Boule de suif et autres nouvelles

by Guy de Maupassant, Gallimard Folio edition

Dans sa plus célèbre nouvelle, Maupassant décrit le sacrifice d'une prostituée au grand cœur : elle se donne contre sa volonté à un officier allemand, pour permettre à une diligence occupée par des bourgeois de continuer son voyage. D'abord suppliée par eux, elle n'est bientôt plus que l'objet de leur mépris. La lâcheté de la classe dirigeante et le courage des humbles, la résistance et la collaboration, la France de 1870 en annonçait d'autres.

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

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 15, 1880

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

[Amirhosein · Rating 4 out of 5]

موپاسان از خوب‌های روزگاره توی داستان کوتاه. ۲۱ داستان این کتاب همه خوب بودن و خواندنی و موجز با ظرافت‌های استادانه‌ای که فقط موپاسان و امثال موپاسان از پسش برمیان. موشکافی‌های روانی، توصیفات ریز و جذاب و نگاهش به مسائل اجتماعی جامعه‌ی فرانسه‌ در زمان حیاتش (نقد جامعه‌ی اشراف فرانسه و جنگ با پروس) از جمله ویژگی‌هایی کارشه که نمیشه به‌هیچ‌وجه نادیده‌شون گرفت. استفاده از طنز یکی از ارکان اصلی کار موپاسان هم هست و اکثر داستان‌های این مجموعه حاوی طنز هم هستند. طنزی که گاه تلخ و گزنده است و گاهی شیرین.
داستان‌هایی که بیشتر از بقیه‌ی داستان‌ها توی این مجموعه دوست داشتم: (۷ تای اولی فوق‌العاده‌ اند.)
تپلی
اولین برف
گردن‌بند
گیسو
گلخانه
رز
کوکو
کنار مرده
کینه‌جو
تخت شماره ۲۹
جنایت از نظر بابابنیفاس

[°•.Melina°•. · Rating 5 out of 5]

واقعا جمله‌ی "تحت تاثیر قرار گرفتن" رو از داستانای موپاسان ساختن. موپاسان منو به فکرهای عمیق و جدی و ترسناک درمورد مرگ و زندگی فرو میبره و این کارو تو هر داستان در عرض هفت هشت صفحه میکنه. جا داره واقعا دست‌بوس نشر فرهنگ معاصر باشم که آثار موپاسان رو با این جلد سخت‌های خوشگلش تجدید چاپ و ترجمه کرد تا بیشتر مورد توجه قرار بگیره.

تپلی یک داستان بلند و بیست داستان کوتاه فوق‌العاده‌س که حتما باید تو لیستتون بذارید مخصوصا اگر اولین تجربه‌ی داستان کوتاهتون باشه، حتما از استادش شروع کنید.
از کوچه پس کوچه‌های فرانسه گرفته تا طنز بی‌نظیرش، شوخی‌های جنسیش و درک خیلی عمیقش از احساسات و وضعیتِ زنان، اونم تو اون زمان. بی‌نظیره، چی میتونم بگم، یکی از بهترین اتفاق‌های پارسالم اتفاقی آشنا شدن با موپاسان بود و حالا نمیخوام هیچوقت این دویصد و خورده‌ای رمان و داستانش برام ته داشته باشه.

[Helga · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

No one looked at her, no one thought of her. She felt herself swallowed up in the scorn of these virtuous creatures, who had first sacrificed, then rejected her as a thing useless and unclean.

On their way fleeing from Rouen, ten French travelers, among them a prostitute by the name of Elisabeth Rousset also known as Boule de Suif (literally ball of suet) are seized by Prussian officers.
The travelers soon find out that their release depends on Boule de Suif sleeping with one of the officers.
Elisabeth Rousset may be a prostitute but she has principles and refuses to sleep with the enemy.
At first, her virtuous co-travelers support her decision, but soon tiring of the situation they begin encouraging her to do the deed.
Eventually she complies and the day after, they resume their journey.
Oh, but once again, for the righteous and worthy travelers, Boule de Suif’s shameful action becomes a sin and a transgression.
Whereas at the beginning during their journey, the prostitute shares her scant food with the others, at the end, not only they snub and ridicule her, but also don’t give her a piece of their bread.

[Saman · Rating 3 out of 5]

نمی‌دونم داستان‌ها بر اساس سال انتشارشون چاپ شدند یا نه و من تقریبا داستان‌های یک سوم پایانی کتاب رو دوست داشتم و دو سوم ابتدایی کتاب فقط داستان بلند تپلی بود که نظرمو جلب کرد...برخی از داستان‌ها از نظر شیوه روایت منو یاد داستان کوتاه‌های ماشادو د آسیس در مجموعه کلیسای شیطان انداخت...البته که من همچنان رابطه‌ زیاد دوستانه‌ای با داستان کوتاه ندارم .

