose stories take some time to warm up before running smoothly about. Like an old engine, you will feel some cranks here and there, but after some time, everything seems to move smoothly along. His short stories are astounding. He's known for his thought provoking outlook on the french and european culture of his time. You can at times relate to his surroundings with the wars, famine, and greed that surrounds them, an environment that resembles very much modern times. Maupassant's best work has got to be the novella Le Horla, which is not included here. His other short stories just run short from comparing to that one, but that doesn't mean they're bad nonetheless. His writing style is different than other French authors, like Dumas, who favored patriotism above all else and looked at riches before dealing with the peasants. Maupassant look at the latter and how they relate to the former. That realistic approach just shows you that in any age or life we're living in, the rich will always have it for the poor, that life is not fair and if you don't stand up for your right, things not might, but will never go your way.

In his short collection, you capture a glimpse of a literary genius, whose light faded before his time. You feel the anguish of his troubled times, and can't help but wondering that even after centuries, history still keeps repeating itself. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (7)

Interesting...but kind of violent.
I bought this book so that I had a french book to read to my baby girl...so I love it for that, it is in french and the translations are right there. The subject matter however, is disturbing about fighting and wars seemed very violent to me. If there is a happier dual language book anybody recommends please post about it!!

je suis tres heureux
great, becoming rusty, good refresher by master os french prose. much in thanks merci, peter

a different word for everything
Anyone who's tried to learn a foreign language knows that the early stages involve a lot of frustration.It helps to practice speaking as much as possible, but conversation without a good vocabulary can be really tedious.That's why dual-language books are such a valuable resource.They allow the reader to learn lots of new words without memorizing lists or flipping through dictionaries.

Dual-language books are even better when they happen to be great literature, as is clearly the case with Guy De Maupassant's short stories.Despite being written in the 19th century, the collection will be of interest to 21st century readers.In fact the last story in this collection (The Horla) reads like a modern-day ghost story.

The only downside is that the text often makes use of a literary verb tense that may be confusing to beginning students of grammar.But this is a problem with all written French, and shouldn't dissuade the motivated student.This book, along with the dual-language version of Voltaire's Candide, is definitely recommended for the intermediate-level student of French.

Proper.
As a language teacher and researcher, I've come to the conclusion that the single best way to learn a foreign language's vocabulary is through these sorts of dual-language texts. The reasons are many, but the ideal to which all second language learners strive is to simply relate new information to old - to learn a new word for a known concept.

This book succeeds in that department brilliantly. The translation is wonderful, without being too literal, and without being too prosaic. It captures the essence of the works without sacrificing artistic integrity... and is simply lovely.

If you're learning French, buy this.
If you're learning English, buy this.

immortal writer
It's a life what Guy De Maupassant describes in his books, that's why they're immortals.Could the prostitute be a patriot? What does respectable memberof society and a killer at the same time feel? What's happening when the person's been blinded by passion? What kind of relationship exists between the ton?Maupassant tells us his stories like great psychologist and very talented writer.And don't miss his really powerful novels "Pier and Jan" and "A life"!I like Stendhal, Zola, Balzak and Dumas but Guy De Maupassant is my favourite French writer! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

French naturalism
Guy de Maupassant's stories are based on fear of the unknown. There are no monsters here--only monsters of the mind. Dog's get let out by fearful owners, then are shot in the face when they look back into the window because the owner thought it was a monster. The focus is on the mystery of fear and how man scares himself. Maupassant was a student of Gustav Flaubert, a French naturalist, and writes about man's reaction to his environment in a detached, scientific way.

I found Maupassant's technique of introducing his stories somewhat clumsy.Beginning in first person from hearsay, "I once knew a man..." and the conclusions awkward, "After he had finished his tale, he nodded and walked away. I have no more to say about it."

Nevertheless, because of their uniqueness, a good used copy for five or eight dollars would be a good investment.

supremely disturbing and genuinely frightening stuff
these stories go beyond your average collection of horror tales, and it isn't hard to tell that maupassant was going over the edge when he penned these. they are less focused on the supernatural than on the chilling capability the human mind has to construct terrifying illusions and reduce the most rational and cerebral man to a shivering mass. you could almost call these philosophical in that maupassant remorselessly exposes the tenuous and fragile nature of our mental health and reminds us that insanity is a potential danger for the more thoughtful and sensitive. this is personally my favorite work as far as maupassant's stuff goes, and anyone with a taste for the morbid, pessimistic or terrifying is well advised to pick this one up right away, although it is pretty rare nowadays and difficult to locate. i took it out of my local library. those who are interested in the field of philosophy should enjoy the brief but somewhat humorous tale, "the smile of schopenhauer", which amuses but at the same time inspires fear. if you're interested in abnormal psychology this is also a must read for you. the creme de la creme of horror literature.

