A lifetime

Author: Guy de Maupassant
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The exquisite structure of Maupassant's short stories. The selection of typical details, narrative and lyrical techniques, as well as the natural, flowing prose style, have all provided a model for later writers. He was an outstanding French critical realist writer of the second half of the 19th century. Maupassant wrote six novels and 356 short stories in his lifetime, with his literary achievements being most prominent in short fiction. He was hailed as the "King of Short Stories" and had a profound influence on later generations. Maupassant was sharp-witted, witty, vivid in description, and biting in satire, readers'. Maupassant was a charming rogue who never married but enjoyed the company of women. Throughout his short 43-year life, he had many women, ultimately contracting syphilis and dying young. Maupassant excelled at writing about women through life, and the four short stories selected in this book exemplify this. After packing her belongings, Yona walked to the window, but the rain still poured without stopping. All night long, the torrential rain hammered against the glass windows and rooftops. The low, rain-filled sky seemed to crack, pouring water onto the earth, turning the soil into a thick slurry, melting like sugar. Waves of oppressive, hot storms swept past. The streets, devoid of pedestrians, had gutters overflowing like flooded streams, murmuring softly. The buildings on both sides of the street absorbed the moisture like sponges, with dampness seeping in from the ground to the top floors, leaving the walls drenched.