A Parisian Affair and Other Stories

by Guy de Maupassant, Siân Miles (Editor)

Set in the nouveau riche Paris of society women, prostitutes, and playboys; in the Normandy countryside; and on the French Riviera where Maupassant had lived, the thirty-four short stories in this volume are among the most darkly humorous and brilliant in French literature. They focus on the complexity of close relationships: between lovers, as in the poignant fantasy 'A Parisian Affair' or the touchingly ironical 'The Jewels'; between siblings, as in 'At Sea'; and between former partners, as in 'Encounter.' They reveal two sides of human nature: its grace and generosity, and also, as in 'Boule de Suif,' its greed and hypocrisy. Piquant and varied, Maupassant's stories lay humanity bare with deft wit and devastating honesty.

Boule de suif --
A Parisian affair --
A woman's confession --
Cock crow --
Moonlight --
At sea --
Amillion --
Femme fatale --
Monsieur Jocaste --
Two friends --
Awakening --
The jewels --
Train story --
Regret --
Minor tragedy --
The christening --
Coward --
Rose --
Idyll --
Mother Sauvage --
Madame Husson's rose king --
Encounter --
Happiness --
A bit of the other --
Love --
Hautot & son --
New year's gift --
The Horla --
Duchoux --
The lull-a-bye --
Mother of invention --
Who knows? --
Laid to rest --
The necklace.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, France, French Literature, Literature, 19th Century

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1881

About the author

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.

Reviews

[TBV (on hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

People from all walks of life appear in these 34 acutely observed tales of love, passion, revenge, and the supernatural. Expect the unexpected.

A collection of tempting bonbons, one of the best being... a suet ball! Here is a taste of Boule de suif*:
The respectable people all keep together very respectably in the coach travelling from Prussian occupied Rouen to Dieppe through a snow storm, keeping well apart from "The woman, one of those usually known as a good-time girl, was famous for the premature portliness which had earned her the nickname Boule de Suif.". But let's carefully consider everyone's behaviour when things do not go according to plan...
:
:
Here’s the aftermath: "The two nuns, taking up the long rosaries that hung from their belts, made a simultaneous sign of the cross. Suddenly their lips began to move at an ever-increasing speed as if competing in some salve regina steeplechase.”
#
* ""Boule de Suif: 'Dumpling’, ‘Dimples’, ‘Butterball’, ‘Lardycake’, etc. Literally a ball of fat, suet or tallow."

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most pleasurable French classic reading experience is a cert when cracking open a Maupassant. This selection of 35 shorts from Flaubert’s protégé titillates, amuses, and shocks (in a mild manner), leading with the fabulous ‘Boule De Suif’, a brilliant skewering of the hypocritical aristocracy of the period, followed by the titular tale, where a wife learns of the underratedness of tawdry adultery, followed by a spectacular range of stories exploring madness, cuckoldry, the value of wealth, and umpteen moral dilemmas, explored in the sublime manner only such fiction of the period can offer.

[Mattia Ravasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Video review

Maupassant is to American Pie what HG Wells is to Transformers. Very different.

[Steven Godin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you only read one de Maupassant, make it this. Sublime.

[Jacqueline Burns-Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love with a dead French writer. Maupassant toujours!

[Polina Sychova · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent collection indeed. Guy de Maupassant is the best storyteller of the 19th century France... This particular edition has the most entertaining short stories, each capable of delivering as strong a message on moral and profoundly non-societal ethics, as remarkably to-the-point images of an average French bourgeois or an average French peasant. The heroes are complex, decorated with their subjective and objectified environments: they fall in and out of love, abandon and adopt children...unpunished thieves, unfaithful servants, families enatngled in inheritance dispairs... His pen is so powerful that story after story lives succumb in theatrical precision so benign and materialistic, yet lively and at times, even lovable.

Being one of the best literary classics and appreciated in his lifetime and eternally after, Guy de Maupassant seemingly detested the societal formalities. He remained a shrewd observer althrough his journey from one story to the other and led a comparably humble life. Known for finding the Eiffel tower a most abhorrent addition to Paris, he analogically led an observer's life from a decent enough pedestal. Albeit his expressed dislike of the Tower, he'd nevertheless go there every day for his morning coffee for "it's the only place whence I cannot see it". True to his natural longing for an absolute fairness, he wrote of lives merely looking at them and never living one himself.

For all the above reasons, by all means, definitely get a copy of this book and enjoy the read through laughs and tears.

