Book Review- The Great Short Stories- Guy de Maupassant

Author: Guy de Maupassant

ISBN-13: 978-81-7992-834-9

Binding: Paperback

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Number of pages: 264

Genre: Fiction

Language: English

Price: Rs.195 (Got a review copy from publishers)

About the book

The collection The Great Short Stories Guy de Maupassant reflects his remarkable diversity, with stories that vary in theme and tone, and range from tragedy and satire to comedy and farce. With a simplicity of style that masks complex philosophy, Maupassant can illuminate an entire code of values by means of a few telling details. He exposes the brutality of war and the hypocrisy it spawns, and depicts the petty limitations, the dissimulations and the vanities inherent at different levels of society. His stories are linked by a trenchant irony and by a preoccupation with the frailty of human nature and the futility of so many lives.

About the Author

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was born on August 5, 1850 in a Norman chateau of Miromesnil, northern France. Under Flaubert’s tutelage, the young Maupassant underwent a strict course of training in the craft of literature, at the same time as he was earning his living in the civil service. He was considered insane in 1891 and died two years later, a month short of his 43^rd birthday, on July 6, 1893.

Guy de Maupassant penned his own epitaph: “I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing.” He is buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris.

Shimanti says

The best remedy to dispel boredom and depression that, more often than not, creep into our befuddled existence is a refreshing short story. The collection of “The Great Short Stories” by Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant  by Jaico Publishing House is a truly delectable possession. Besides containing  some of the choicest stories, the book also includes Maupassant’s  first ever published story Boule de Suif  , which is often considered to be his masterpiece. However, I did come across some typographical errors without which the read would have been an exceedingly pleasant one.

The style of Maupassant is an intricate amalgamation of elegance and naivety. He faithfully brings alive the cultures and predominant colours of his settings. Considered to be the father of modern short story, Maupassant’s compositions form an assorted lot. The anthology commences with the brilliant story of Mademoiselle Pearl where the true identity of the protagonist is revealed through the narration of another principal character whereby the readers are transported to a Romantic world of mystery and passion.

While the stories like Madame Husson’s ‘Rosier’ , The Piece of String and Two Little Soldiers  exhibit tales of unspoken emotions, stifled by the fetters of civilised society, the ones like The Olive Orchard plunge the reader into doleful retrospection and strike a dominant chord. Despite using lucid language, Maupassant manages to charm his readers with his dexterous handling of characters and situations. We, as readers, are never disappointed by the denouement of his stories which are crafted with impeccable sincerity and justness.

Reviewed by Shimanti Mitra for Dreams and Drama :)

Grape Harvest Feast, Kolkata

It was less than a week since I came from my trip to the winery in Baramati, Pune that I received another call from team gingerclaps inviting me and three other bloggers to the Grape Harvest Feast to be organised at Splash, Swissotel at City Centre 2, Kolkata. I was more than delighted to go for these events always turn out to be a great opportunity to meet other city bloggers and members from the United Spirits team apart from being really fun. Shikha and Dolon had already reached and were busy sipping away when Aniesha and I reached the rooftop of Swissotel. The infinity pool and the beautifully decorated cabanas looked spectacular as people chatted away under the sun.

Food by Swissotel

The food platter by Swissotel had a range of grilled meat, fish, steaks, pasta and much more.

That is Shikha, Dolon, Me and Aniesha

We got to meet Rinkie Mazumder to escort us and Peter Mitter whom we had met at previous events to give us company and suggest us the types of wines we should pair with the food. What made the afternoon even better was the live music played by a Kolkata based band called Neel and the Lightbulbs.

The Four Seasons Cabana

The Four Seasons cabana stood out from the rest with the beautiful balloons that hung from above shaped like bunches of green and black grapes.

Aniesha and I were really tempted to join in the grape stomping session but unfortunately, we weren't appropriately dressed for it. 

Live band and the other cabanas

The other brands apart from Four Seasons wines who participated in the feast were Sula, Jacob's Creek, Antares and Nine Hills amongst others.

Thanks to the entire team of gingerclaps, Sumath, Rinkie and Mr. Peter for a really lovely afternoon.

