Boule de Suif (21 contes) by Guy de Maupassant

Boule de Suif (21 contes) Reviews

• 
  Helga

  4.5
  
  No one looked at her, no one thought of her. She felt herself swallowed up in the scorn of these virtuous creatures, who had first sacrificed, then rejected her as a thing useless and unclean.
  
  On their way fleeing from Rouen, ten French travelers, among them a prostitute by the name of Elisabeth Rousset also known as Boule de Suif (literally ball of suet) are seized by Prussian officers.
  The travelers soon find out that their release depends on Boule de Suif sleeping with one of the officers.
  Elisabeth Rousset may be a prostitute but she has principles and refuses to sleep with the enemy.
  At first, her virtuous co-travelers support her decision, but soon tiring of the situation they begin encouraging her to do the deed.
  Eventually she complies and the day after, they resume their journey.
  Oh, but once again, for the righteous and worthy travelers, Boule de Suif’s shameful action becomes a sin and a transgression.
  Whereas at the beginning during their journey, the prostitute shares her scant food with the others, at the end, not only they snub and ridicule her, but also don’t give her a piece of their bread.
• 
  P.E.

  Pacte républicain
  
  
  L'histoire :
  
  Boule de suif se passe en 1870, au temps de la déroute de l'armée française face à l'armée allemande, qui a investi les alentours de Rouen. Les forces françaises sont dans la confusion générale, le pays est médusé. Dix civils français, qui ont obtenu un passe-droit pour quitter la Rouen prennent alors la route de Dieppe, pour fuir les rigueurs de l'occupation militaire de la ville.
  
  En cours de route, ils sont arrêtés à Tôtes, située à mi-chemin, cependant que l'officier allemand en poste refuse de leur laisser poursuivre leur route vers Dieppe. Il les laissera partir, à condition que Élisabeth Rousset, alias Boule de Suif, l'une des voyageuses, se donne à lui. Huit des neufs accompagnants se coalisent bientôt pour obtenir de la prostituée qu'elle se dévoue, pour qu'ils puissent reprendre leur route. Ils font montre à cette occasion d'un talent insoupçonné pour la casuistique et avancent un trésor de raisons pour qu'elles le fasse, toutes plus excellentes les unes que les autres...
  
  Le sacrifice consenti et la route reprise, ils se détournent ostensiblement de leur sauveuse, avec mépris et suffisance. Tous sont d'ailleurs plus prompts à juger et à mépriser les autres que soi-même.
  
  
  Mon avis:
  
  La nouvelle réussit particulièrement son coup dans le petit cercle de personnages qu'elle présente en huis-clos, bien représentatif des divisions dans l'opinion de la population française d'alors, qu'elles soient dues au rang (deux des voyageurs sont nobles), à la richesse, à la religion, à l'opinion politique (bonapartiste, orléaniste, républicain...). Déracinés de leur entourage habituels, ces dix personnages vont devoir se côtoyer, se coltiner les uns les autres. Leur voyage est du reste ralenti par le mauvais état des routes. Par chance, Boule de suif leur offre de quoi se restaurer au cours du voyage, ce qui permet à chacun de mieux faire connaissance et allège sensiblement les tensions au sein du groupe de dix...
  
  L'histoire est un bijou d'efficacité en ce qui concerne la présentation des stratégies argumentatives mises en place par les conjurés pour pousser l'héroïne au sacrifice de sa personne... Tour à tour, ils passent en revue la Judith biblique, la Lucrèce romaine, Cléopâtre, bref tous les exemples de l'histoire, de la mythologie antique et de la vie des saints sont assez bons pour étayer cette argumentation et justifier toutes les compromissions. La fin justifie les moyens ; or la fin est excellente et doit justifier tous les sacrifices, tant qu'ils ne sont pas demandés aux intrigants.
  
  Tous sont prompts à "vendre" l'héroïne, à la sacrifier à leur salut (c'est-à-dire, à leur vil confort), et se félicitent de leur réussite, donnant à voir des trésors de rouerie, de duplicité, d'hypocrisie et de lâcheté, de veulerie et de bassesse.
  
  Lu pendant le service de nuit à l'hôtel.
  
  
  Lien vers la lecture du texte intégral:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtoBF...
  
