The Necklace and Other Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]

Guy de Maupassant (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up | Series: Dover Thrift Editions

Nine memorable classics, characterized by ironic twists of plot, include "Ball of Fat," regarded by many as technically one of the finest short stories ever written, "The Necklace," "A Piece of String," "Mme. Tellier's Establishment," "Mademoiselle Fifi," "Miss Harriet," "A Way to Wealth," "My Uncle Jules" and "The Horla."

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications; New edition edition (February 5, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486270645
• ISBN-13: 978-0486270647
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories > Anthologies

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Criminal Mistranslation of "Boule de suif" and Bowdlerization of "La Maison Tellier", November 15, 2005

By 

JOSEPH OLEARY "J. S. O'Leary" (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Necklace and Other Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

Boule de Suif is the story that made Maupassant famous, a story admired by his mentor Flaubert shortly before he died.

The translation in this volume has been in circulation since 1903. It is done by someone who does not know the French language at all and is full of astonishing howlers.

It is depressing to think that the English-speaking world has read this great story in such a dreadful translation for a century.

Some examples of the translator's incompetence:

"choqua" translated as "choked" (should be "shocked")
"grouillaient" translated as "grumbled" (should be "swarmed")
"interloque" translated as "interlocutor" (should be "struck dumb")
"glissaient" translated as "glistened" (should be "slipped)
"inattendue" translated as "unwitting" (should be "unexpected")
"entre deux couplets" translated as "between the two rows of people" (should be "between verses")
"grallait une pipe sur le siege" translated as "had a lighted pipe under the seat" (should be "smoked a pipe on the seat")
"Il sont verts" translated as "he is very green" (should be "sour grapes")
"par convenance" translated as "for convenience" (should be "out of propriety)
"defiant" translated as "defiant" (should be "mistrustful")
"propre" translated as "proper" (should be "clean")
"malpropre" translated as "improper" (should be "dirty")
"lapin" translated as "little wolf" (should be "rabbit")
"le faisant s'interesser a des choses qui, vraiment, ne le regardaient guere" translated as "making themselves interested in things that, in truth, they would never think of noticing" (should be "making God interested in things that, in truth, were no concern of his")
"ce ton... que les hommes poses emploient avec les filles" translated as "tone... after the manner of men having girls in their employ" (should be "the tone... that men of experience use with prostitutes")

The text is entirely denatured in this appalling anonymous translation, which should never have been distributed commercially.

"La Maison Tellier," another fine tale, is again sorely mistreated.

The two key scenes are an emotive First Communion ceremony at which the ladies distinguish themselves by their piety; as a pendant to this the story ends with another scene at their brothel that can only be described as an orgy.

In the present bowdlerized translation the two pages describing the Communion scene are omitted and it becomes a Confirmation ceremony instead, and the orgy becomes an innocent dance at which the ladies become a little tipsy!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Guy isn't angry!, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Necklace and Other Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

The title story is one of the most popular stories I teach! My college students love the irony used to raise questions about where we place our values. The surprise ending always provokes the most animated discussions. "Angry guy" probably doesn't "get it." Most people do, and I know you will love reading this story and the others in the collection!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a dreat value, March 23, 2001

By 

David E. Levine (Peekskill , NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Necklace and Other Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

I love the Dover Thrift Edition series. I originally bought Kafka's "The Metamorphasis and other Stories" and was delighted by the selction of a few fine representative works by that author. Again, for a shockingly low price, I decided to revisit a story I read many years ago and bought this volume. "The Necklace" is a great tale of irony in which the old adage "no good deed goes unpunished" is illustrated. It is a tale of honorably living up to one's resposibilities and it ends with quite a twist. This was a great read when I was very young and it still is well into my middle age. I recommend the "Thrift Editions," including this one, to quicky and inexpensively build a library of representative works of great writers.