The Best Short Stories

by Guy de Maupassant

Alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

This collection reflects Maupassant's remarkable diversity, with stories that vary in theme and tone, and range from tragedy and satire to comedy and farce. Boule de Suife, his most famous tale exposes the brutality and hypocrisy of war. His stories are linked by irony and the frailty of human nature.

17 stories:

Boule de Suif
Two Friends
Mme. Tellier's Establishment
Mlle. Fifi
Clair de Lune
Miss Harriet
The Necklace
Mlle. Pearl
The Piece of String
Mme. Husson's "Rosier"
That Pig of a Morin
Useless Beauty
The Olive Orchard
A Sale
Love
Two Little Soldiers
Happiness

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

197 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1884

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

[carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

A excepción de dos o tres cuentos, todos fueron muy decepcionantes.

[Lewis Woolston · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion Maupassant is one of the all time great short story writers. I'd put him in the same league as W. Somerset Maugham and Richard Yates for sheer quality.
He seems to have had three main themes:
1:The Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) during which he was a young conscript.
2:The general selfishness and awfulness of the Bourgeoisie in France during this period.
3:Brothels and the women who work in them.

It's worth noting his sympathies are never hidden. He loathes the Prussians, sympathises with the poor soldiers sent to fight, he despises the Bourgeoisie and blames them for France's downfall and he doesn't really have a bad word to say about the women in the Brothels.
All the stories here are quality and there is a very good reason this man is still in print so long after his death.

[B. Han Varli · Rating 3 out of 5]

''her yeri aradılar, taradılar, ama bulamadılar. kendilerinden bir daha hiçbir haber alınmadı ve her ikisine de öldü gözüyle bakıldı.

şimdi ben, elli yıl sonra onu bu korkunç vadide buluyordum.''

ikinci kere okuduğum öykü(ler) kitabı mutluluk

tekrar okumak zorunda kaldım gibi oldu kindle'ı unutup yola çıktığım için :')

zamanında bayılarak okuduğumu hatırlıyorum, bu okuduğumda çok kısa ve tatsız geldi nedense.

bu kadar duygusuz olacak ne vardı bilmiyorum ama birkaç yıl önce gülümseyerek okuduğum sayfalar pek bir şey ifade etmedi yıllar sonra.

bişeyleri kaybettiğimi gösterdi bana maupassant.... ya da bambaşka bir açıdan bakacak olursak, daha yoğun anlatımların okuru oldum, kim bilir?

[loïc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit; it took some time and a couple of stories to draw me in, but once I was 'enthralled' my love for Maupassant's writing only grew.

They way he portraits his characters and observes life and human nature, so "simple" but full of life and spot on... brilliant! good for a lot of smiles and pondering moments.

Actually stumbled on this book by accident in a second hand book shop, and it turned out to be the seed for a strong desire to delve into the classics in literature =)

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally finished this dual-language collection of short stories from late 19th C France. It started off very slowly, reading a sentence, or even a word, in French, then checking the opposite page for the translation. But, by the last story or two, I could practically read entire pages without translation. If anyone wants to brush up on French, read this out loud too, so you can develop a kind of "aural reference" for various words.

The stories themselves are great - all largely variations on themes of morality, social status and a person's large capacity for hypocrisy. At the end of each story, he really guts you with a cruel twist that may seem a little gimmicky today, but still makes an impact.

[Richa · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the stories are interesting and gripping in their own way. A very good collection of stories that are easy to read and understand. A very good light read.

[Voja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evo jedne kratke recenzije: https://pepeoreci.wordpress.com/2019/...

I, ako nekog zanima, jedne stare priče koju sam napisao pre godinu i kusur meseci: https://pepeoreci.wordpress.com/2019/...

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Further proof that men and French people are evil (French men stay away from me). I think Boule de Suif was my favourite. All credit to Archie for a v good short story collection (probs my fave genre? woah)

[MANISH · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow this man is awesome.
His stories are emotionally touching exploring complex scenarios, questioning social constructs and appealing to humanity.
(alert: many are sad but no less beautiful)

[César Ojeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Al menos la mitad de los cuentos de Maupassant merecen la pena por sí solos, en cada uno de ellos consigue crear una tensión que hace que parezcan más cortos de lo que son en realidad.

[Ayşe Şaşırdı · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bu derlemede Maupassant'ın 17 adet öyküsü yer alıyor. Okuması çok keyifli bu öykülerin genel teması kadın erkek ilişkileri. 43 yıllık hayatının son 13 senesinde yazdığı 300 öyküden seçilen bu öyküler 19. yy sonunda kaleme alınmış olsa da günümüzdeki ilişkiler ve olaylara paralelliği bu öyküleri zamansız kılıyor.