  
  Une anecdote sur les opérations allemandes dans le grand ouest de la France :
  
  https://youtu.be/fnHfz74_F3Y
  
  
  Suggestion de bande-son:
  
  Musique du ballet Gisèle de Adolphe Adam, jouée par l'orchestre symphonique de Nuremberg en 2005
  
  
  Lectures similaires:
  
  
  Civil War Stories
  
  Le Silence de la mer
  
  
  D'autres huis-clos mémorables:
  
  Lifeboat
  Twelve Angry Men
• 
  Whispering Stories

  Book Reviewed by Clive on
  www.whisperingstories.com
  
  This volume is part of Alma Classics’ 101 pages collection. There are six short stories of which Boule de Suif fills half of the book at 51 pages. They have been translated by Andrew Brown and first published as a collection in 2003. The 2018 package includes an introduction by Brown which is useful reading for the background that it provides.
  
  The stories are set in France around the time of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 which resulted in a heavy defeat for France. Paris surrendered after a siege followed by street warfare between French forces and revolutionary militia.
  
  Boule de Suif is a great little study of French society and moral attitudes at that time. Indeed, given the group’s situation, I could well imagine that such a chain of events could still happen today. Guy de Maupassant observes how people who would not mix socially can unite in times of trouble. Most of the coach party consider themselves vastly superior to the prostitute but they are delighted to take advantage of her generosity and her professional skills to relieve their situation. Are they grateful to her? You will need to read the book to find the answer.
  
  Incidentally I am pleased that Andrew Brown kept the French title; Boule de Suif is vastly preferable to any English translation.
  
  The other five stories in this volume all have their titles translated and all have merit. They also follow de Maupassant’s predilection for relationships between the classes. Bed 29 has a serious theme but is very funny with much of the humour aimed at the French Army Officer. I also loved the atmosphere and the messages in The Confession and Rose.
  
  Boule de Suif is an entertaining little volume which will inform and amuse. Of course, with only 114 pages including the Introduction and Notes pages your entertainment will be relatively brief. I have awarded four stars.
• 
  David

  Now that I've read my first collection of Maupassant stories, I can say that he is indeed a great writer, though being as prolific as he apparently was, I think you probably need to read a lot more to really be familiar with his work. He was a student of Flaubert, the French "realist" school, hence all these short stories being basically slice-of-life stories about (mostly) provincial French life. There are morals, sometimes, but rarely made explicit - in fact, often the stories just end, like one of those writing exercises in which the reader is asked to decide what happens next. The more moralistic tales among this collection include The Necklace, about a French housewife who borrows a friend's expensive diamond necklace for a ball and then loses it. The ending has the sort of twist that O. Henry later became famous imitating. Then there is Boule De Suif, about a group of wealthy French townspeople fleeing Prussian-occupied Rouen, when a Prussian officer takes a fancy to the courtesan in their midst. When she refuses his advances, her countrymen initially praise her patriotism, but when the officer refuses to let anyone travel onwards until he gets his way, they end up cajoling her into sacrificing herself, and then hypocritically turn on her.
  
  All the other stories were likewise enjoyable and interesting, ranging from fireside tales about hunting and farming and jilted lovers and poor peasants and debauched soldiers, to a few, like The Inn, that take the form of a ghost story even if no actual supernatural apparitions appear.
  
  Definitely worth reading these, and I wouldn't hesitate to try some more Maupassant.
  
  
  The Moribund
  
  

  
  The moist, lumpy earthen floor looked greasy, and, at the back of the room, the bed made an indistinct white spot. A harsh, regular noise, a difficult, hoarse, wheezing breathing, like the gurgling of water from a broken pump, came from the darkened couch where an old man, the father of the peasant woman, was dying.
  

  
  
  
  The Gamekeeper
  
  

  
  An old friend, known to all of us, M. Boniface, a great sportsman and a connoisseur of wine, a man of wonderful physique, witty and gay, and endowed with an ironical and resigned philosophy, which manifested itself in caustic humor, and never in melancholy, suddenly exclaimed:
  
  "I know a story, or rather a tragedy, which is somewhat peculiar. It is not at all like those which one hears of usually, and I have never told it, thinking that it would interest no one.
  

