Selected Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant - Jan 1974

Hodder Arnold H&S, Jan 1974. Paperback. Maupassant is the Prussian War's Roald Dahl. His stories shine with mischief and flawed but totally absorbing human beings. Like Dahl there is a touch of the macabre and twistedness to his writings which, like Dr Hoffmann's Cautionary Tales, can haunt the reader. If you like some darkness and humour then you'll love this book.\nMaupassant is definatly a "people" writer- the humanity he observes leaps off the page. Where other author's would have trouble fleshing out characters Maupassant instantly creates believable and interesting 3D characters. The concentration of "real" working class or lower middle class characters in the stories make a welcome change from the aristos populating much of English literatures classic books. There's plenty of fun and frolics in Maupassant's writing along with the darkness and sordidness- a complete contrast to what we learn at school in history lessons of the poor and depressed citizens of Europe in the nineteeth century.\nA dark glittering gem of a book. Excellent.