Bed 29 and Other Stories

by Guy de Maupassant, Donald Adamson (Translator), Helen Smithson (Illustrator)

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

Hardcover in slipcase

First published January 1, 1993

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

[Sotiria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guy de Maupassant is definitely one of my favourite short-story writers! His perspective is at turns funny and sad, intuitive and light-hearted, optimistic and suicidal! 90% of the stories in this beautiful Folio collection are amazing and the rest 10% are still better than most other short stories out there!

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard sometimes to assign a star rating to writing that is technically very good, but that just isn't my favorite kind of thing. Maupassant was a master of the short story, and he depicted the lives of common people with more realism than people had before. But the tone of his work is so pessimistic and cynical, I didn't *enjoy* reading it. Maybe that means my taste isn't very refined, but there you go.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wide-ranging collection of Maupassant’s spare, wry, and evocative stories.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐

Introduction by Donald Adamson 4⭐
The Anatomical Model's Hand [The Flayed Hand] 4.25⭐
Simon's Dad [Simon's Papa] 5⭐
At Home [A Family Affair] 5⭐
A Day Out in the Country [A Country Excursion] 4.25⭐
The Log 3.5⭐
An Old Man 4.25⭐
Down A Country Lane [The Adopted Son] 5⭐
On Christmas Eve [Christmas Eve] 3.5⭐
On Horseback [That Costly Ride] 4⭐
At Sea 4.25⭐
An Apparition 4.25⭐
The Christening [Le Baptême] 4.25⭐
A Coward 4⭐
The Umbrella 5⭐
Happiness 5⭐
The Little Cask 4.25⭐
Bed 29 [Le Lit 29] 5⭐
The Confession 3⭐
A Dowry [The Dowry] 3.5⭐
Room 11 [Room No. Eleven] 4⭐
The Prisoners 3.5⭐

A Medical Trip [Voyage de santé] 5⭐
Monsieur Panard was a very prudent man who was particularly concerned and obsessed with his health and who tried out any and all methods and remedies possible to keep disease from his door. On reading about a possible outbreak of typhoid fever in Paris he hurriedly left with his wife for Saint-Raphaël on the Riviera but rushed away from the hotel there because of bad odors suggesting all kinds of germs and infections left by previous tenants. At Cannes and Nice the same problem arose even worse, so Monsieur Panard rushed back to the safety of his home in Paris, where he discovered the reason for his anguished departures on opening his suitcases.

The Farmer [The Farmer's Wife] 3.5⭐
The Dead Woman [The Dead Girl] 5⭐
Duchoux 4.25⭐
Afterwards [After] 4.25⭐

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought on impulse while browsing, this Folio presentation has a subtle beauty and a quality feel with its strong binding. To begin with I was reminded of why I usually avoid short story collections in favour of the novel, but half way through the book and "A Coward" changed my mind. It is a punchy tale, absurd satire, shocking and stimulating. It crystalised my growing appreciation of the earlier stories. The repeated use of a sort of prologue to introduce a protagonist who then recounts his/ her tale became a bit stale after a while, but the descriptive writing culminating in the psychological treatise of "Afterwards" was really interesting. I think the current average rating of 3.8 is about right.

[Vincent Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. De Maupassant is a master of the short story. He has a great understanding of human nature and foibles. The stories are infused with wit. I would highly recommend this volume.

[Forked Radish · Rating 1 out of 5]

The protagonist's whore becomes the new Jeanne-d'Arc.

[Robert Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very first page I felt that I was in the hands of a master storywriter. Replete with delectable slices of life displaying a keen eye for human nature.