A Life: The Humble Truth (Oxford World’s Classics) 1st Edition by Guy de Maupassant (PDF)

Description

`every heart imagines itself the first to thrill to a myriad sensations which once stirred the hearts of the earliest creatures and which will again stir the hearts of the last men and women to walk the earth’What is a life? How shall a storyteller conceive a life? What if art means pattern and life has none? How, then, can any story be true to life? These are some of the questions which inform the first of Maupassant’s six novels, A Life (Une Vie) (1883) in which he sought to parody and expose the folly of romantic illusion. An unflinching presentation of a woman’s life of failure and disappointments, where fulfilment and happiness might have been expected, A Life recountsJeanne de Lamare’s gradual lapse into a state of disillusion.With its intricate network of parallels and oppositions, A Life reflects the influence of Flaubert in its attention to form and its coherent structure. It also expresses Maupassant’s characteristic naturalistic vision in which the satire of bourgeois manners, the representation of the aristocracy in pathological decline, the undermining of human individuality and ideals, and the study of deterioration and disintegration, all play a role. But above all Maupassant brings to his firstnovel the short story writer’s genius for a focused tension between stasis and change, and A Life is one of his most compelling portraits of dispossession and powerlessness.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐A worthwhile reading to understand how a woman who appears to be victim of life circumstances, is actually so focused in herself that remains centre of attention and controls and affects the lives of those around her.

⭐too much melodrama for my taste. Seems like a cheap airport novel if it wasn’t for Maupassant’s impeccable style, etc etc. far inferior to Bel Ami, which I’d put on my list of all-time great novels…

⭐Guy de Maupassant mainly wrote short stories, which won him the incredible fame and fortune that he could enjoy for a part of his short life. But he also wrote six novels, and this was his first. It is the story of a noble woman called Jeanne, and we follow her from her late teen years as a virgin until late in life. The book is mainly about emotion, not action, and de Maupassant fills pages of longing thoughts and descriptive passages of changes in the weather and countryside illustrations. I guess there’s a lot of pathetic fallacy going on here.It’s not a long read, never boring, and de Maupassant’s understanding of human psychology is outstanding. On the other hand, though, I’d say that there are times I feel like his characterisation of Jeanne’s husband is too mysterious, and he doesn’t really allow him to be anything more than a rather flat character. But maybe that’s what is required for this book – a thorough examination of one woman’s life. Which, of course, makes me wonder how a female writer would have told this tale. Was de Maupassant perceptive enough to capture the details and sentiments realistically?Nevertheless, there are plenty of moments when I really feel like I’m reading exemplary writing. A great book.

⭐This book is incredible. Exquisite prose (kudos to translator Roger Pearson) meets an ultimately quite modern presentation of earthy, authentic, and profound humanity.The story addresses abuse, infidelity, addiction, betrayal, religious hypocrisy and more, and there’s a tremendous sense of justice that prevails.Jeanne is mostly a passenger in her own life, but those few moments where she steers it reveal a great depth of character and will. It’s impossible not to want to pity her, but the story won’t let us.

⭐Started out feeling sorry for tha main character and ended up really annoyed with her! I suppose it is of its time,

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