Boule de Suif (1880)

A mini-book containing one of Maupassant's most famous short stories. A collection of his stories was one of the set books for my French A-level, but it didn't include this one, doubtless because of its subject matter. ( )

A nice story, on an interesting idea, but Maupassant would go on and create much better things later. It was his first published work and I think it shows. There's nothing wrong technically, and the story has heart, but it feels a little like an academic exercise in writing a "good" short story at times. ( )

When I first read this terrific short story, years ago, I liked it very much but failed to see how elegantly economical it is -- a complete story, on a subject worth the time, yet without a word wasted. Highly recommended. ( )