[E. G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Acknowledgements
Chronology
Introduction
Further Reading
Translator's Note

--Boule de Suif
--A Parisian Affair
--A Woman's Confession
--Cockcrow
--Moonlight
--At Sea
--A Million
--Femme Fatale
--Monsieur Jocaste
--Two Friends
--Awakening
--The Jewels
--Train Story
--Regret
--Minor Tragedy
--The Christening
--Coward
--Rose
--Idyll
--Mother Sauvage
--Madame Husson's Rose King
--Encounter
--Happiness
--A Bit of the Other
--Love
--Hautot & Son
--New Year's Gift
--The Horla
--Duchoux
--The Lull-a-bye
--Mother of Invention
--Who Knows?
--Laid to Rest
--The Necklace

Notes

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah Maupassant. How I can never bore of you.

[Maan Kawas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maupassant's short stories are captivating!! His style of writing is exquisite and engaging!

[Nyah Dalrymple · Rating 3 out of 5]

how any of these got past censorship laws and into print i will never know. (idyll i am looking at YOU!!!!! i never want to read about a grown man sucking breast milk from a stranger again, please and thank you.)

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy how strangely modern Guy de Maupassant's stories are - the subject matter can be quite risqué at times, which feels really fresh given he was writing in the 1800s. There is a lot of levity to his stories, but also a fair amount of darkness that lurks behind some of them, particularly the ones he was writing later in his career while struggling with his own health issues. Some of the stories didn't really hit, but there were many that had me laughing or shocked, and many that fully pulled me into their world. I'd thoroughly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of short stories but maybe hasn't tried any classics yet.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is no wonder that Monsieur de Maupassant is regarded as a master of the short story. Each one of the tales in this collection is a marvel of economy, pacing, sensitivity, lyricism, wit, and drama both intimate and astounding. The farther along one reads, the more it becomes impossible to single out one story as more likable than another. The characters, from the perspective of a contemporary American reader, are just a touch larger than life; the situations tender, funny, tragic, often bitterly ironic. In these tales also, we are regaled with a view of Belle Epoque France and its people, their habits, prejudices, circumstances high and low, and their inevitable Achilles' heals--for all of its troubles a world still surrounded by natural beauty, which Maupassant takes great care to describe, his voice assured, deep, and properly distanced from his creations, allowing the reader to take in as much of the view as possible. I wish I could speak with more authority to the quality of the translation, but it must be very high, since the writing provides such great literary pleasure. Every sentence and paragraph is so well-balanced that I often reread whole paragraphs just for the wonder. The introduction, written by the translator, Sian Miles, is an edifying read in itself.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2004, 'A Parisian Affair and Other Stories' is a fine collection of short stories by Guy De Maupassant, originally published over the years 1881-1891. I have only read one other collection of these stories, but because there were some stories duplicated between the two I was able to see some significant differences in translation on these few. I enjoyed all of the 34 stories included, and it is difficult to single out any of them as better or worse. Nevertheless, 'Femme Fatale', 'Idyll', 'Mother Sauvage' and 'Laid to Rest' did make a lasting impression on me of some sort. I was also impressed by the translators use of the word 'flibbertigibbet' in one story, my new favourite word, and can only wonder what the original French was. Fantastic.

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m very nice collection of mostly early stories, and well translated. This was my first exposure to the stories of Maupassant.

[Lauren McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maupassant deserves the title as the master of short stories. While I didn't love every single story, there was something enjoyable within them all. His writing is full of flair and he is brilliant at pulling out twists.
There is an element of almost erotic touches in most of his stories, which brings them to life. His characters are full of flaws and quirks that make them relatable and lovable.
This is one of those books I will heartily recommend and will reread again and again.
As a writer myself, he is brilliant to study and learn from and to anyone who is a writer I suggest to study his stories.

Favourite Stories
Boule De Suif
Femme Fatale
The Jewels
The Christening
Rose
Encounter
A Bit of the Other
The Lull-A-Bye
Mother of Invention
Laid to Rest
The Necklace

[Roman Brasoveanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chekhov praised Maupassant, this anthology shows why! Every emotion, in its devious French hue, is felt by the reader as the author demonstrates his ability to bring each one out. In the first forty pages, the tale of Boule de Suif will work up a feverish anger in the reader only to be charmed and relaxed by Moonlight.

Must read for Chekhov or Flaubert enthusiasts.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The single greatest collection of short stories that I have ever had the privilege of reading. Wonderfully entertaining, illuminating and perceptive. I urge you to try this book

[Briana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my first short story collection from Guy de Maupassant but this was a much more enjoyable experience. I've recently read Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary and in the introduction for that novel, Maupassant was mentioned often. Turns out, Flaubert was a mentor of Maupassant. That presence was felt in A Parisian Affair and Other Stories by Guy de Maupassant, translated from the French by Siân Miles. The realism and naturalism present in this short story collection reminded me a lot of Madame Bovary.