Semih Atayman'ın yazdığı harika önsözü için de ayrıca teşekkür ederim. Dönemi ve dönemin yazarlarını oldukça detaylı bir şekilde anlatmış. Bu önsöz kitaptaki öykülere iyi bir hazırlık niteliğinde.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

worth buying for "the necklass" alone

[Fanda Kutubuku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing stories! Now I have one favorite short stories author: Guy de Maupassant!

[Urenna Sander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Short Stories is a dual-language book authored by Guy de Maupassant. Many of his stories were set in his homeland, Normandy, and, published between 1880 and 1887. Maupassant wrote with powerful verve and imagination. In reading the stories it is not unusual that he is known as ‘the father of the modern short story.’ Maupassant had an affinity for writing about strong women, especially filles de joie. He expressed some of his characters with comedic effect, especially male customers affected by the temporary closing in the Tellier Establishment, when Madame and her girls went to her niece’s Holy Communion. The frenzied church scene is incredibly descriptive and humorous.

I read Boule de Suif—Ball of Fat several years ago. In re-reading, it’s still an engaging story. The story took place during the Franco-Prussian War. It concerns a modest, kind-hearted, woman, thought as of easy virtue, who cheerfully shared her delectable foods during a stagecoach ride with nuns and three couples, considered blue bloods. The traveler’s plans would be interrupted at an inn by a Prussian officer, who desired Boule de Suif. A French patriot, Boule de Suif refused to demean herself with the German officer’s advances. Wanting to resume their travels, the elitist couples secretly called her every offensive name under the sun, and urged her to consider the Officer’s demands.

Short story, Mademoiselle Fifi, shows the resilience, courage, and patriotism of Rachel. Prussian officers requested entertainment by courtesans that lived nearby. Rachel was paired with the violent, brutal officer, Second Lieutenant, Marquis von Eyrik, nicknamed Mademoiselle Fifi. His violence would prove his undoing. Rachel was not one to ‘bend and squat’ to any man.

The Necklace concerns a wife dissatisfied with she and her husband’s meager existence. When invited to a ball, her husband buys her a gown and, she borrows a wealthy friend’s necklace, which she loses. The price and irony the couple pay to recover the necklace is notable.

Miss Harriet is the story told by Artist, Leon Chenal to friends of the unfortunate love of his life, an Englishwoman he met in his youth in the French countryside. Miss Harriet is revealed as nomadic, secretive, unhappy, and in total despair. At the end, I loved how Chenal displayed love and respect for Miss Harriet.

Horla revealed, I think, the prescient intuition touching on Maupassant’s fate. I thought the story very depressing. He died at the young age of 43 in 1893.

The introduction states the stories were a patchwork of Maupassant’s daily life. There are other short stories in the collection. I read them all, but commented on six.

[Brona's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 and half stars
Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) wrote nearly 300 short stories during his life. They were uneven at times yet distinct in style. Full of irony, deception, narrative drama, arguments & quarrels. De Maupassant was also a naturalist with a tendency to lean towards the bleaker side of real life. The Guardian says that he considered life to be "brutal, incoherent, disjointed, full of inexplicable, illogical and contradictory disasters".

The Best Short Stories (first published in 1997 by Wordsworth Editions) contains 17 such examples. My 2011 reprint is rounded out with a rather dry Introduction by Cedric Watts, who informs us that Maupassant's tales 'dealt predominantly with the provincial bourgeoisie, urban employees and civil servants.'

For the past three years, I've been reading a handful of these stories at a time to coincide with Paris in July. This year, I decided it was time to be finished with them. Not because I haven't been enjoying them, but three years is long enough for a book to by taking up space on my bedside table.

I wanted to take my time with each story and not rush from one to the next. I've made that mistake in the past with short story anthologies, and as a result I have no recollection of many of them. I decided to make brief notes on each story. I also gathered together some points about the short story format to help me with my notes.
Full review here - http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com/2019/...

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diverse and brilliantly written selection of short stories. Maupassant has a mastery of tone that enables him to produce both tragedy and comedy, stories of crafty peasants and brutal soldiers, varied themes such as love, passion, avarice and cruelty. His sharp powers of observation combine with an amused and humane view of human vices and virtues, so that every tale contains a grain of truth, an element of surprise and something to make the reader stop and think, even to shock them on occasions.

There are 17 stories in this little collection and I enjoyed all of them. My favourites were those with a sadness at their heart, but there are also some very funny comic scenes. I particularly liked Two Friends , The Necklace and Love, but every one of these stories has something to offer and admire.