The most horrifying work of the greatest short story writer
DeMaupassant's unparalled insight into the human condition is strongly in evidence in these tales.Some of the most powerful evocations of fear and pathos even penned, this is in a completely different league from StephenKing and his ilk:it is literature in the best sense.

This one will scare your brain!
De Maupassant wrote horror like no one else.His stories are not for therun of the mill Stephen King fan - so if your head isn't screwed downtight, don't attempt this one.However, if you like to hear the brilliantramblings of a genius-type that's dying of Syphillis, you'll love it!

Excellent unusual, fantastic & mind crawling stories
This collection of Guy De Maupassant is fast interesting reading. The stories delve into the human mind which leads us on strange paths that take unusual twists and turns as we experience De Maupassant narratives. All of us are exposed to various stressful situations in our lives that could lead to madness, wrong perception of the facts and fear such as he follows in his tales which are very cleverly written. This book can be enjoyed at any time, set down and picked up time and again. I have this book in my possession from a previous publishing of this same title by Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. NY ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very difficult
This book was very difficult to get through. It seemed to ramble on and on...I think it would have been better published as a 3 page pamphlet. ... Read more

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A little-known study of de Maupassant by the great Russian novelist. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (9)

Criminal Mistranslation of "Boule de suif" and Bowdlerization of "La Maison Tellier"
Boule de Suif is the story that made Maupassant famous, a story admired by his mentor Flaubert shortly before he died.

The translation in this volume has been in circulation since 1903. It is done by someone who does not know the French language at all and is full of astonishing howlers.

It is depressing to think that the English-speaking world has read this great story in such a dreadful translation for a century.

Some examples of the translator's incompetence:

"choqua" translated as "choked" (should be "shocked")
"grouillaient" translated as "grumbled" (should be "swarmed")
"interloque" translated as "interlocutor" (should be "struck dumb")
"glissaient" translated as "glistened" (should be "slipped)
"inattendue" translated as "unwitting" (should be "unexpected")
"entre deux couplets" translated as "between the two rows of people" (should be "between verses")
"grallait une pipe sur le siege" translated as "had a lighted pipe under the seat" (should be "smoked a pipe on the seat")
"Il sont verts" translated as "he is very green" (should be "sour grapes")
"par convenance" translated as "for convenience" (should be "out of propriety)
"defiant" translated as "defiant" (should be "mistrustful")
"propre" translated as "proper" (should be "clean")
"malpropre" translated as "improper" (should be "dirty")
"lapin" translated as "little wolf" (should be "rabbit")
"le faisant s'interesser a des choses qui, vraiment, ne le regardaient guere" translated as "making themselves interested in things that, in truth, they would never think of noticing" (should be "making God interested in things that, in truth, were no concern of his")
"ce ton... que les hommes poses emploient avec les filles" translated as "tone... after the manner of men having girls in their employ" (should be "the tone... that men of experience use with prostitutes")

The text is entirely denatured in this appalling anonymous translation, which should never have been distributed commercially.

"La Maison Tellier," another fine tale, is again sorely mistreated.

The two key scenes are an emotive First Communion ceremony at which the ladies distinguish themselves by their piety; as a pendant to this the story ends with another scene at their brothel that can only be described as an orgy.

In the present bowdlerized translation the two pages describing the Communion scene are omitted and it becomes a Confirmation ceremony instead, and the orgy becomes an innocent dance at which the ladies become a little tipsy!

Flaubert's disciple influenced Chekhov's flair for irony.
This ...Dover collection of short stories, written by arguably the best writer ever in the genre, traces the invention of modern short fiction. After Maupassant’s parents divorced, his mother became friends with Gustave Flaubert of the “Madame Bovary” fame. Flaubert committed himself to tutoring the young aristocrat – hence the “de” in his surname – and said of his protégé, “I love him like a son.” What an apprenticeship?

An artist owes much to his or her environment hence the background just volunteered reveals decisive influences that informed Guy’s craft. In turn, Maupassant’s work would influence those of Chekhov, Joyce, James, Babel and Hemingway! Chekhov’s oeuvre then influenced Katherine Mansfield and so on - an impressive literary family tree indeed!

Maupassant, who studied law, was a master of irony and the title story exemplifies that. “The Necklace” and “A Piece of String” (otherwise translated from French as “The String”) are much anthologized. Of the more than 360 short stories he wrote, the nine stories in this collection are well plotted and, like most of his followers, the author avoids imposing any moral judgments on his characters – not even on the prostitute in his sensational first story, “Ball-of-Fat” (“Boule de Suif”). ...- enjoy the dreams!