A few of these stories were duds, boring, and didn't age well, but many of them were the opposite. I was thoroughly entertained by most of these, and I appreciated how short they were. What's the most striking about this collection is how timely it is. The best stories are fresh, relevant, sexy, romantic, and put me on a rollercoaster of emotions. These characters feel like people you would know in our modern world. I found myself pleasantly surprised on many occasions when I could relate to characters from over a century ago.

These were an easy read, and maybe it's the updated translation, but I don't feel bogged down by outdated language.

Please note that this review is of the Penguin Classics 2004 edition

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first experience of Maupassant and this is, by all accounts, a well-chosen selection. I have generally eschewed short stories throughout my life as a reader but have enjoyed a few collections of late so to turn to the reputed master of the art was a natural step. The tales in this book are satisfying indeed – a real snapshot of Belle Époque France – and while Paris is to the fore, there are other stories that take place the length and breadth of the country, including Corsica, Provence and Normandy. The narrative considered to be Maupassant’s masterpiece, Boule de Suif kicks things off and is by far the longest story in the book, a satisfying burlesque set against the serious business of the Franco-Prussian war, also memorably captured in print by Maupassant’s friend and contemporary, Émile Zola. Love looms large across the book – and there is a raciness that is surprising for a nineteenth century work – a tale of hedonism amid the boating fraternity of the Seine, unacknowledged children and lesbianism do cast into quite a stuffy light some of the literature that appeared across the Channel during the same period (Hardy, late George Eliot) although perhaps not quite matching the dastardliness of the Russians.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.29⭐

Boule de Suif [Tallow Ball] 5⭐
A Parisian Affair 4⭐
A Woman's Confession 3.5⭐
Cock Crow 3.25⭐
Moonlight 4.5⭐
At Sea 4.25⭐
A Million 3.25⭐
Femme Fatale 4.25⭐
Monsieur Jocaste 4.25⭐
Two Friends [A Fishing Excursion] 5⭐
Awakening 4⭐
The Jewels 3.25⭐
Train Story [En Voyage #2] 5⭐
Regret 5⭐
Minor Tragedy 4⭐
The Christening 4.25⭐
Coward 4⭐
Rose 4.25⭐
Idyll 4⭐
Mother Sauvage 5⭐
Madame Husson's Rose King 3.5⭐
Encounter 3.5⭐
Happiness 5⭐
A Bit of the Other {Imprudence, Indiscretion] 3.25⭐
Love 5⭐
Hautot & Son 5⭐
New Year's Gift 5⭐
The Horla 5⭐
Duchoux 4.25⭐
The Lull-a-bye [The Magic Couch] 4.25⭐
Mother of Invention [Useless Beauty] 5⭐
Who knows? 3.25⭐
Laid to Rest [The Tombstones; Graveyard Sirens] 5⭐
The Necklace 5⭐

[Sam Meis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all my reading, I have yet to come across anything like the prose of Maupassant. I have deemed him a painter with words and his work is comparable to Monet's artistry. His concise but in depth short stories are always a very enjoyable read. From the very wealthy to the lowest of prostitutes (whom Maupassant was particularly fond of) Maupassant cuts slices of life that continue to live on the page. Delving into poverty, social hierarchy, love, hatred, and so much more he breaks down the universal experiences of life and creates beautiful stories. A very nice summer or spring read (I read another bunch of his short stories and have been in love ever sense). He will always be a favorite.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guy De Maupassant - world renowned for being the man who writes PERFECT short stories ahhhh! They’re all so captivating, so entertaining, so tragic, so ironic, so passionate, so grotesque. I’m just a bit sad because my copy is missing a few pages at the end (all of the notes and a page of The Necklace has been amputated from the text which is upsetting because it’s one of my favourite GDM short stories, but hey ho whatcanyoudo).

296 pages of pleasurable reading. Can’t wait to return to these stories in the future when I’m in need of rereading something exquisite.

[Olly Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all great writers, Maupassant’s stories of the french coast, countryside and cities - and the people that occupy them - entangle and emerge as a timeless thread, often as relevant today as they were in the late 19th century.

