Les contes de la bécasse

by Guy de Maupassant

256 pages

Published August 21, 2025

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

[Adhoc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this one: https://librivox.org/les-contes-de-la...
Bernard does and excellent job narrating.

This is an odd series of short stories. Some are funny others are disturbing and one or two seem pointless. BTW I did learn that a becasse is a woodcock and that woodcock brain is considered excellent eating. Just crack their little heads open like a walnut and enjoy. Yikes!

Worth reading. Better yet listen, Maupassant is a hell of a writer.