Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1642641 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Ingram
In this collection of seven of his most popular stories each tale reflects both the author's intimate familiarity with Paris and the provinces in the Belle Epoque, as well as a nonjudgmental humanism that is one of Guy de Maupassant's most attractive writing qualities.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Stories; Great Vocabulary development
I'm an intermediate to advanced french student who bought this book to help develop my french vocabulary. The dual-language format is tremendously helpful, and allows me to make my way through what, for me, would otherwise be impenetrable.

It's a delight to read the original french, and I am often amused by the occasional not-always-perfect english translations (which I take great pride in recognizing!). I love the exposure to the literary verb tenses to which I'm rarely, if ever, exposed in my conversational french classes. De Maupassant's colourful style creates both vivid images of 19th century France, and a great exploration of verbs, adverbs, adjectives that I would otherwise not know.

I focus on reading the original french. It's tougher than the typical french magazines and newspapers that I occasionsally buy, but the format allows my eyes to quickly dart to the english when I start to lose the thread. As I progress through the book, I find I am less and less reliant on the english, and become intrigued just by the stories themselves.

A fun way to learn new vocabulary!

Proper.
As a language teacher and researcher, I've come to the conclusion that the single best way to learn a foreign language's vocabulary is through these sorts of dual-language texts. The reasons are many, but the ideal to which all second language learners strive is to simply relate new information to old - to learn a new word for a known concept.

This book succeeds in that department brilliantly. The translation is wonderful, without being too literal, and without being too prosaic. It captures the essence of the works without sacrificing artistic integrity... and is simply lovely.

If you're learning French, buy this.
If you're learning English, buy this.

charming stories
Useful both for English and French advanced students, in their search for Literature progress. Stories which are sometimes dramatic, sometimes funny, but always artfully written.