Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

The July author for our short stories is Guy de Maupassant, a French author who inspired many other short story writers including William Somerset Maugham, O. Henry, Anton Chekhov, Kate Chopin and Henry James. Maybe we already have some fans of his in the group or at least of writers influenced by him.

Our focus story by de Maupassant is The Necklace, which can be found within The Necklace and Other Stories: Maupassant for Modern Times. (Multiple editions of that book are out there.)

To learn more about the author: https://americanliterature.com/author...
Scroll past his bio to find links to numerous short stories by him.

To read the "The Necklace": https://americanliterature.com/author...

I picked up A Parisian Affair and Other Stories of which The Necklace is the last story. I rather enjoyed that tale and will tuck into a few more from this collection through the month. I note from the chronology at the front that I read this on the 129th anniversary of Guy de Maupassant's passing.

What a coincidence, Mike, to read a story on the author's anniversary of passing. I'm glad you liked The Necklace. Please share any other titles from the collection that you enjoy.

I can cheat a little here, I read Femme Fatale (review) a little while ago and it is essentially a sample from the larger collection. The stories included are:

-Cockcrow
-Femme Fatale
-Hautot & Son
-Laid to Rest

I enjoyed them all which lead to the purchase of A Parisian Affair and Other Stories, also a coincidence with Guy de Maupassant being author of the month!

I'm enjoying Maupassant's ability to paint pretty vivid scenes. You feel almost like a fly on the wall observing these shenanigans. The plots have been quite fun, mostly in a tragic comedy sense. The stories don't go the way you think they will and it's not because of a deus ex machina either. 29 more stories to go!

Mike, having read some stories by the author previously doesn't mean you're cheating. You're just well-read. 😉

I read Boule de Suif last night and once again could picture the scenes as if I was there. I'm not usually great at "seeing" what I'm reading so this is quite the treat. (view spoiler)[The story itself was rather sad, I was sure that the snobs were going to get their comupance for using Boule de Suif but they don't. What's surprising is that we end with such sympathy for her, a trope which is normally villified as she is by her travel companions. (hide spoiler)]

I'm still gradually working my way through A Parisian Affair and Other Stories and read a story suitable for this time of year. Horla is a fun story about a possibly invisible person haunting the town.

Mike, I love when I can picture the scenes from a book very well in my head. Books are usually like movies in my head, but some authors are better at writing vividly. It's great that de Maupassant's writing does that for you.