[Jose Alveo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recuerdo sus cuentos de cuando nos lo mandaban a leer en el colegio. Acertadas sus ávidas descripciones de una París del siglo XIX, las emociones de sus personajes, diálogos cortos, precisos y lleno de suspenso; Maupassant es un digno escritor de cuentos que todo escritor de cuentos de suspenso debería leerse al menos una vez en su vida. De los cuentos que más me fascinaron fueron: "El Collar" por su carácter humorístico y lleno de ironía, "Los Soldados" por recordarme a mis amigos cercanos, "Junto a un cadáver" por referencias al filosofo Schopenhauer, y "La Mano" y "El Lobo" por su excelente narrativa sencilla y llena de suspenso.

[Zuhal Aksulu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sauvage içini çekti:
"Her savaşta mutlaka bir galip, bir de mağlup vardır. Bu bir hayat mücadelesi."
Morissot acı acı güldü:
"Ölüm mücadelesi demek daha doğru olur." (sf 69)

[Chase · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing to say the least. Time for Thomas Bernhard.

[Mariano Cascio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Say no more.

[Denizzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

En sevdiğim öykü “Bayan Harriet” oldu.
“Hayatta ,muhakkak ki, birçok mutsuz insanlar vardı.Acımasız doğadaki o ebedi adaletsizliğin bu insanın üzerine nasıl çökmüş olduğunu hissediyordum!Belki de dünyada en kısmetsiz insanların bile sahip oldukları şeyleri hiçbir vakit göremeden,bir kez bile olsa,sevilme ümidi besleyemeyen onun için her şey bitmişti artık.Bunun için mi gizleniyor,bunun için mi başkalarından kaçıyordu?İnsan olmayan her şeyi,bütün canlıları bunun için mi o kadar çok seviyordu?”

[Teguh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Membaca ini memang terasa sangat sederhana (dari kisah-kisah di sekitar kita) tetapi dituturkan dengan apik oleh Guy de Maupassant.
Cinta Sejati cerita tentang seorang wanita miskin tukang tambal kursi yang mencintai seorang Chouquet sejak lelaki itu masih kecil. Bermula karena Chouquet kehilangan uang, dan si tukang tambal kursi memberinya uang. Dari sanalah cinta bermula. Hingga Chouquet menjadi dewasa dan menajdi dokter. Si tukang kursi meninggal. Saat diberi tahu bahwa ada seorang miskin yang mencintainya, Chouquet marah karena kehormatannya dilecehkan. Tetapi saat diberi tahu bahwa tukang kursi itu memariskan beberapa ribu franc dan sebuah kereta untuknya, ia tetap menerima. Tanpa pernah membalas cinta.

Dan kisah-kisah lainnya sederhana.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guy de Maupassant was very good at writing short stories. My O/A level French teacher loved them and so I read several in French. I loved them too.
This collection contains some of de Maupassant's best known short stories, in the original French and in translation. The translator's have tried to strike a balance between the flavour of the original and a direct translation of the actual words. They have generally succeeded and this is a good introduction to one of France's funniest, most observant and insightful authors.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories so far...somewhat dark, but nice use of irony, and the dual-language aspect is great for people trying to increase their reading ability in French while still being able to see the way the text is translated into English.

[Anna S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guy de Maupassant's writing is so alive and descriptive that you can't help but feel and live inside the worlds he creates. He draws you completely into a wirl of french passions, emotions, desires and personalities.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere between Twain and Dostoyevsky. Masterful stories that brim with humanity and teem with life.

[Catherine Vamianaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book with the best short stories by him. I had read a few recently as I am reading lots of his works. So in this book there are several I have already read. Really liked it.

[Bob Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed collection

During my last three years of high school, now in the mists of the distant past, I took French. We had a good teacher, Miss Ruth Lancy, and by the last year, we were reading stories by famous authors, none of whom I had ever read previously in English. I remember that we read two by de Maupassant, whose name meant nothing to me at the time. I thought they were very didactic (though I didn’t know that word then either) and somewhat on the “goody-goody” side. Over the years since then I avoided reading any more of this author thanks to the opinion formed back then in my teens. I did buy this book back in my grad school days just because I thought that “one should have a book by de Maupassant in one’s library” or some **** like that. I just read it now, fifty-three years later!

I was mistaken.

The 45 stories presented here vary a good deal in quality and in topic. Some don’t seem to have much direction, others are skillful portraits of various people in French society. For example there’s “The Diary of a Madman”—a judge who kills people because he wants to, a rather contrived story of dark horror. “A Country Excursion” is a slight account of a brief amorous attraction on a picnic. The story called “The Farmer’s Wife” struck me as corny—a woman who dies pining for one man, having married another, a good, blameless man.

