The collection of Guy de Maupassant's short fiction is highly praised for its masterful storytelling and beautiful translations. The stories are rooted in 19th-century France and are described as achingly gorgeous, with a mix of masterpieces and comic tales.
This collection of Guy de Maupassant's short fiction is composed of thirty tales translated from the French by Roger Colet. Several of the tales, particularly _Boule de Suif_, _Two Friends_, _In the Spring_, _A Duel_, _The Devil_, and _The Horla_, are counted as masterpieces of the form. Others play for the comic, including _In the Woods_, _The Signal_, _Guillemot Rock_, _The Conservatory_, and _The Decoration_. The stories convey a time and a place, most of them being firmly rooted in France of the 1870s and 1880s. There is a beauty and a languor in Guy de Maupassant's descriptions which makes these some of the most achingly gorgeous short tales ever read, beautifully translated by Colet. The closest comparison is to some of the short stories of Émile Zola, although Zola and Maupassant were very different writers. If this sounds intriguing, finding a copy of this edition is highly recommended.
Quick quotes
Several of the tales, particularly _Boule de Suif_, _Two Friends_, _In the Spring_, _A Duel_, _The Devil_, and _The Horla_ (this last story often anthologized, and rightly so, as it happens), must, I think, be counted as little short of masterpieces of the form.
There is a beauty and a languor in Guy de Maupassant’s descriptions which makes these some of the most achingly gorgeous short tales I have ever read, beautifully translated by Colet.
Highly recommended. Five stars.