Mademoiselle Fifi and Other Stories

Maupassant's tales are a scalpel to our illusions, revealing human hypocrisy and a sense of the absurd. This translation of twenty stories showcases his bitter, bawdy, and chilling best, featuring some of his grimmest and most famous stories.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 14 March 2024
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The rain in Normandy, as if a giant hand were spraying great gouts of water, poured relentlessly. Maupassant believed that we deceive ourselves into thinking that we are not animals driven by instinct but rational beings capable of idealistic beliefs and actions. We survive only on the drug of self-deception. Maupassant's disgust with creation was only matched by his contempt for human hypocrisy. In these tales, he takes a scalpel to our illusions and cuts to the bone. However, his clinical pessimism is redeemed by a sense of the absurd and a warmer compassion for humanity. Unsentimental but always honest, he persuades us that life is an incomprehensible, cosmic farce.

This translation of twenty tales showcases Maupassant at his bitter, bawdy, chilling best. It features some of his grimmest and most famous stories, such as "A Vendetta" and "The Grove of Olives." It also reflects both his moods and his mastery of the short story. "The Little Keg" is rich in comic invention, while "Who Can Tell?" draws its power from the strange forces that drove its author into madness.

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Weight: 194g
Dimension: 128 x 196 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198884958