By now I have come to realise that Maupassant is a complete and utter genius and that this second book of his which I raced through was equally as amazing and excellently written as his other. His writing style is light years ahead of the time it was written in and the story is packed with exciting and devestating betrayals and infidelities that are still relevent and present in today's society. I am so struck with how easy I have found Maupassant's work, as before I started Bel-Ami I had the stereotypical view that classic French literature would be up there with Russian works in terms of how hard it was to read and understand. How wrong I was. Another amazing thing is how much I can relate to his novels, in particular A Woman's Life which has never happened to such an extent before. I literally devoured this book and understood and sympathised with every single aspect of Jeanne's life. To be able to relate so strongly to a male author writing over 110 years ago has made me almost burst with joy and wetted my palate for more French classic literature. Yet again another tragic waste of a brilliant mind (Maupassant died aged 42) which is so disheartening when you see how absolutely superb his stories and style are. For him not to have understood or believed in his greatness is genuinely heartbreaking. One of the best things I can say about Maupassant is that he hasn't aged. Some authors writing more recently than him are now incredibly dated and 'old-fashioned' but not this man, he is still sharp as a knife over a century later.
Started 17th January
Finished 19th January
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