داستان‌هایی که دوست داشتم : گردن‌بند، خوشبختی،گیسو،تخت شماره 29، جنایت از نظر بابا بنیفاس، اعتراف،انتظار

[payam Mohammadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

بی‌دلیل نبوده که به موپاسان استاد داستان‌های کوتاه می‌گفتن. این کتاب شامل ۲۱ داستان کوتاهه و قبول دارم که یک دست نیستن و فراز و نشیب زیادی داره؛ بعضی‌هاشون خوب بودن و بعضی‌ها ضعیف ولی من نظرم بیشتر روی نحوه‌ی روایت هستش که چقدر استادانه داستان‌ها رو این‌قدر ظریف در صفحات کم روایت می‌کرد. واقعا بین ۴ و ۵ ستاره دو دل بودم اما ترجیح دادم ۵ بدم تا حداقل کسی نظرش جلب بشه و بره این کتاب رو بخونه. تا یاد بگیریم کتاب خوب بخونیم و کتاب خوب به هم معرفی کنیم. تا یاد بگیریم که داستان یک کتاب فقط یک روی سکه هستش اما اون روی دیگه‌اش نحوه‌ی روایت هستش که خواننده رو جلب کنه و چیزی به کسی که وقتش رو پای خوندنش می‌ذاره یاد بده.

[P.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pacte républicain


L'histoire :

Boule de suif se passe en 1870, au temps de la déroute de l'armée française face à l'armée allemande, qui a investi les alentours de Rouen. Les forces françaises sont dans la confusion générale, le pays est médusé. Dix civils français, qui ont obtenu un passe-droit pour quitter la Rouen prennent alors la route de Dieppe, pour fuir les rigueurs de l'occupation militaire de la ville.

En cours de route, ils sont arrêtés à Tôtes, située à mi-chemin, cependant que l'officier allemand en poste refuse de leur laisser poursuivre leur route vers Dieppe. Il les laissera partir, à condition que Élisabeth Rousset, alias Boule de Suif, l'une des voyageuses, se donne à lui. Huit des neufs accompagnants se coalisent bientôt pour obtenir de la prostituée qu'elle se dévoue, pour qu'ils puissent reprendre leur route. Ils font montre à cette occasion d'un talent insoupçonné pour la casuistique et avancent un trésor de raisons pour qu'elles le fasse, toutes plus excellentes les unes que les autres...

Le sacrifice consenti et la route reprise, ils se détournent ostensiblement de leur sauveuse, avec mépris et suffisance. Tous sont d'ailleurs plus prompts à juger et à mépriser les autres que soi-même.


Mon avis:

La nouvelle réussit particulièrement son coup dans le petit cercle de personnages qu'elle présente en huis-clos, bien représentatif des divisions dans l'opinion de la population française d'alors, qu'elles soient dues au rang (deux des voyageurs sont nobles), à la richesse, à la religion, à l'opinion politique (bonapartiste, orléaniste, républicain...). Déracinés de leur entourage habituels, ces dix personnages vont devoir se côtoyer, se coltiner les uns les autres. Leur voyage est du reste ralenti par le mauvais état des routes. Par chance, Boule de suif leur offre de quoi se restaurer au cours du voyage, ce qui permet à chacun de mieux faire connaissance et allège sensiblement les tensions au sein du groupe de dix...

L'histoire est un bijou d'efficacité en ce qui concerne la présentation des stratégies argumentatives mises en place par les conjurés pour pousser l'héroïne au sacrifice de sa personne... Tour à tour, ils passent en revue la Judith biblique, la Lucrèce romaine, Cléopâtre, bref tous les exemples de l'histoire, de la mythologie antique et de la vie des saints sont assez bons pour étayer cette argumentation et justifier toutes les compromissions. La fin justifie les moyens ; or la fin est excellente et doit justifier tous les sacrifices, tant qu'ils ne sont pas demandés aux intrigants.

Tous sont prompts à "vendre" l'héroïne, à la sacrifier à leur salut (c'est-à-dire, à leur vil confort), et se félicitent de leur réussite, donnant à voir des trésors de rouerie, de duplicité, d'hypocrisie et de lâcheté, de veulerie et de bassesse.

Lu pendant le service de nuit à l'hôtel.


Lien vers la lecture du texte intégral:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtoBF...


Une anecdote sur les opérations allemandes dans le grand ouest de la France :
https://youtu.be/fnHfz74_F3Y


Suggestion de bande-son:
Musique du ballet Gisèle de Adolphe Adam, jouée par l'orchestre symphonique de Nuremberg en 2005


Lectures similaires:

Civil War Stories
Le Silence de la mer


D'autres huis-clos mémorables:

Lifeboat
Twelve Angry Men

[Stace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Reviewed by Clive on www.whisperingstories.com

This volume is part of Alma Classics’ 101 pages collection. There are six short stories of which Boule de Suif fills half of the book at 51 pages. They have been translated by Andrew Brown and first published as a collection in 2003. The 2018 package includes an introduction by Brown which is useful reading for the background that it provides.

The stories are set in France around the time of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 which resulted in a heavy defeat for France. Paris surrendered after a siege followed by street warfare between French forces and revolutionary militia.