  
  
  
  The Story of a Farm Girl
  
  

  
  "What do you want?" he then asked her. And with clenched teeth, and trembling with anger, she replied: "I want--I want you to marry me, as you promised." But he only laughed and replied: "Oh! if a man were to marry all the girls with whom he has made a slip, he would have more than enough to do."
  

  
  
  
  The Wreck
  
  

  
  As he was looking for a place to climb up I showed him the easiest way, and gave him a hand. He climbed up. Then we helped up the three girls, who had now quite recovered their composure. They were charming, especially the oldest, a blonde of eighteen, fresh as a flower, and very dainty and pretty! Ah, yes! the pretty Englishwomen have indeed the look of tender sea fruit. One would have said of this one that she had just risen out of the sands and that her hair had kept their tint. They all, with their exquisite freshness, make you think of the delicate colors of pink sea-shells and of shining pearls hidden in the unknown depths of the ocean.
  

  
  
  
  Theodule Sabot's Confession
  
  

  
  Sabot (Theodule), a master carpenter, represented liberal thought in Martinville. He was a tall, thin, man, with gray, cunning eyes, and thin lips, and wore his hair plastered down on his temples. When he said: "Our holy father, the pope" in a certain manner, everyone laughed. He made a point of working on Sunday during the hour of mass. He killed his pig each year on Monday in Holy Week in order to have enough black pudding to last till Easter, and when the priest passed by, he always said by way of a joke: "There goes one who has just swallowed his God off a salver."
  

  
  
  
  The Necklace
  
  

  
  She was one of those pretty and charming girls, born by a blunder of destiny in a family of employees. She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood, loved, married by a man rich and distinguished; and she let them make a match for her with a little clerk in the Department of Education.
  
  She was simple since she could not be adorned; but she was unhappy as though kept out of her own class; for women have no caste and no descent, their beauty, their grace, and their charm serving them instead of birth and fortune. Their native keenness, their instinctive elegance, their flexibility of mind, are their only hierarchy; and these make the daughters of the people the equals of the most lofty dames.
  

  
  
  
  The Wrong House
  
  

  
  Quartermaster Varajou had obtained a week's leave to go and visit his sister, Madame Padoie. Varajou, who was in garrison at Rennes and was leading a pretty gay life, finding himself high and dry, wrote to his sister saying that he would devote a week to her. It was not that he cared particularly for Mme. Padoie, a little moralist, a devotee, and always cross; but he needed money, needed it very badly, and he remembered that, of all his relations, the Padoies were the only ones whom he had never approached on the subject.
  

  
  
  
  The Marquis De Fumerol
  
  

  
  “We were at dinner when a letter was brought in and my father opened it. You know my father, who thinks that he is king of France ad interim. I call him Don Quixote, because for twelve years he has been running a tilt against the windmill of the Republic, without quite knowing whether it was in the name of the Bourbons or of the Orleans. At present he is holding the lance in the name of the Orleans alone, because there is nobody else but them left. In any case, he thinks himself the first gentleman in France, the best known, the most influential, the head of the party; and as he is an irremovable senator, he thinks that the neighboring kings’ thrones are very insecure.
  

  
  
  
  The Trip of Le Horla
  
  

  
  Nothing is more amusing, more delicate, more interesting than the manoeuvring of a balloon. It is an enormous toy, free and docile, which obeys with surprising sensitiveness, but it is also, and before all, the slave of the wind, which we cannot control. A pinch of sand, half a sheet of paper, one or two drops of water, the bones of a chicken which we had just eaten, thrown overboard, makes it go up quickly.
  

  
  
  
  Farewell
  
  

  
  "Very few stand the test of the bath. It is there that they can be judged, from the ankle to the throat. Especially on leaving the water are the defects revealed, although water is a powerful aid to flabby skin.
  
  "The first time that I saw this young woman in the water, I was delighted, entranced. She stood the test well. There are faces whose charms appeal to you at first glance and delight you instantly. You seem to have found the woman whom you were born to love. I had that feeling and that shock.
  

  
  
  
  
  The Wolf
  
  

  
  And soon a rumor began to circulate. People talked of a colossal wolf with gray fur, almost white, who had eaten two children, gnawed off a woman's arm, strangled all the watch dogs in the district, and even come without fear into the farmyards. The people in the houses affirmed that they had felt his breath, and that it made the flame of the lights flicker. And soon a panic ran through all the province. No one dared go out any more after nightfall. The darkness seemed haunted by the image of the beast.
  

