Maupassant, the greatest French short story writer,
A colorful portrayal of human life through keen observation and sophisticated language.

Maupassant is a writer who knows how to colorfully portray aspects of life and the many faces of people in short stories.
He left behind many works that were outstanding in terms of composition and technique, and is recognized as one of the greatest modern Western short story writers, along with O. Henry of the United States and Anton Pavlovich Chekhov of Russia.
His works continue to be published to this day and are also produced in various media other than books, such as plays and films, and are still loved by people around the world.

Aropa World Literature's "Anthology of Maupassant Short Stories" contains a selection of 20 of Maupassant's more than 300 short stories.
You can see the true face of Maupassant as a storyteller in "The Fat" which solidified his position as a writer from the beginning, "The Necklace" and "The Confession" which have the charm of a twist, "The Chair Repairer" which is a lifelong love story of a woman, "Two Friends" which shows the tragedy of the powerless people in the whirlpool of war, and "The Mountain Lodge" which goes back and forth between reality and fantasy with the snowy fields of the Alps as the background.
In addition, the translator's commentary and discussion/argumentation questions at the end of the book were designed to help readers understand Maupassant's world of works more deeply and organize their thoughts, along with additional reading material.

When Madame Loisel took the necklace to her friend, Madame Forestier said in an annoyed tone:
“I should have returned it sooner.
“I might need it too.”
Madame Forestier did not open the jewelry box.
In fact, Madame Loisel was afraid that her friend would open the box.
What would she think if she noticed the necklace had been changed? What would she say? Would she think I was a thief?
Madame Loisel experienced the terrible life of the poor.
But Mathilde bravely made up her mind right away.
I had to pay off this huge debt.
She will pay.
They fired the maid and moved into a rented attic.
--- From "Necklace"

The snow hardened and the carriage went faster.
Throughout the long and gloomy journey to Dieppe, amidst the rattling of the carriage, and at night in the thick darkness of the carriage, Cornudet continued to whistle his monotonous, vengeful whistle with dogged persistence.
People were exhausted and angry, but they had no choice but to listen to the song from beginning to end, recalling each and every line.
The fat lump was still crying.
Uncontrollable sobs occasionally leaked out between the verses of the song, into the darkness.
--- From "Lump of Fat"

At that moment, the clock next door struck 6 o'clock.
I couldn't hesitate any longer.
He opened the door and said.
“Let’s go.” The dog wagged its tail, knowing that he was going outside.
François reached the riverbank and chose a spot where the water looked deep.
Then he tied one end of the rope to a nice leather necklace and picked up a large stone and hung it on the other end.
Then he took Coco in his arms and kissed her passionately as if he were parting ways with her.
He hugged the dog tightly to his chest and called it, “My pretty Cocot, my cute Cocot.”
The dog sniffed happily and stayed still as he did.
--- From "Mademoiselle Cocotte"

Maupassant ridiculed realism and naturalism as meaningless empty words.
Like his teacher, he also hoped that literature would not be a tool representing the claims of a particular school of thought, but rather an art form that existed in itself.
Therefore, approaching Maupassant through the schematic framework of naturalistic literature risks the mistake of reducing the world of his works.
The originality of the author Maupassant lies not in his naturalistic literary view, but in his works that contain a unique perspective on the world and precise expressions.

--- From the "Commentary"