Boule de Suif is a great little study of French society and moral attitudes at that time. Indeed, given the group’s situation, I could well imagine that such a chain of events could still happen today. Guy de Maupassant observes how people who would not mix socially can unite in times of trouble. Most of the coach party consider themselves vastly superior to the prostitute but they are delighted to take advantage of her generosity and her professional skills to relieve their situation. Are they grateful to her? You will need to read the book to find the answer.

Incidentally I am pleased that Andrew Brown kept the French title; Boule de Suif is vastly preferable to any English translation.

The other five stories in this volume all have their titles translated and all have merit. They also follow de Maupassant’s predilection for relationships between the classes. Bed 29 has a serious theme but is very funny with much of the humour aimed at the French Army Officer. I also loved the atmosphere and the messages in The Confession and Rose.

Boule de Suif is an entertaining little volume which will inform and amuse. Of course, with only 114 pages including the Introduction and Notes pages your entertainment will be relatively brief. I have awarded four stars.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that I've read my first collection of Maupassant stories, I can say that he is indeed a great writer, though being as prolific as he apparently was, I think you probably need to read a lot more to really be familiar with his work. He was a student of Flaubert, the French "realist" school, hence all these short stories being basically slice-of-life stories about (mostly) provincial French life. There are morals, sometimes, but rarely made explicit - in fact, often the stories just end, like one of those writing exercises in which the reader is asked to decide what happens next. The more moralistic tales among this collection include The Necklace, about a French housewife who borrows a friend's expensive diamond necklace for a ball and then loses it. The ending has the sort of twist that O. Henry later became famous imitating. Then there is Boule De Suif, about a group of wealthy French townspeople fleeing Prussian-occupied Rouen, when a Prussian officer takes a fancy to the courtesan in their midst. When she refuses his advances, her countrymen initially praise her patriotism, but when the officer refuses to let anyone travel onwards until he gets his way, they end up cajoling her into sacrificing herself, and then hypocritically turn on her.

All the other stories were likewise enjoyable and interesting, ranging from fireside tales about hunting and farming and jilted lovers and poor peasants and debauched soldiers, to a few, like The Inn, that take the form of a ghost story even if no actual supernatural apparitions appear.

Definitely worth reading these, and I wouldn't hesitate to try some more Maupassant.

The Moribund

The moist, lumpy earthen floor looked greasy, and, at the back of the room, the bed made an indistinct white spot. A harsh, regular noise, a difficult, hoarse, wheezing breathing, like the gurgling of water from a broken pump, came from the darkened couch where an old man, the father of the peasant woman, was dying.

The Gamekeeper

An old friend, known to all of us, M. Boniface, a great sportsman and a connoisseur of wine, a man of wonderful physique, witty and gay, and endowed with an ironical and resigned philosophy, which manifested itself in caustic humor, and never in melancholy, suddenly exclaimed:

"I know a story, or rather a tragedy, which is somewhat peculiar. It is not at all like those which one hears of usually, and I have never told it, thinking that it would interest no one.

The Story of a Farm Girl

"What do you want?" he then asked her. And with clenched teeth, and trembling with anger, she replied: "I want--I want you to marry me, as you promised." But he only laughed and replied: "Oh! if a man were to marry all the girls with whom he has made a slip, he would have more than enough to do."

The Wreck

As he was looking for a place to climb up I showed him the easiest way, and gave him a hand. He climbed up. Then we helped up the three girls, who had now quite recovered their composure. They were charming, especially the oldest, a blonde of eighteen, fresh as a flower, and very dainty and pretty! Ah, yes! the pretty Englishwomen have indeed the look of tender sea fruit. One would have said of this one that she had just risen out of the sands and that her hair had kept their tint. They all, with their exquisite freshness, make you think of the delicate colors of pink sea-shells and of shining pearls hidden in the unknown depths of the ocean.

Theodule Sabot's Confession

Sabot (Theodule), a master carpenter, represented liberal thought in Martinville. He was a tall, thin, man, with gray, cunning eyes, and thin lips, and wore his hair plastered down on his temples. When he said: "Our holy father, the pope" in a certain manner, everyone laughed. He made a point of working on Sunday during the hour of mass. He killed his pig each year on Monday in Holy Week in order to have enough black pudding to last till Easter, and when the priest passed by, he always said by way of a joke: "There goes one who has just swallowed his God off a salver."

The Necklace

She was one of those pretty and charming girls, born by a blunder of destiny in a family of employees. She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood, loved, married by a man rich and distinguished; and she let them make a match for her with a little clerk in the Department of Education.

She was simple since she could not be adorned; but she was unhappy as though kept out of her own class; for women have no caste and no descent, their beauty, their grace, and their charm serving them instead of birth and fortune. Their native keenness, their instinctive elegance, their flexibility of mind, are their only hierarchy; and these make the daughters of the people the equals of the most lofty dames.

The Wrong House

Quartermaster Varajou had obtained a week's leave to go and visit his sister, Madame Padoie. Varajou, who was in garrison at Rennes and was leading a pretty gay life, finding himself high and dry, wrote to his sister saying that he would devote a week to her. It was not that he cared particularly for Mme. Padoie, a little moralist, a devotee, and always cross; but he needed money, needed it very badly, and he remembered that, of all his relations, the Padoies were the only ones whom he had never approached on the subject.