  
  
  
  The Inn
  
  

  
  He slept for a long time, for a very long time, the unconquerable sleep of exhaustion. But suddenly a voice, a cry, a name: "Ulrich," aroused him from his profound slumber, and made him sit up in bed. Had he been dreaming? Was it one of those strange appeals which cross the dreams of disquieted minds? No, he heard it still, that reverberating cry,--which had entered at his ears and remained in his brain,--thrilling him to the tips of his sinewy fingers. Certainly, somebody had cried out, and called: "Ulrich!" There was somebody there, near the house, there could be no doubt of that, and he opened the door and shouted: "Is it you, Gaspard?" with all the strength of his lungs. But there was no reply, no murmur, no groan, nothing. It was quite dark, and the snow looked wan.
  

  
  
  
  Boule de Suif
  
  

  
  For several days in succession fragments of a defeated army had passed through the town. They were mere disorganized bands, not disciplined forces. The men wore long, dirty beards and tattered uniforms; they advanced in listless fashion, without a flag, without a leader. All seemed exhausted, worn out, incapable of thought or resolve, marching onward merely by force of habit, and dropping to the ground with fatigue the moment they halted. One saw, in particular, many enlisted men, peaceful citizens, men who lived quietly on their income, bending beneath the weight of their rifles; and little active volunteers, easily frightened but full of enthusiasm, as eager to attack as they were ready to take to flight; and amid these, a sprinkling of red-breeched soldiers, the pitiful remnant of a division cut down in a great battle; somber artillerymen, side by side with nondescript foot-soldiers; and, here and there, the gleaming helmet of a heavy-footed dragoon who had difficulty in keeping up with the quicker pace of the soldiers of the line. Legions of irregulars with high-sounding names "Avengers of Defeat," "Citizens of the Tomb," "Brethren in Death"--passed in their turn, looking like banditti. Their leaders, former drapers or grain merchants, or tallow or soap chandlers--warriors by force of circumstances, officers by reason of their mustachios or their money--covered with weapons, flannel and gold lace, spoke in an impressive manner, discussed plans of campaign, and behaved as though they alone bore the fortunes of dying France on their braggart shoulders; though, in truth, they frequently were afraid of their own men--scoundrels often brave beyond measure, but pillagers and debauchees.
  

  
  
• 
  Masoome

  داستان‌های کوتاه و جذاب که غافلگیری‌های کوچیک دوست‌داشتنی داشتن.
• 
  saïd

  En certains jours, ils ne parlaient pas. Quelquefois ils causaient ; mais ils s’entendaient admirablement sans rien dire, ayant des goûts semblables et des sensations identiques.

  Personne ne peut le nier : Maupassant est un maître des nouvelles très courtes. La petite nouvelle éponyme, avec environ 50 pages est l'un des plus longs. Au total, le recueil compte environ 330 pages.
  
  Dans la nouvelle éponyme, une prostituée appelée Boule de Suif est le personnage central, et son corps est utilisé comme outil commercial lorsqu'un groupe de personnes « dignes » sont détenues alors qu'ils traversent une France occupée par les Prussiens après la guerre de 1870. Boule de Suif est de loin le plus moral des personnages, dénonçant l'hypocrisie et la lâcheté de ses compagnons de voyage. Dans sa plus célèbre nouvelle, Maupassant décrit le sacrifice d'une femme au grand cœur : elle se donne contre sa volonté à un officier allemand, pour permettre à une diligence occupée par des bourgeois de continuer son voyage. D'abord suppliée par les bourgeois de niquer l'officier pour sauver tout le monde (c'est-à-dire eux), elle n'est bientôt plus que l'objet de leur mépris. Le « teint jaune », la lâcheté de la classe dirigeante, face au courage des humbles, la résistance et la collaboration, la France de 1870 en annonçait d'autres.
  