This book is a dreat value
I love the Dover Thrift Edition series. I originally bought Kafka's "The Metamorphasis and other Stories" and was delighted by the selction of a few fine representative works by that author. Again, for a shockingly low price, I decided to revisit a story I read many years ago and bought this volume. "The Necklace" is a great tale of irony in which the old adage "no good deed goes unpunished" is illustrated. It is a tale of honorably living up to one's resposibilities and it ends with quite a twist. This was a great read when I was very young and it still is well into my middle age. I recommend the "Thrift Editions," including this one, to quicky and inexpensively build a library of representative works of great writers.

Paste makes waste
I read this when I was 12.I liked it.I think they should have been honest about what happened, rather than trying to cover it up.That would have saved them from a lot of grief.(I wouldn't advertise to the world that I didn't "get it" if I were 35.)

This Guy isn't angry!
The title story is one of the most popular stories I teach! My college students love the irony used to raise questions about where we place our values. The surprise ending always provokes the most animated discussions."Angry guy" probably doesn't "get it." Most people do,and I know you will love reading this story and the others in thecollection! ... Read more

Book Description
This new translation of twenty tales shows Maupassant at his bitter, bawdy, chilling best. It features some of his grimmest and most famous stories like A Vendetta and The Grove of Olives, but it also reflects both his moods and his mastery of the short story. The Little Keg is rich in comic invention, while the disturbing Who Can Tell? draws its power from the strange forces which drove its author into madness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Vive la Fifi!
I loved this book so, it was one of those times it was heartbreaking to come to the end.Each story was a nice short gem, perfect to enjoy in a sitting.

Very recomended
Once the reader browses through the descriptions of Mapassaunt's life and philosophies in the roman numbered pages begining this title, he or she knows that the following stories are going to be quite dark. They are and they are also, for the most part, vividly descriptive, intriguing, full of symbolism and extremely memorable. From the incendiary betrayals of "Monseiur Parent" and "the Dowry" to gruesome consequences of moral lapses seen in "At Sea" and "the Model" to outride incredible savagery of "A Vendetta" and the title story, this book proves that Maupassant is a master of all things dark, pessimistic and brutal.

Good, exciting, quite alright actually, please inform...
This story is about two companions Maupassant's "A Corsican Bandit" who wander through nature.Forests, fields,valleys andlandscapes. Pine trees, untangled Yet one anothershort story by this greattrunks, umbrella pines,misshapenauthor. And the way he describes this one istrees, granite. even more gruesome than the last.They walk past a little wooden "A Corsican Bandit" is nearly ahorror story cross and one of the men asks thedescribingvery dramtic events...other to tell himabout itsThe story takes place in a petrified valleyorigin. with beautiful surroundings. So the other man starts telling astory about a bandit namedSainte "Up on the two narrow peaks which dominate Lucie. this pass, a few old misshapen trees seemed Sainte Luciewas apparently a weak to have made their way with difficulty, likeand spineless boy, with very littlescouts sent on ahead of thehuge dense massstrength of character. of trees behind them.We turned round andOne day his father had been killed Sawthe whole forest stretched out beneathby a young man inthe vecinity. us, like an enormous green bowl with edges Sainte Lucie knew he was supposed made of sheer rock that seemed to touchthe sky." to avenge his father, but couldn't find the courageto do so, until one day, the When it comes to Sainte Lucie,wesame man provocatively, newly married,have a bitmore information.drove past his house. Because of the fact that one of theOverwhelmed by aunfamiliar feeling,companions told a story abouthim. Sainte Lucie set out to kill him.... anddid. From then on he continued his avenge, and killed and terrorised alarge number of people who had been connected to hisfathersmurder.

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It's a straight narrativestory. Starts off harmless, descriptive, nature-scene, Ends

I think themessage is that the most innocent people can turn out to be what you least expect. That shows in the book when Sainte Lucie threatens one of thewedding guests that he'll shoot his leg, if he takes another step. KnowingSainte Lucie to be weak andcowardly he says "You woudn't dare!" and setsoff, and gets shot. Basically, theres more to people than you think.

Themain characters in this "so-called" horror short story are the twocompanions and of course, Sainte Lucie. This is very interesting, becausewe hardly know anything about the two friends. We don't know theirbackround, don't knowtheir hobbies, don't know their selection ofclothes, we don't even know their sex! All we know is that they are twocompanions walking through valleys and mountains, and one of them,according from the information that we have received, seems to be some sort of guide, or atleast a person knowing theforests very well and everystory behind them. The other interested. ... Read more