The Marquis De Fumerol

“We were at dinner when a letter was brought in and my father opened it. You know my father, who thinks that he is king of France ad interim. I call him Don Quixote, because for twelve years he has been running a tilt against the windmill of the Republic, without quite knowing whether it was in the name of the Bourbons or of the Orleans. At present he is holding the lance in the name of the Orleans alone, because there is nobody else but them left. In any case, he thinks himself the first gentleman in France, the best known, the most influential, the head of the party; and as he is an irremovable senator, he thinks that the neighboring kings’ thrones are very insecure.

The Trip of Le Horla

Nothing is more amusing, more delicate, more interesting than the manoeuvring of a balloon. It is an enormous toy, free and docile, which obeys with surprising sensitiveness, but it is also, and before all, the slave of the wind, which we cannot control. A pinch of sand, half a sheet of paper, one or two drops of water, the bones of a chicken which we had just eaten, thrown overboard, makes it go up quickly.

Farewell

"Very few stand the test of the bath. It is there that they can be judged, from the ankle to the throat. Especially on leaving the water are the defects revealed, although water is a powerful aid to flabby skin.

"The first time that I saw this young woman in the water, I was delighted, entranced. She stood the test well. There are faces whose charms appeal to you at first glance and delight you instantly. You seem to have found the woman whom you were born to love. I had that feeling and that shock.

The Wolf

And soon a rumor began to circulate. People talked of a colossal wolf with gray fur, almost white, who had eaten two children, gnawed off a woman's arm, strangled all the watch dogs in the district, and even come without fear into the farmyards. The people in the houses affirmed that they had felt his breath, and that it made the flame of the lights flicker. And soon a panic ran through all the province. No one dared go out any more after nightfall. The darkness seemed haunted by the image of the beast.

The Inn

He slept for a long time, for a very long time, the unconquerable sleep of exhaustion. But suddenly a voice, a cry, a name: "Ulrich," aroused him from his profound slumber, and made him sit up in bed. Had he been dreaming? Was it one of those strange appeals which cross the dreams of disquieted minds? No, he heard it still, that reverberating cry,--which had entered at his ears and remained in his brain,--thrilling him to the tips of his sinewy fingers. Certainly, somebody had cried out, and called: "Ulrich!" There was somebody there, near the house, there could be no doubt of that, and he opened the door and shouted: "Is it you, Gaspard?" with all the strength of his lungs. But there was no reply, no murmur, no groan, nothing. It was quite dark, and the snow looked wan.

Boule de Suif

For several days in succession fragments of a defeated army had passed through the town. They were mere disorganized bands, not disciplined forces. The men wore long, dirty beards and tattered uniforms; they advanced in listless fashion, without a flag, without a leader. All seemed exhausted, worn out, incapable of thought or resolve, marching onward merely by force of habit, and dropping to the ground with fatigue the moment they halted. One saw, in particular, many enlisted men, peaceful citizens, men who lived quietly on their income, bending beneath the weight of their rifles; and little active volunteers, easily frightened but full of enthusiasm, as eager to attack as they were ready to take to flight; and amid these, a sprinkling of red-breeched soldiers, the pitiful remnant of a division cut down in a great battle; somber artillerymen, side by side with nondescript foot-soldiers; and, here and there, the gleaming helmet of a heavy-footed dragoon who had difficulty in keeping up with the quicker pace of the soldiers of the line. Legions of irregulars with high-sounding names "Avengers of Defeat," "Citizens of the Tomb," "Brethren in Death"--passed in their turn, looking like banditti. Their leaders, former drapers or grain merchants, or tallow or soap chandlers--warriors by force of circumstances, officers by reason of their mustachios or their money--covered with weapons, flannel and gold lace, spoke in an impressive manner, discussed plans of campaign, and behaved as though they alone bore the fortunes of dying France on their braggart shoulders; though, in truth, they frequently were afraid of their own men--scoundrels often brave beyond measure, but pillagers and debauchees.

[Niyousha · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان اول تپلی رو اصلا دوست نداشتم کلا هم نمیدونم چرا همه داستانهای این نویسنده یه جور حوصله سربری شروع میشه اصلا جذبت نمیکنه ولی یکدفعه وقتی میرسی وسط داستان آسشو رو میکنه و میخکوب میشی. یه داستان که احتمالا از این کتاب یادم بمونه همیشه داستان گیسو بود که یه مردی عاشق یه زنی در گذشته میشه که نه هرگز دیدتش نه میدونه کیه و قطعا هم زنه سالها پیش مرده. این عشق هم صرفا با پیدا کردن یکی از موهای اون زنه توی جاساز یه کمد قدیمی شروع میشه.
بقیه داستانها هم اکثرا با موضوع عشقه و روابط زن و مرد بود. آها راستی یه داستان دیگه شم در مورد مردیه که با زن دوست مرده اش ازدواج میکنه ولی میبینه به این شوهر مرده این خانوم همش حسادت میکنه.
تعداد داستانها زیاده ولی همه غیر تپلی کوتاه و چند صفحه ای بودند. در کل بنظرم کتاب خوبی بود، اگه همه داستانهاش مثل گیسو بود قطعا بهش ۵ میدادم.

