The Hand - Guy de Maupassant - 121 / 365 of reading one short story every day

The Hand


A man who keeps a severed hand attached to the wall of his drawing room is found mysteriously strangled at the same time that the hand disappears.



Not just another supernatural horror story but a story within a story. In this case, the story is narrated by a policeman about the strange events involving a man who kept a human hand hanging on his room wall. He was found murdered with a finger in his mouth and the hand missing. The hand later shows up on the man’s grave and a finger was found missing. The policeman offers a logical explanation which is more suited to him and more real in the modern world but is rejected by the listeners in preference of the supernatural illusion of the whole story.



With this ends the Maupassant's story collection review. Hope to read more of his work in the coming days.


The next one week is for my favorite author L M Montgomery. Woohoo! Back to cherry blossoms and green pastures.

picture courtesy - Creepypasta

The Madwoman - Guy de Maupassant - 120 / 365 of reading one short story every day

The Madwoman 

“The Madwoman” describe personal tragedies that can result from war and military occupation. This is one of the scary or supernatural and psychological story section of Maupassant collection.

This particular story is evocative of those men and women who are victimized by the arbitrary abuse of power during war. In this particular case, the Prussian occupation of France. It is a story within a story. The narrator is an unnamed man from Normandy. He tells his friend d’Endolin, of a tale long ago where a woman was affected by hearing woodcocks used to go into a strange stressful stage. What was the relation of the woodcocks to the woman?

It was the time during the Prussian occupation of Normandy. The narrator speaks of a woman who suffered a great grief after her father, husband, and baby had all died one after the other. Unable to sleep because of her trauma, she descended gradually into madness.

“The Madwoman” is a portrayal of the grim reality left behind after war.

Images courtesy - Pinterest

In the Countryside - Guy de Maupassant - 119 / 365 of reading a short story everyday

In the Countryside - Guy de Maupassant

This collection focuses upon the land he knew and loved so well - Normandy.

 Its people and its countryside are portrayed here in vivid color and with great warmth. Amusing, quirky  and with a lot of earthy character they may be, but they are also capable of great pathos, often branching off to end tragically. 

Eva bane Photograph

The Baptism - Guy de Maupassant - 118 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

The Baptism - Guy de Maupassant

The story is about an old navy doctor who lives in a country house near home. His gardener, Kérandec, has asked the doctor to be the godfather to his son. But things don't go as planned. We are given an intriguing account of the deadly nature of alcohol, which is referred to as "the seductive murderer and the delightful destroyer."

On the River - Guy de Maupassant - 117 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

On the River

AUTHOR: GUY DE MAUPASSANT

This short story is about a fisherman, which is the writer himself, who describes one of his adventures on the Seine. He decided to tell all about the night he was coming back from his friend Louis with who he dined every evening. He was very tired so he decided to throw the anchor into the depth and rest in his boat. All of the sudden he felt an invisible force moving the boat so he decided to go back home.

The writer shows us reality through the eyes of a common fisherman. He describes the nature he sees himself starting from the fog, moonlight etc. He also described the inner battles of the character and his fears. Maupassant strived for space descriptions in which the everyday, common things exist.

Courtesy the Frenchstories blog

Mademoiselle Fifi - Guy de Maupassant - 116 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

Mademoiselle Fifi - Guy de Maupassant

During the Franco-Prussian War, a young French laundress shares a coach ride with several of her condescending superiors. When a Prussian officer holds the coach over, social standings are leveled and integrity and spirit are put to the test.


'Mademoiselle Fifi' is about a young French woman's bold defiance of a brutish Prussian soldier during the Franco-Prussian War. The story is not just the portrayal of bravery by a woman but also about social classes and the disparities still prevalent now.

My Uncle Jules by Guy de Maupassant - 115 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

My Uncle Jules by Guy de Maupassant

My Uncle Jules is a story within a story. Set around the Paris culture and lifestyle and drawing a lot on the social norms of the time, the story conveys the standards expected from the rich and their preferences for friends and family who follow the very same standard.

The narrator's family builds high hopes around one member of the family, which is the narrator's uncle Jules. Jules was considered a worthless young man who squandered the family money and was finally shipped off to America so that he can work and understand the value of money. The family members waited for his return in Havre.

 
One day, the family is on a ship for a trip.
In the ship there was a ragged old sailor who was selling oysters. The narrator’s father and sisters liked eating oysters on a moving ship and therefore they went near the old sailor. The narrator’s father recognized the sailor who was none other than his own brother, Jules. The whole family was upset. They did not want to talk with him as he was very poor they also did not want their son-in-law to know about it. They reached the place Jersey. The narrator wanted to talk with him. But the old man left the place as no one was eating any more oysters the family members were disillusioned and frustrated when the reality turns out to be quite different from what they had anticipated. They had expected a bright future for Jules but all their hopes were dashed.
Their disappointment was not so much that Jules did not learn a lesson of hardwork, rather that they now have a member who they will be reluctant to talk about in their parties and social circles.

On Horseback and Other Stories -by Guy de Maupassant - 93 / 365 of reading one short story every day. TreezShort

#TreezShort

93 / 365 of reading one short story every day.

On Horseback and Other Stories -by Guy de Maupassant

On Horseback is a short story by popular French writer Guy de Maupassant ( 1850 - 1893). The stories in this collection give an overview of contemporary Paris and Parisian society. They also show the imitating and aspirational trait in humans - the desire to have the same thing which someone else has. A need for want and possession things beyond our means can bring us down and cause calamity.

 
Mr de Griblen and his wife are poor noblemen, and with meagre means they attempt to scrape through their life. Mr. Griblen one day gets extra income from hsi manager and he is overjoyed. It is like a bright day amongst many dark days for him and he wants to spend it. He consults his wife and they decide to treat themselves to a day out horse riding. Derbys and horse riding was considered a sign of wealth of noblemen. Since Mr. Griblen was not born poor, he had some good memories of a life lived once. Hence he wants to live in those glorious days again.

They rent a carriage for Mrs. de Griblen and the children and for the husband - the saddle-horse. But a good day turns into an unfortunate one. Mr Griblen, unable to control the horse or rather not used to it, manages to hit a sixty year old lady. He ends up paying for her hospital expenses and he realizes that what he attempted in spending, turned into futility.


A tale of want and dreams said in a sweet and funny way, Maupassant's writing is non complicated and non preachy. I look forward to reading the collection very soon.

This is day 93 of my reading project for 2022. The previous days - Day 1 to Day 92 is up on my Instagram page. I plan to continue the rest of the project on my blog here so that I can give a longer viewpoint and summary of the stories read. Join me if you like and comment your suggestions and views!