A wonderful collection of stories and, dare I say, a must read for anyone interested in the franco-prussian war, adultery, euthanasia and running into your ex in public…

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guy De Maupassant is the father of the short story. Honestly every story is a work of art and perfected.
I only give this three stars because the subject matter was pretty repetitive and I'm so bored of reading nineteenth century stories where women are just objects.
Not giving any spoilers, but I recommend reading The Necklace. I thought that story was brilliant.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb collection of short stories. Maupassant was a remarkably versatile author, and the collection includes stories with widely differing tones and themes, and covers characters from every strata of nineteenth century French society. I wish I'd discovered him earlier

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading this author and this set of short stories truly showed his versatility as an authors. Yes there were some stories that didn’t hit the mark, but over all they were funny and a great selection of stories.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Yuliia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this in Paris was a gem!! Maupassant is the ultimate 19th century spicy king!!! His short stories slap every single time!!!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/5 Boule de Suif: A magnificent and heartbreaking story. A certain Yun Peng I know would probably call this "Top 10 Anime Betrayals".
4/5 A Parisian Affair: Getting it out of your system.
4/5 A Woman's Confession: A wrong accusation of an affair plants the seeds for future affair-ing. A certain Jason I know would probably say "der-ner-ner".
3/5 Cockcrow: Play stupid courtship games, win stupid courtship prizes.
5/5 Moonlight: It turns out that the aesthetic argument works both ways.
4/5 At Sea: Choose between losing 7 years of annual income or your brother's arm, in the next 3 seconds.
3/5 A Million: Money changes people.
4/5 Femme Fatale: Play stupid courtship games, win stupid courtship prizes, part II. +1 for the beautiful subtleties instead of generic soppiness.
5/5 Monsieur Jocaste: In Chinese, a daughter is called a father's little lover.
4/5 Two Friends: get mistaken for spies and executed.
4/5 Awakening: Dreams are strange things indeed.
4/5 The Jewels: Money changes people, part II.
4/5 Train Story: As we say in Chinese, 距離產生美.
4/5 Regret: for not professing love to his best friend's wife?
4/5 Minor Tragedy: An old lady mourns the growing distance between herself and her son. Regret part II?
4/5 The Christening: A priest at a christening cries for want of a child. Regret part III?
3/5 Coward: A person was so afraid of dying that he killed himself?
4/5 Rose: A lady discovers that her manservant is an ex-rapist on the run, and feels humiliated that he had never tried to rape her?
4/5 Idyll: Is this going where I think it is going? Surely not..... Oh. My. God. It is!!!
4/5 Mother Sauvage: A mother "avenges" her child who died in the war.
4/5 Madame Husson's Rose King: Money changes people, part III.
4/5 Encounter: Malicious? compliance.
3/5 Happiness: A simplistic love story.
4/5 A Bit of the Other: Give it to me dirty.
4/5 Love: between two game birds.
5/5 Hautot & Son: Son takes care of his deceased father's mistress.
5/5 New Year's Gift: Erm... +2 for the philosophies of love, and its distinction from marriage. -1 for playing stupid courtship games, and nearly winning stupid courtship prizes.
4/5 The Horla: A short story version of The Invisible Man.
4/5 Duchoux: A bored old man tries to seek out and reunite with his bastard son, but finds him too icky in the end.
3/5 The Lull-A-Bye: Erm... A man dreams about an institute for suicide?
5/5 Mother of Invention: A woman is a person.
4/5 Who Knows?: A supernatural story.
4/5 Laid to Rest: Is this going where I think it is going?! Part II.
4/5 The Necklace: "DERNERNER~~~"

+1 for the whole being more than the sum of the parts.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first came across Guy de Maupassant in high school, when we read his delightful, G-rated (for a de Maupassant story) The Necklace. Interesting to note how some of the stories in this collection share the same backgrounder: low to mid-level clerk marries ambitious beauty, marriage is usually childless, expect surprises at the end. The rest of the stories are very French, so I'm left with the impression that these stories encapsulate what to me embodies, but not necessarily defines, the French short story: aristocracy and snobbery, slighted honor and ensuing duels, marital indiscretions (by both men and women). And amour. De Maupassant does love best, be it among humans or animals. The stories which merited a heart from me were Happiness, which reveals the joys and pleasures felt only by the heart, and Love, a short tale about a duck hunt, leaving me with a visual of one of the most bittersweet endings in short stories.

And speaking of endings, some tales here left me with the impression how it would have been more powerful to leave out the last paragraph. Happiness is one example. While that one last paragraph doesn't diminish the impact of the ending, it reads like it was written as an afterthought, more like a footnote. On another note--and this coming from a reader whose stories of choice are short--I found some stories, such as A Parisian Affair, so engaging, with the main character so thoroughly threshed out in so few words, that I realized, I would have wanted to stretch the story out into a novel, or a novella, at least.

All considered, however, this has been a very enjoyable read, and I wish I could get my hands on more of de Maupassant's stories.