آه گذشته زیبا، دوستت دارم.

[Masoome · Rating 4 out of 5]

داستان‌های کوتاه و جذاب که غافلگیری‌های کوچیک دوست‌داشتنی داشتن.

[Bahareh · Rating 5 out of 5]

داستان‌های کوتاهِ خوشخوان که تا می‌اومدم لذتشون رو بچشم تموم می‌شد. نمی‌دونم قلم موپاسان چی داره که آدمو به راحتی تا صفحات آخر می‌کشونه. اولین تجربه‌م در زمینه‌ی خوندن داستان کوتاه بود و خوندن این داستان‌های رئالیستی واقعا شیرین بود ✨
بخشی از کتاب:
"مردم شهر در اتاق‌های تاریکشان به جنونی گرفتار آمده بودند که از بلایای بزرگ طبیعی و زمین‌لرزه‌های مرگبار به انسان دست می‌دهد و در برابرشان دانایی و توانایی راه به جایی نمی‌برند. چون هر گاه نظم موجود به هم بریزد، امنیت از میان برود و هر آنچه در پناه قوانین بشری و طبیعی است دستخوش وحشی‌گری ظالمانه و نابخردانه شود، همین احساس در آدمی پدید می‌آید."

[ناني ماكفي · Rating 3 out of 5]

20 أقصوصة تتراوح بين الحلوة والجيدة لكن أسلوب الكتابة فيها يبقى لا غبار عليه . خفيف رائع ويسهل فهمه .
تدور الاحداث في زمن الحرب الفرنسية البروسية .. وقتها او بعدها بقليل
تتراوح القصص بين قصص شخصية قصص حرب قصص ظريفة قصص محزنة لكنها كلها ذات قالب إنساني
بعض الحكايات تضحكك . غيرها تبكيك.. الأخرى تبتسم لها وأخرى تجعلك تفكر في الحياة تفاهتها أو بساطتها او جمالها . بعضها تصدمك في الإنسان . وأخرى تدهشك وأخرى تنتبه إلى محدودية الإنسان وأنه مجموعة ظروف تتحكم به و بوجوده . تفكر أنه لو نفس الشخص وضع اليوم بنفس قيم اليوم و تغيرات ظرف اليوم لٱختلف مصيره جدا
كل كتابات غاي تبدأ بقصة ذات طابع إجتماعي لتصور لك مشهدا من الحياة الفرنسية في تلك الحقبة يصحبها لمسة وجودية مختبئة ��ين طيات السطور .
كل كتاباته ونصوصه تحيلك لرائحة ربيع باريسي في حديقة عامة اين يتمشى سادة القوم وزوجاتهن الجميلات في ثياب الدانتيل و الجواهر
وبعضها برائحة ليلة عاصفة في شاطئ حجري تصارع منارته الامواج .
.... أحببت وجدا ولم يخيبني غاي كعادته

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Maupassant is one of the few French authors I feel competent to read in the original French. It helps that his chosen form is the short story - it makes him much less forbidding than someone like Balzac or Hugo. Although I've been in Paris for just a little over two weeks, I'm already doing pretty well with these stories. He is particularly good at exposing the hypocrisies of small-town 19th century French life, the title story of this collection being an excellent example. But his character sketches are done with affection - though he liked his solitude, one senses a genuine affection for other people and their foibles.

Wikipedia provides two biographical facts worth passing on. As a youth, he saved the English poet Swinburne from drowning. Also, he shared the common French antipathy toward the Eiffel tower when it was first constructed. So much so that he commonly ate at the restaurant at the tower's base, as this was the only place in Paris one could avoid seeing the tower's inescapable profile.

Besides this collection, I also recommend his "Comtes de la Becasse" (Tales of the Hunt).

On this rainy Sunday in Paris, I've been getting reacquainted with de Maupassant and it's a great pleasure to do so.

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short novella, set in Germany occupied France in 1870-71. I’ve read a Ukrainian translation.

A group of French middle and upper class married couples travel by a coach to the sea-port in order to possibly move to Britain if Prussians remain in France. In this company there is a big woman, who is known for her dalliances with men. Initially she warms up the group’s attitude toward her by sharing a meal, but later they are stopped by a Prussian officer, who insists that she should sleep with him to allow the coach to continue its journey. She refuses due to her patriotic feelings, but the rest start peer pressure her.

A classic ‘socially conscious’ literature of the second half of 19th century. It criticizes duplicity of bourgeois morale and gives ironic depictions of Frenchmen, from merchant selling bad wines to revolutionary in love with own voice. Of course, there are a lot of passages, which sound not politically correct now, like ‘feminine men’ (as an insult).