  Mais ma nouvelle préférée était Deux amis (citée ci-dessus). La nouvelle est inspirée d’un fait réel. Comme Boule de suif et Mademoiselle Fifi, Deux amis se déroule pendant le siège de Paris, lors de la guerre franco-prussienne de 1870 (« Paris était bloqué, affamé et râlant. Les moineaux se faisaient bien rares sur les toits, et les égouts se dépeuplaient. On mangeait n’importe quoi »). Deux camarades, Morissot et Sauvage, décident d’aller pêcher dans l’île Marante à Colombes malgré les consignes des occupants. Arrêtés comme espions, ils refusent de « donner le mot d'ordre » à l'officier prussien, et sont fusillés immédiatement. Le récit commence de façon bon enfant et tourne au drame. Les deux Parisiens connaissent le triste sort des poissons qu’ils ont pris, comme l’indique l’officier prussien : « Fais-moi frire tout de suite ces petits animaux-là pendant qu’ils sont encore vivants. Ce sera délicieux. » La brièveté de la nouvelle et l’économie de moyens mettent en relief la cruauté et l’absurdité de l’existence. Le narrateur est extérieur à l'histoire (il utilise les pronoms : « il » et « ils » pour décrire les deux hommes) ; l'onomastique des nouvelles de Maupassant renseigne souvent sur les intentions du narrateur à l’égard de ses personnages. Ainsi la répétition du son « so » dans les noms des héros des Deux amis, MM. Sauvage et Morissot, évoque implicitement la sottise qui les a poussés à franchir les avant-postes français pendant le siège de Paris en 1870.
• 
  Oleksandr Zholud

  This is a short novella, set in Germany occupied France in 1870-71. I’ve read a Ukrainian translation.
  
  A group of French middle and upper class married couples travel by a coach to the sea-port in order to possibly move to Britain if Prussians remain in France. In this company there is a big woman, who is known for her dalliances with men. Initially she warms up the group’s attitude toward her by sharing a meal, but later they are stopped by a Prussian officer, who insists that she should sleep with him to allow the coach to continue its journey. She refuses due to her patriotic feelings, but the rest start peer pressure her.
  
  A classic ‘socially conscious’ literature of the second half of 19th century. It criticizes duplicity of bourgeois morale and gives ironic depictions of Frenchmen, from merchant selling bad wines to revolutionary in love with own voice. Of course, there are a lot of passages, which sound not politically correct now, like ‘feminine men’ (as an insult).
  
• 
  nettebuecherkiste

  War Abilektüre im Französisch-LK
• 
  David

  De Maupassant is one of the few French authors I feel competent to read in the original French. It helps that his chosen form is the short story - it makes him much less forbidding than someone like Balzac or Hugo. Although I've been in Paris for just a little over two weeks, I'm already doing pretty well with these stories. He is particularly good at exposing the hypocrisies of small-town 19th century French life, the title story of this collection being an excellent example. But his character sketches are done with affection - though he liked his solitude, one senses a genuine affection for other people and their foibles.
  
  Wikipedia provides two biographical facts worth passing on. As a youth, he saved the English poet Swinburne from drowning. Also, he shared the common French antipathy toward the Eiffel tower when it was first constructed. So much so that he commonly ate at the restaurant at the tower's base, as this was the only place in Paris one could avoid seeing the tower's inescapable profile.
  
  Besides this collection, I also recommend his "Comtes de la Becasse" (Tales of the Hunt).
  
  On this rainy Sunday in Paris, I've been getting reacquainted with de Maupassant and it's a great pleasure to do so.
• 
  Edith Romero

  Gran colección de cuentos de Maupassant.
  Son 13 cuentos en total, los cuáles, para mí, han sido, en su mayoría, espeluznantes, terroríficos, y en ciertas ocasiones, representan situaciones sofocantes, desesperadas y asfixiantes. Muchas de éstas sensaciones, se desarrollan en un escenario en el que se puede ver al protagonista, en su lucha con gran frenesí de cómo va perdiendo la cordura, cómo se va desgajando su coherencia.
  
  Bola de sebo
  Una sociedad realista y actual, que condena a una mujer por llevar una vida fuera de las reglas de la moral y el decoro. Obligada y orillada a realizar una acción en pro de salvaguardar la seguridad de sus compañeros, quienes al final, a pesar de su sacrificio, no dejan de juzgarla.
  
