Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) is an early practitioner of the short story. This posthumous collection (complete with a pretentious, long-winded introduction by Henry James) includes some of his more striking examples of the form:
* "A Coward" details the thoughts and actions of a young man on the day before he must fight a duel.* A vain woman and her working-class husband are caught in debt trying to replace jewelry borrowed from a richer friend in "The Necklace".
* A peasant farmer's reputation is ruined over "A Piece of String".
* A man spends decades unable to shake a chilling encounter he can't explain in "A Ghost".
* An insurance adjustor and an English tourist establish a lifelong connection while stranded by the tide on board "The Wreck".
The stories are simple and straightforward, delving into the unpredictability of human emotions and actions, as well as the entrapping expectations and beliefs of society at large. Because the subject matter restricts itself to the real (except for "A Ghost"), it can feel merely observational at worst, but subtly poetic at best. Some stories have a memorable twist at the end which adds pathos or humor, while others just end. Also, strange to see in such an economical style, several of these stories have framing stories that don't add much. On the whole, though, it's tough to fault a master. This was an enjoyable collection of stories: a veritable loaf of life slices.
Arbitrary rating: 4 out of 5 striking examples of the form
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