[nettebuecherkiste]

War Abilektüre im Französisch-LK

[Samane⚘️]

3.7

ای کاش ما آدما عین آفتاب پرست هی رنگ عوض نمی‌کردیم.

[Edith Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran colección de cuentos de Maupassant.
Son 13 cuentos en total, los cuáles, para mí, han sido, en su mayoría, espeluznantes, terroríficos, y en ciertas ocasiones, representan situaciones sofocantes, desesperadas y asfixiantes. Muchas de éstas sensaciones, se desarrollan en un escenario en el que se puede ver al protagonista, en su lucha con gran frenesí de cómo va perdiendo la cordura, cómo se va desgajando su coherencia.

Bola de sebo
Una sociedad realista y actual, que condena a una mujer por llevar una vida fuera de las reglas de la moral y el decoro. Obligada y orillada a realizar una acción en pro de salvaguardar la seguridad de sus compañeros, quienes al final, a pesar de su sacrificio, no dejan de juzgarla.

Qué triste es ver que la sociedad juzga a quienes, según se cree o se piensa, se encuentran fuera de las leyes morales, y ¿Quiénes somos para juzgar, catalogar y dictaminar qué es o no lo correcto en esta sociedad que vive de guerras, envidias, abuso de poder? ¿Acaso somos libres de jamás haber realizado ni la más mínima acción dañina encontra de nuestro prójimo? ¿Quién es perfecto para señalar?

El horla
Un hombre se ve inmerso en una serie de situaciones que ponen en tela de juicio su cordura.

Esta ha sido una historia donde la creencia de Maupassant sobre cosas invisibles, seres ocultos, conviven con nosotros en total libertad. En la historia se puede sentir la desesperación y la asfixia del protagonista, que posiblemente eran sensaciones vívidas por Maupassant. Bajo observación, supresión y paranoia, encuentra un final fatídico.

Sobre el agua
La narración de un barquero que durante toda su vida ha permanecido navegando. Siempre en el agua.

Alucinaciones y sensación de somnolencia que llevan al barquero a encontrarse barado en las aguas de un océano, sin posibilidades de salir de ahí. Como dicen, cuánto más permanezcas en el agua, esta puede llevarte a la locura.

El miedo
Narraciones de un grupo de personas que cuentan algunas anécdotas de situaciones que los llevaron a sentir miedo.
El miedo (y hasta los hombres más intrépidos pueden tener miedo) es algo espantoso, una sensación atroz, como una descomposición del alma, un espasmo horroroso del pensamiento y del corazón, cuyo mero recuerdo provoca estremecimientos de angustia.

Un hombre que afirma que el espíritu de quien asesinó, quiere venganza, viene a buscarlo, y esta noche será la última.

La cabellera
La obsesión de un hombre por un objeto, una cabellera, la cual encuentra dentro de un mueble antiguo.

Se menciona en cierta parte de necrofilia. Y quizás sí lo sea, porque tener un fetiche con una cabellera, al extremo de dormir con ella, amarla, besarla y abrazarla, sin saber a quién perteneció, tiene las características de una filia.

La mano
Un misterio que gira en torno a una mano enorme que ha sido cercenada, quien lo hizo la conserva encadenada, con la excusa de que la mano quiere irse, y que pertenecía a su más grande enemigo. El final es fatídico.

Esta historia es corta pero a pesar de ello, no carece de terror.

¿Fue un sueño?
El protagonista pierde a su amada esposa, y ahora sufre su dolor y pérdida hasta la obsesión, la cual lo lleva a querer permanecer custodiando la tumba de su amada, acción que lo lleva a descubrir la verdad de su muerte. O ¿Ha sido un sueño?

La historia me recordó la frase: El que busca encuentra.

Aparición
Un personaje se reencuentra con un viejo amigo, quien había envejecido notablemente y su estado era deplorable. Había perdido a su amada esposa, según le cuenta. Le pide un favor, que recupere unos documentos que se encuentran en la vieja casa donde vivía con su esposa, el amigo accede y acude a lugar.

Alucinaciones, seres invisibles que habitan el mundo de los vivos.

Asesino
Recién casado, con su segunda esposa, el protagonista se encuentra en la necesidad de vengar el honor de su esposa.

Él ha respetado a su segunda mujer con ceguera porque había respetado a la primera con la razón.

El bigote
Una carta destinada de una amiga a otra explicando o expresando la importancia del bigote, el porqué un hombre sin bigote, no es hombre.

No encontré la coherencia de este relato banal, tal vez en aquella época (1883) era importante el bigote, y al ser Francia el origen de éste, pues ya se aclara la idea, que para mí, por vivir en ésta época, sigue siendo banal.

Las bodas del lugarteniente Laré
Un destacamento francés al mando de un eficiente oficial, el lugarteniente Laré, se encuentran en el bosque con un anciano y su hija. Ésta, fatigada y enferma, es objeto de los cuidados exquisitos de la tropa.