Till next,

Introducing: Green Rock!

Finally! We have an online store in India which sells Harry Potter themed merchandise! I mean *coughs* fan-art merchandise in general. (But, really, you cannot blame me for being happiest about the Harry Potter part.) 

Greek Rock is India's first fan-art merchandise store based on TV series, movies and games. The website was launched in October last year, in New Delhi. Their products (all within a fairly reasonable price range) include T-shirts, posters, beer mugs, coasters, and notebooks- to name a few. 

I came across a contest conducted by the site on Facebook, encouraging people to come up with catchy names for a T shirt. I was lucky to win the contest and can now call myself the proud owner of the Hogwarts Alumni T- shirt (worth Rs. 499/-) in this charming color:

The store has several exciting T shirts from various "fan-doms", such as Dexter, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and The Big Bang Theory. And unlike most stores online, they send you the actual size you ask for. :P The awesome quotes shared on Facebook are enough to make one realize how good the captions on the Green Rock products would be! 

To check out their Facebook page, click here. 

To visit the website, log on to Green Rock Store.

For queries, you can get in touch with these customer friendly people at: contact.greenrock@gmail.com

Green Rock will not disappoint you! Happy Shopping!

Book Review- The Best Of O.Henry

The Best Of O.Henry

Author: O.Henry

ISBN-13: 9788179928332

Binding: Paperback

Publisher: Jaico Publishing House

Number of Pages: 268

Genre: Fiction 

Language: English

Price: Rs. 195 (Got a review copy from publishers)

About the Book

The Best of O. Henry, this is a collection of short stories from the vast corpus of work that O. Henry has left behind. These selected stories not only give the reader a chance to read some of the best known of his works but also bear ample evidence of the wide range of his writings.Humorous and energetic, O. Henry’s stories are marked by coincidence and surprise endings. They offer an insight into human nature and the ways it is affected by love, hate, wealth, poverty, gentility, disguise, and crime. O. Henry’s depiction of his characters and their unique situation continues to weave their magic over readers almost a hundred years after the author created them. This is a must-read for all short story lovers as well as for those who want to take a dip into the world of classics.

About the Author

O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910). O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings. William Sidney Porter was born on September 11, 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina. His middle name at birth was Sidney; he changed the spelling to Sydney in 1898. His parents were Dr. Algernon Sidney Porter (1825–1888), a physician, and Mary Jane Virginia Swaim Porter (1833–1865). They were married April 20, 1858. When William was three, his mother died from tuberculosis, and he and his father moved into the home of his maternal grandmother. As a child, Porter was always reading, everything from classics to dime novels; his favorite works were Lane's translation of One Thousand and One Nights, and Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy.

Shimanti Says

A good short story collection never fails to replenish the dingy and dried up thought processes associated with our mundane lives.  When I came across the collection “The Best of O.Henry” published by Jaico Publishing House , I was filled with enthusiasm. However , a quick browse through the content left me a tad discontented since the anthology lacks some of the most famous short stories by this distinguished American writer like ‘The Ransom of Red Chief’ , ‘The Last Leaf’ , ‘A Retrieved Reformation’ and ‘The Clarion Call’. On perusing the stories, I also came across some typographical errors.

The book, however, contains some of the choicest short stories compiled together to provide us with a glimpse of the true artistic genius of the prolific writer who wrote more than 350 short stories in his lifetime. Commencing with an enigmatic character like Margrave August Michael von Paulsen Quigg in ‘A Bird of Baghdad’ , who possesses the gift of a skilful mind and a generous heart and aids a prospective suitor in winning the heart of his ladylove by being able to answer a riddle, Henry goes on to explore the psyche of people hailing from varied sections of the society.

While some of the stories like ‘A Technical Error’ and ‘After Twenty Years’ , culminate in a shocking revelation of the identity of one of the core characters, others like ‘Girl’ throws one into hysterics. Yet stories like ‘An Unfinished Story’ , ‘A Little Local Colour’ and  ‘The Detective Detector’ plunges us into a world of unseen images and patterns and presents us with the unexpected. The language being lucid and the style being truly appealing, the book is a pleasant read.

Reviewed by Shimanti for Dreams and Drama