  Qué triste es ver que la sociedad juzga a quienes, según se cree o se piensa, se encuentran fuera de las leyes morales, y ¿Quiénes somos para juzgar, catalogar y dictaminar qué es o no lo correcto en esta sociedad que vive de guerras, envidias, abuso de poder? ¿Acaso somos libres de jamás haber realizado ni la más mínima acción dañina encontra de nuestro prójimo? ¿Quién es perfecto para señalar?
  
  El horla
  Un hombre se ve inmerso en una serie de situaciones que ponen en tela de juicio su cordura.
  
  Esta ha sido una historia donde la creencia de Maupassant sobre cosas invisibles, seres ocultos, conviven con nosotros en total libertad. En la historia se puede sentir la desesperación y la asfixia del protagonista, que posiblemente eran sensaciones vívidas por Maupassant. Bajo observación, supresión y paranoia, encuentra un final fatídico.
  
  Sobre el agua
  La narración de un barquero que durante toda su vida ha permanecido navegando. Siempre en el agua.
  
  Alucinaciones y sensación de somnolencia que llevan al barquero a encontrarse barado en las aguas de un océano, sin posibilidades de salir de ahí. Como dicen, cuánto más permanezcas en el agua, esta puede llevarte a la locura.
  
  El miedo
  Narraciones de un grupo de personas que cuentan algunas anécdotas de situaciones que los llevaron a sentir miedo.
  El miedo (y hasta los hombres más intrépidos pueden tener miedo) es algo espantoso, una sensación atroz, como una descomposición del alma, un espasmo horroroso del pensamiento y del corazón, cuyo mero recuerdo provoca estremecimientos de angustia.
  
  Un hombre que afirma que el espíritu de quien asesinó, quiere venganza, viene a buscarlo, y esta noche será la última.
  
  La cabellera
  La obsesión de un hombre por un objeto, una cabellera, la cual encuentra dentro de un mueble antiguo.
  
  Se menciona en cierta parte de necrofilia. Y quizás sí lo sea, porque tener un fetiche con una cabellera, al extremo de dormir con ella, amarla, besarla y abrazarla, sin saber a quién perteneció, tiene las características de una filia.
  
  La mano
  Un misterio que gira en torno a una mano enorme que ha sido cercenada, quien lo hizo la conserva encadenada, con la excusa de que la mano quiere irse, y que pertenecía a su más grande enemigo. El final es fatídico.
  
  Esta historia es corta pero a pesar de ello, no carece de terror.
  
  ¿Fue un sueño?
  El protagonista pierde a su amada esposa, y ahora sufre su dolor y pérdida hasta la obsesión, la cual lo lleva a querer permanecer custodiando la tumba de su amada, acción que lo lleva a descubrir la verdad de su muerte. O ¿Ha sido un sueño?
  
  La historia me recordó la frase: El que busca encuentra.
  
  Aparición
  Un personaje se reencuentra con un viejo amigo, quien había envejecido notablemente y su estado era deplorable. Había perdido a su amada esposa, según le cuenta. Le pide un favor, que recupere unos documentos que se encuentran en la vieja casa donde vivía con su esposa, el amigo accede y acude a lugar.
  
  Alucinaciones, seres invisibles que habitan el mundo de los vivos.
  
  Asesino
  Recién casado, con su segunda esposa, el protagonista se encuentra en la necesidad de vengar el honor de su esposa.
  
  Él ha respetado a su segunda mujer con ceguera porque había respetado a la primera con la razón.
  
  El bigote
  Una carta destinada de una amiga a otra explicando o expresando la importancia del bigote, el porqué un hombre sin bigote, no es hombre.
  
  No encontré la coherencia de este relato banal, tal vez en aquella época (1883) era importante el bigote, y al ser Francia el origen de éste, pues ya se aclara la idea, que para mí, por vivir en ésta época, sigue siendo banal.
  
  Las bodas del lugarteniente Laré
  Un destacamento francés al mando de un eficiente oficial, el lugarteniente Laré, se encuentran en el bosque con un anciano y su hija. Ésta, fatigada y enferma, es objeto de los cuidados exquisitos de la tropa.
  
  El collar
  La historia de una mujer hermosa, dotada de una belleza incomparable, pero nacida bajo la desgracia mundada de la pobreza, al ser esposa de un empleado, no cuentan con los medios para disfrutar de las fiestas y alegrías de los salones y bailes. El esposo un día la sorprende con una invitación a un baile suntuoso, orillado por la tristeza de su esposa, le compra un vestido, pero ésta quiere más y le pide prestado un collar a una amiga rica. El desenlace es frustrante y cae en desgracia.
  