El collar
La historia de una mujer hermosa, dotada de una belleza incomparable, pero nacida bajo la desgracia mundada de la pobreza, al ser esposa de un empleado, no cuentan con los medios para disfrutar de las fiestas y alegrías de los salones y bailes. El esposo un día la sorprende con una invitación a un baile suntuoso, orillado por la tristeza de su esposa, le compra un vestido, pero ésta quiere más y le pide prestado un collar a una amiga rica. El desenlace es frustrante y cae en desgracia.

En alguna ocasión, leí una historia similar, que sinceramente no recuerdo dónde ni de quién era. Pero es igual, tal vez el objeto a solventar no sea un collar, pero sí recuerdo que era una alhaja.

El loco
Un magistrado muy aclamado por ser justo y siempre defender a los débiles, muere, a su funeral acude mucha gente y muchos le lloran por haber sido en vida un hombre intachable. Después de su muerte, el notario descubre un documento que contará la verdad sobre el fallecido.

Es verdad lo que se dice, que después de muerto se sabrá qué tipo de persona se era en vida.

[Williams Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

La prosa de Maupassant es muy bonita. Los relatos como el collar, boule de suif, la dicha, han sido los que más disfruté. Todos absolutamente, tienen un mensaje entre líneas, a libre interpretación del lector.

[K.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maupassant's genius at short story writing is on display here. In about twenty five pages he portrays a complete world eclipsed by war and German occupation of France, which is creeping deeper into the country by the day.
The characters are universal, for their political, professional and other belongings. While fleeing towards away from the occupying forces, the circumstances bring out the best and the worst in them. The fascinating description of the early cold morning they leave and the events in the countryside, which the natives are deserting likewise, is all there in very few words.
One's heart goes to Boule De suif, who, though a prostitute, has more honor than her companions. The spirit of resistance is lacking in all the rest: the businessmen, politicians and the rest, who have either shifted their business interests and money to England or in the deeper country side. For honor only a prostitute is fleeing.
It is one of the greatest short stories of all times. The translator really has done well. Maupassant once again does so much in so few pages that you wonder the over descriptiveness of the prose written during his time was outdated, even in other languages.
A great writer values the time of his readers. He was way ahead of his contemporaries at story telling. In a short life he achieved more than most of them, no wonder. For his writing also entertains to even a new reader. So it is universal.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN AFTERTHOUGHT to END with :
I just read a Guy de Maupassant short story and regrettably had only one word for it...FLABBY !!
BUT...thank ye gods for a "but"... I suddenly realized that perhaps it was the Translator of 2004, San Miles, who was to blame. Perhaps. After all, the Translator of 1951, H.N.P. Sloman, who did the set of the 3 Green Bordered Volumes which were ALL translated by HIM, these were NOT Flabby, but had a tightness, a constant relevance, a momentum...not a wishy-washy tone at all. Someone had the reins and steered us through. OK !!!
So...is Guy Flabby or Tight ????

For ME this is the BEST volume of de Maupassant's Collected Short Stories...
...perhaps that is because I have forgotten the Others,
or I am just biased,
or these are definitely Fresher in my mind.
I will say it was a Consistency...of being continually pleased regardless of the content...I had no bias as to the flavour: grimness, tragic pathos, good-humoured fun, genuine humour with no intention to wound, farce, satire....
I had began with "Boule de Suif" which I abandoned after the first 15 pages, not because I wasn't enjoying it,( I HAVE read it before ), but because I wanted to read some of the shorter stories, and there were 9 barring the final story at the back of the book, so I took myself there and dived in !!!!
...no disappointments here!! ...when one is being consistently pleased by his achievement, whatever the flavour !
The Longer stories were saved to last after enjoying the 4 short stories at the beginning...macabre, coarse in language and subject but fascinating, and one a perfect cameo - in its pathos, simplicity and moving atmosphere.
The Longer Stories are a mere 4 and each deserves its number being just as varied as their Numerals...Boule de Suif and The Olive Grove would be seen as Exceptional regardless of their context. One has a Fallen woman showing her Superiority in Manners and Morals when placed among Those who claim Society's Superior Places for Themselves but in Name Only. Their Reality embraces Cowardice, Treachery, Superficiality ...a resounding Hollowness.
The main character of the Olive Grove is a Superior yet Limited Man, one of Many Priests whom the author is prepared even as a free-thinker to draw with an invariable Sympathy. Here is a man who has the potential for passion that could lead to both Great Love and Great Rage. We witness both.
But also an overwhelming admiration at how he finally escapes from his darker side.
Not surprisingly it has been compared to the relentless quality of Greek drama, tragedy with no light relief. In the other two longer works we get a sprinkle of incidents which don't amount to a great deal; and the final Long Story gives a Bouncing Portrait of French men and women at their
Bouncing Best in "Madame Tellier's Establishment"; And the French are supposedly at their Best in
the World of Love. And here we see them having it richly and joyously with a Religious backdrop and a Brothel foreground at the Communion of the Local Children. Weird??? No !! French !! What an array of Delightful and Sexual Characters we have here, at a time in France when this was accepted,
and may still be such.
Anyway...I suggest you take no notice of Me...... except to try the Waters by splashing around in the Book Reviewed above!!

