Short stories 161-165

“The Last Lesson” by Alphonse Daudet. A symbolic, emotional tale. A little too saccharine for my taste, but well told and was, at the time of writing, undoubtedly effective for stirring up national pride and keeping alive the anger over a certain historical event. (This seems to be the same translation as the one I read).

“The Fairy Amoureuse” by Emile Zola. Originally from Tales for Nanon. A Romantic transformation tale that would, in a simpler form, be at home in the Metamorphoses. A nice read, well written but a bit too treacly for my taste. (This seems to be the same translation as the one I read).

“The Substitute” by François Coppée. A tale of self-sacrifice, well written but clichéd to a modern palate.

“Our Lady’s Juggler” by Anatole France. Originally from L’Etui de nacre. A beautifully told miracle tale about the power of faith. (Same translation).

“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. An excellent moral tale with a twist, beautifully written and does not try to stuff the moral down one's throat. Recommended. (Same translation - link is to a .pdf file).

Here ends the chapter of French stories.

Comments

Book 40: The Martian by Andy Weir, audiobook read by Wil Wheaton

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Icelandic folk-tale: The Devil Takes a Wife

Stories of people who have made a deal with and then beaten the devil exist all over Christendom and even in literature. Here is a typical one: O nce upon a time there were a mother and daughter who lived together. They were rich and the daughter was considered a great catch and had many suitors, but she accepted no-one and it was the opinion of many that she intended to stay celebrate and serve God, being a very devout woman. The devil didn’t like this at all and took on the form of a young man and proposed to the girl, intending to seduce her over to his side little by little. He insinuated himself into her good graces and charmed her so thoroughly that she accepted his suit and they were betrothed and eventually married. But when the time came for him to enter the marriage bed the girl was so pure and innocent that he couldn’t go near her. He excused himself by saying that he couldn’t sleep and needed a bath in order to go to sleep. A bath was prepared for him and in he went...

List love: 10 recommended stories with cross-dressing characters

This trope is almost as old as literature, what with Achilles, Hercules and Athena all cross-dressing in the Greek myths, Thor and Odin disguising themselves as women in the Norse myths, and Arjuna doing the same in the Mahabaratha. In modern times it is most common in romance novels, especially historicals in which a heroine often spends part of the book disguised as a boy, the hero sometimes falling for her while thinking she is a boy. Occasionally a hero will cross-dress, using a female disguise to avoid recognition or to gain access to someplace where he would never be able to go as a man. However, the trope isn’t just found in romances, as may be seen in the list below, in which I recommend stories with a variety of cross-dressing characters. Unfortunately I was only able to dredge up from the depths of my memory two book-length stories I had read in which men cross-dress, so this is mostly a list of women dressed as men. Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb. One of the interwove...

Reading in Reykjavík

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