  En alguna ocasión, leí una historia similar, que sinceramente no recuerdo dónde ni de quién era. Pero es igual, tal vez el objeto a solventar no sea un collar, pero sí recuerdo que era una alhaja.
  
  El loco
  Un magistrado muy aclamado por ser justo y siempre defender a los débiles, muere, a su funeral acude mucha gente y muchos le lloran por haber sido en vida un hombre intachable. Después de su muerte, el notario descubre un documento que contará la verdad sobre el fallecido.
  
  Es verdad lo que se dice, que después de muerto se sabrá qué tipo de persona se era en vida.
• 
  Williams Lopez

  La prosa de Maupassant es muy bonita. Los relatos como el collar, boule de suif, la dicha, han sido los que más disfruté. Todos absolutamente, tienen un mensaje entre líneas, a libre interpretación del lector.
• 
  K.C.

  Maupassant's genius at short story writing is on display here. In about twenty five pages he portrays a complete world eclipsed by war and German occupation of France, which is creeping deeper into the country by the day.
  The characters are universal, for their political, professional and other belongings. While fleeing towards away from the occupying forces, the circumstances bring out the best and the worst in them. The fascinating description of the early cold morning they leave and the events in the countryside, which the natives are deserting likewise, is all there in very few words.
  One's heart goes to Boule De suif, who, though a prostitute, has more honor than her companions. The spirit of resistance is lacking in all the rest: the businessmen, politicians and the rest, who have either shifted their business interests and money to England or in the deeper country side. For honor only a prostitute is fleeing.
  It is one of the greatest short stories of all times. The translator really has done well. Maupassant once again does so much in so few pages that you wonder the over descriptiveness of the prose written during his time was outdated, even in other languages.
  A great writer values the time of his readers. He was way ahead of his contemporaries at story telling. In a short life he achieved more than most of them, no wonder. For his writing also entertains to even a new reader. So it is universal.
• 
  Pablo

  Esta colección contiene cuentos buenos y excelentes. No hay ninguno que me haya dejado indiferente.
  En su mayoría son de estilo realista, pero también hay fantasía, como el clásico de terror El Horla, con el cuál se cierra esta edición, y es de los mejores cuentos que he leído.
  La prosa es bastante directa y moderna, pareciera que el narrador está contando desde el siglo XX, sucesos del siglo XIX.
• 
  Nuno Mocho

  Um belo livro de contos para desanuviar da literatura contemporânea.
  A edição que li conta com 14 contos, os meus preferidos foram:
  
  Bola de Sebo
  A Pensão Tellier
  Em Família
  "Mademoiselle" Fifi
  Encontro
  Monsieur Parent
• 
  Sundus

  Excellent collection of short stories. Maupassant is a new addition to my fav authors list.
• 
  Ignacio

  Delicadísimo tanto en la construcción psicológica y sociológica de sus personajes; como en los relatos y costumbres. Los cuentos no sólo son intensos y ricos en descripciones, sino que además su estilo es pulcro y refinado, pero a la vez muy plagado de cuidados detalles que en conjunto se leen de modo ágil. Me produce sensaciones semejantes a un banquete de cocina francesa.
  Cada vez que leo narrativa francesa del siglo XIX se me hace más difícil opinar sin pasión y usando criterios objetivos. Me parece estar dando siempre una opinión muy personal influida por el placer que experimento al leer estos cuentos o novelas.
  Para quiénes no disfrutan del realismo y de los tópicos propios de la época, sólo puedo decir al respecto que su contenido es actual y su visión del hombre no es más que la constante de éste en la Historia. El realismo es tal vez duro por lo mismo, así es el hombre.
  
• 
  Richard

  This is the first story in a collected works of Guy De Maupassant I am reading and it is very very good.
  
  Boule de Suif (Suet pudding in English) is the name given to a prostitute who is the central character of the story. Her body is used as a trading tool when a group of 'worthy' folk are detained as they journey through a France occupied by the Prussians after the 1870 war.
  
