The Odd Number: Thirteen Tales by Guy de Maupassant

by Guy de Maupassant, Jonathan Sturges (Translator)

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, France

248 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2004

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

[Sapphire Detective · Rating 4 out of 5]

In-depth to come later.

"Happiness" - 4
"A Coward" - 5
"The Wolf" - 4.5
"The Necklace" - 4
"The Piece of String" - 4
"La Mère Sauvage" - 4.6
"Moonlight" - 3.5
"The Confession" - 4
"On the Journey" - 3.5
"The Beggar" - 3.5
"A Ghost" - 4.5
"Little Soldier" - 4
"The Wreck" - 4

Overall rating: 4.08/5 (rounded down)
Favorite Story: "A Coward"
Leaast Favorite Story: "Moonlight"
Would I own/re-read?: Maybe re-read!
TW: Death, Poverty, War, Minor Gore, Revenge, Suicide, Dueling, Murder
Does the animal die?: One story, "The Wolf," is entirely about the hunting of the titular creature.

[Cassandra Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an original copy of this book, It’s well over 100 years old and just now the pages are starting to loosen. If it weren’t for this specific book, I would have never found my love for reading. I read it often and “happiness” is such a perfect story for The Odd Number to start with.

[James P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guy De Maupassant weaves lovely stories from the ordinary thread of life. I can close my eyes and recall his magical stories in detail months after reading them. One of my favorites was "A Piece of String." I think it is a timeless tale to share with children about the wisdom of Shakespeare's famous line "I think the lady doth protest too much." Read the story and see if you agree.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not positive that this is the one I read, because I'm pretty sure I read 12 tales by de Maupassant, but something like this. I liked them, but it was basically the first literature I read in a foreign language, so it was much more about heavy dictionary use than actual comprehension or appreciation, unfortunately.

[Saheli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed immensely the masterfully crafted collection of short stories by Maupassant. Each story left an unending mystery behind and a melancholic inquiry into the life.