[Kosar mobini]

داستان های؛ گردن بند، جنایت از نظر بابا بنیفاس و تخت شماره‌ی ۲۹ رو خیلی دوست داشتم. داستان های؛ انتقام، انتظار، کوکو، رز و اعتراف هم برام جالب بودن.

[FP · Rating 4 out of 5]

El cuento más famoso es el titular, una historia sobre hipocresía en circunstancias extremas, una vieja historia que vimos y seguimos viendo constantemente. No me gusta mucho usar el término 'moral', debido a lo manoseado que está, pero el personaje titular es lejos el de mayor solidez moral en la historia.
Los otros cuentos, un pequeño muestrario adicional, suelen lidiar con la naturaleza humana así como la veía el autor. En particular, cuentos como "La cabellera" o "La mano" podrían bien pertenecer a una antología de Poe, mientras que otros como "Arrepentimiento" simplemente son deprimentes.
Como selección de cuentos no es mucho, pero cumple su función de presentar el estilo de Guy de Maupassant al lector no iniciado. Y seamos realistas: el que compra esta colección lo hace sólo por el cuento titular.

[Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta colección contiene cuentos buenos y excelentes. No hay ninguno que me haya dejado indiferente.
En su mayoría son de estilo realista, pero también hay fantasía, como el clásico de terror El Horla, con el cuál se cierra esta edición, y es de los mejores cuentos que he leído.
La prosa es bastante directa y moderna, pareciera que el narrador está contando desde el siglo XX, sucesos del siglo XIX.

[Nuno Mocho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um belo livro de contos para desanuviar da literatura contemporânea.
A edição que li conta com 14 contos, os meus preferidos foram:

Bola de Sebo
A Pensão Tellier
Em Família
"Mademoiselle" Fifi
Encontro
Monsieur Parent

[Sundus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of short stories. Maupassant is a new addition to my fav authors list.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

AKA: The Tallow Ball

The term "Boule de Suif" is most often translated to English as "Dumpling" but also sees the forms; "Butterball", "Ball of Lard", and "Ball of Fat."

The French army has just suffered a catastrophic defeat by the Prussian army and the tattered remains are staggering through the Normandy town of Rouen towards the Atlantic coast. The civilians in Rouen are nervous about the forthcoming occupation of their city by the victorious army, and rightly so, as although the invaders behave more or less correctly, officers and men must be housed and fed, and strict order is maintained. After a few days a group of civilians of all kinds obtain permission to leave the town by coach which included two rich businessmen along with their wives, a very wealthy and somewhat arrogant count and his countess, two nuns, a radical activist, and the courtesan Boule de Suif, a fairly young and very plump woman of the streets whose real name is Mademoiselle Elisabeth Rousset. All are proud patriots who want to have nothing to do with the foreign military. But the going is slow as it is winter, and the horses are weak. When their coach stops in the village of Totes, they find it is already evening and worse yet: the town has already been occupied by Prussian troops. They are obliged to stay there overnight, where the Prussian officer, a stalwart French-speaker of sorts, orders Boule de Suif to come to his office for an interview. The German officer orders the ten passengers to stay in the local inn until Boule de Suif agrees to sleep with him. She indignantly refuses, and her companions are equally shocked at the grossness of the Prussian. The next day they discover that they cannot leave the town until his lustful desires are satisfied, and little by little the patriotism of the members of the group, including the nuns, takes second place to their desire to continue on their journey. Each and every one of them, except to a certain degree the radical activist, who remains notably silent, finds excellent reasons why Boule de Suif should sacrifice herself and her patriotic ideals for the common good. In despair, she yields to the Prussian’s ultimatum. The three married couples and the two nuns celebrate this action by drinking champagne. What follows shows how hypocritical and self-centered some people can be. Boule de Suif's patriotism causes her to sacrifice herself for them, but now they want nothing to do with her. She realizes that these so-called people of quality are ultimately unworthy of her.

[barbora · Rating 5 out of 5]

utterly heartbreaking

[Yas · Rating 5 out of 5]

امان از این مردم

[Reyhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

خیلی دوستش داشتم مثل همه ی کتاب های دیگه کمی و کاستی داشت ولی خب داستان های خوبش جبران کرد🌟

[Ignacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicadísimo tanto en la construcción psicológica y sociológica de sus personajes; como en los relatos y costumbres. Los cuentos no sólo son intensos y ricos en descripciones, sino que además su estilo es pulcro y refinado, pero a la vez muy plagado de cuidados detalles que en conjunto se leen de modo ágil. Me produce sensaciones semejantes a un banquete de cocina francesa.
Cada vez que leo narrativa francesa del siglo XIX se me hace más difícil opinar sin pasión y usando criterios objetivos. Me parece estar dando siempre una opinión muy personal influida por el placer que experimento al leer estos cuentos o novelas.
Para quiénes no disfrutan del realismo y de los tópicos propios de la época, sólo puedo decir al respecto que su contenido es actual y su visión del hombre no es más que la constante de éste en la Historia. El realismo es tal vez duro por lo mismo, así es el hombre.