  Boule de Suif is by far the most moral of the characters and exposes the hypocrisy and cowardice of her travelling companions.
  
  De Maupassant is a master of short stories. This is one of the longer ones at about 50 pages. I have also read 'The Idyll' an astonishing story of a wet nurse breastfeeding a starving labourer that is very strange and moving.
• 
  Aurélie Knit & Read

  J'avais oublié à quel point Maupassant peut être cynique!
  
  Toutes ces nouvelles laissent un goût amer, surtout Boule de Suif et La Parure.
  
  On a envie de tarter ces bons gros bourgeois, nobles-fin de race, nonnes, grenouilles de bénitiers, démocrate à 2 sous, bref! tous ces représentants de la société bien-pensante, qui font souvent, d'après les écrivain naturalistes, plus de mal que de bien à leur prochain.
  
  J'ai éprouvé un sentiment de révolte pour Boule de Suif, j'aurais voulu la prendre dans mes bras et la consoler comme un enfant. C'est dire la force de Maupassant qui, en un minimum de pages et de descriptions, parvient à rendre si réels personnages et situations.
  
  Une très bonne lecture, assurément.
• 
  Irina

  Guy de Maupassant successfully told a story about how hypocrite society could be. It's amazing to see that what seemed to be a problem of nowadays society is, in fact, a story that never grows old. Boule de suif was an amazing woman, a brave fighter for those people who didn't deserve her. She was too good for her times and, why not?, for her country. In the end, those who accused her of being shameless were the ones who deserve to be punished.
• 
  Maddy

  Excellent writing in Boule de Suif "Ball of Tallow" the ten characters in the main story are thrown together in a coach by their urgency to flee the imminent invasion of the Prussian army into french territory. Each character is cleverly portrayed as a deadly sin, and De Maupassant manages to make the reader question their own moral values while we sit back and watch the story unfold. Its a very thought provoking short story! The other short stories in my copy were also very insightful.
• 
  Leopoldo

  Excelente colección de cuentos de uno de los padres del cuento moderno. Los personajes siempre son memorables, simbólicos, universales. La estructura de cada cuento es simplemente perfecta. La Francia soñada de Maupassant duerme en estos breves textos, esperando a que alguien con un poco de compasión venga a revivirla.
• 
  Marcos Ibáñez Gordillo

  Un cuadro de tensiones entre clases sociales bastante atemporal. Me gustó la miniatmósfera del grupo, los mensajes del relato y por encima de todo, la escritura de Maupassant.
  Historia con final agrio, como no podía ser de otra forma.
• 
  Margaux

  Pour les cours aussi mais ça passe
• 
  Bambino

  para quem quiser ver a arte do conto atingir o seu expoente absoluto (apenas alguns destes contos o conseguem, os outros são apenas muito bons).
  .
  a condição humana reflectida num espelho-quântico, iluminada por três sóis.
  .
  as primordiais narrativas, guturais e toscas, a ecoarem em caverna longínqua; as fábulas dos pergaminhos de Alexandria; as Mil e Uma Noites; os contos dos pastores em torno de fogueiras, em noites de luar espicaçadas por Licaão; as guerras e os postais de amor que arderam; cada conto impresso - tudo convergiu para a pluma de Maupassant.
  .
  recordo e recomendo, sobretudo: boule de suif, le lit 29, la parure.
• 
  Lydia Hind

  Cette histoire bouleverse quelques peu les préjugés et stéréotypes moraux des valeurs humaines qui sont soit disant réservées à la hauteur classe de la société.. Tandis que de tout le livre ont ne sentait que la dignité noble de Boule de Suif malgré son statut de ' femme de plaisirs ' . Alors que ses compagnons de voyage ' les gens honnêtes ' étaient empreints d'une hypocrisie et d'un mépris tout à fait ignobles.
• 
  Rosa

  I brought this along with me because I thought it would be appropriate to read a French author in France (and the bottles of Bordeaux I bought at the airport clanking around my tote bag are 100% inspired by Boule de Suif’s little picnic basket).
  
  I thought the shirt stories were excellent, 4 stars because the injustice of it all makes me so frustrated. I know that’s his point but it still bothers me.
• 
  Marc

  Relentless and merciless observations on poor, little men, the hypocrisy yet also possibility of happiness! (rating 2.5 stars)