tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post8819742574639618081..comments2024-03-18T17:49:52.065+08:00Comments on The Reading Life: "Mademoiselle Fifi" by Guy de MaupassantMel uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post-25898056033921194082011-01-29T11:16:21.936+08:002011-01-29T11:16:21.936+08:00Amateur Reader-your comments on de Maupassant have...Amateur Reader-your comments on de Maupassant have been very valuable to me-thanks-I will soon be posting on the stories you mention and a few more<br /><br />Jenny O-super interesting to learn that Chopin translated some of his stories-thanks for telling me of thisMel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post-87537761634583051232011-01-28T14:19:02.679+08:002011-01-28T14:19:02.679+08:00"The Necklace" is a fantastic short stor..."The Necklace" is a fantastic short story, and I recommend that anyone who is reading "Madame Bovary," should read this as well. Also, "False Gems" is a great story. I've read numerous translations of theses ss, and it is interesting to see how one world changed affects the entire mood of the piece. I have also read the more modern translations by Joachim Neugroschel, and I enjoyed those as well, but I prefer the ones I read years ago, and I couldn't say who the translator was. Now, I know that Kate Chopin translated some of his short stories, so it could have been her....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2023956444265128672.post-35756321250605858192011-01-28T13:25:54.547+08:002011-01-28T13:25:54.547+08:00Maupassant wrote a number of these "revenge o...Maupassant wrote a number of these "revenge on the Germans" stories. As you say, it's easy to guess why they were popular, but hard to know how seriously to take them. Were they just a fantasy, or something else? "Boule de Suif" is so much richer.<br /><br />I wonder how much it's meant to be a joke that the supposedly highly cultured Germans are smashing everything of value. The idea works in the story, even if it's not a joke.<br /><br />But anyway, I know what you mean about the formula. Maupassant sometimes seems to be merely ingeniously rearranging the pieces of old stories to create new ones.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.com