Then, perhaps the best one, “Ball-of-Fat” about a carriage full of five people heading to French territory when the Prussians occupied northern France in 1871. One is a prostitute who shares her ample food supply with the others en route as they had left in haste. A German officer in a small town through which they pass forbids them to continue until she has sex with him. She’s patriotic and refuses, but the others all put pressure on her to do it. At last she gives in, whereupon the others scorn and reject her, refusing to share any of their food with her. Ah, human nature!
In “The Little Cask” a greedy landowner gets hold of an old lady’s property by slowly turning her into an alcoholic and in “Moonlight” we read of a brief sexual affair abroad due to moonlight (?!) There are a lot of stories to do with sex, romance, and odd incidents. For example, in “The Signal” a rich woman spies a whore across the street giving inviting signals to men from her upstairs window. She tries it and catches one. She attempts to chicken out, but he still has sex with her, pays 40 francs and expects an encore. A female friend tells her to buy a present for her husband with the money and tell the police the guy is harassing her. In “Two Little Soldiers” we read of two Breton boys far from home who fall in love with the same cowgirl. She loves one in return, the other commits suicide but his friend doesn’t realize, thinks it was an accident.
In short, I found the stories entertaining if certainly in a style that was prevalent in the late 19th century and with the limitations for modern readers that entails. Stories written by Anglo-Saxons at the time rigorously avoided sexual topics except in the most veiled terms, so no wonder de Maupassant’s work hit our more prudish societies with considerable force. If you ever wanted to read de Maupassant, this is certainly the way to dive in.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well observed, psychologically perceptive and morally seeing the world as unjust, society unfit.

Boule de Suif: The prose style was unremarkable and I engaging at first but then …The amorality of the fellow travellers and the development of the story - that the courtesan share everything she has when they are hungry, is forced to sleep with the Prussian officer to allow their journey to continue, and is then treated with contempt and they refuse to share their food in return - “the two nuns returned to their prayers, after carefully wrapping up their remaining sausage” rather than see the person in need in front of them, when they’d convinced her to commit a sinful act because it would rescue them all. Was engaging.

The Necklace- the folly of desire and Mademoiselle Pearl - the lack of point of self denial based on society mores- are engaging stories of loss. The Piece of String and The Pig of a Morin show how unjustified societal blame and shame can lead to misery (in both cases the protagonist does by withering away)

I asked myself as to whether the author was a misogynist - but Useless Beauty has such a powerful lead character. After seven births she is still beautiful but sees the husband not living children, but using them as a way to control her from society. Her like that one isn’t his gives her six years peace and the deception is a deserved revenge.

The Olive Garden has a clever twist- a terrible woman who takes advantage of him and then a terrible son who maybe seeks to reconcile but is actually after more, where it looks like the son cuts the pious fathers throat but in fact the father may have taken his own life

Happiness contrasts so beautifully and so happily with The Necklace. The way that Corsica rises off the coast as an apparition, a physical manifestation of the simplicity of love
“All night, as I listened to the hoarse breathing of the old soldier, beside her who had followed him so far, I thought of this strange and simple adventure, of this happiness, which was so complete bit was made up of so little.

One of the women said: ‘All the same that woman had too simple an ideal, with her too primitive needs and wants. She must have been a fool’

Another said quietly: ‘What does it matter? She was happy’

Away on the horizon Corsica buried itself in the darkness, disappearing slowly into the sea, from which it had risen itself to tell the story of the two humble lovers whom its shores had sheltered”

[ReviewingTheChapters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guy de Maupassant’s The Best Short Stories directly reflects how much he as an author could accomplish within a limited space. His stories possess an apparent simplicity that conceals a keen understanding of human nature. Maupassant trusts actions and conversations to reveal his characters, which gives his writing a natural sense of immediacy.

There is no shortage in the range of people represented throughout the collection. Maupassant moves easily across social classes and gives each character a distinct presence. He writes about loneliness, friendship, desire, and disappointment with genuine sensitivity. Even characters who appear for only a short time are still provided with the flaws and vulnerabilities which give them an authenticity that still feels familiar today.

Maupassant’s command of tone is another distinctive quality. His humor can be sharp and playful, while his quieter stories reveal a remarkable tenderness. Madame Tellier’s Establishment displays his perceptive approach to social conventions. Love shows his ability to find emotional significance in the natural world. The Necklace demonstrates how a simple premise can develop into something deeply consequential. This variety made the assortment consistently seamless and showed how comfortably Maupassant could move between satire, emotion, and psychological observation.

His treatment of war was just as equally poignant. Boule de Suif, Mademoiselle Fifi, and Two Friends bring the effects of conflict down to an individual level. War becomes immediate through the difficult choices and experiences of ordinary people. Maupassant captures the fear and cruelty of occupation while also recognizing moments of courage and dignity. The intimate scale of these stories gives their portrayal of conflict considerable emotional force.

This compilation demonstrates why Maupassant remains such an important figure in the short story tradition. From the precision of his storytelling to his ability to make ordinary circumstances meaningful. More than a century later, these stories retain their power through the clarity and insight with which Maupassant understood people and the world around him.