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Pierre Et Jean

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 1,435 ratings · 73 reviews

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), né à Paris, est un écrivain français. Lié à Gustave Flaubert et à Émile Zola, il a marqué la littérature française par ses six romans, dont Une Vie en 1883, Bel Ami en 1885, Pierre et Jean en 1887-1888, mais surtout par ses nouvelles (plus de 300), parfois intitulées contes, comme Boule de Suif en 1880, Les Contes de la Bécasse en 1883 ou Le

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Paperback, 255 pages

Published June 1st 2005 by Hachette (first published December 1st 1887)

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Jan 27, 2013 Manny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Manny by: C.

Shelves: french, older-men-younger-women, mentions-twilight

[Fresh from his triumphs in Bel-Ami, ROBERT PATTINSON will shortly be appearing in Pierre et Jean, directed by A FAMOUS FRENCH DIRECTOR. The following outtake has turned up on YouTube]

FRENCH DIRECTOR: Vous vous souvenez peut-être, j'ai dit que tout le monde doit lire le roman. Monsieur Pattinson, nous comprenons bien que vous êtes la grande star américaine, mais avez-vous le lit, oui ou merde?

INTERPRETER: He asks if you have read the book.

PATTINSON: Well, I've had a lot of shit going on, you kno...more [Fresh from his triumphs in Bel-Ami, ROBERT PATTINSON will shortly be appearing in Pierre et Jean, directed by A FAMOUS FRENCH DIRECTOR. The following outtake has turned up on YouTube]

FRENCH DIRECTOR: Vous vous souvenez peut-être, j'ai dit que tout le monde doit lire le roman. Monsieur Pattinson, nous comprenons bien que vous êtes la grande star américaine, mais avez-vous le lit, oui ou merde?

INTERPRETER: He asks if you have read the book.

PATTINSON: Well, I've had a lot of shit going on, you know, interviews about my breakup with Kristen, and I've had to change my publicist and my personal trainer in the same week, then there's been some tax shit, so, like, give me a break dude, I'll get to it real soon, I promise, you know?

INTERPRETER: Il n'a pas lu.

FRENCH DIRECTOR: Alors, je vais vous lire un petit bout:

Une heure plus tard il était étendu dans son petit lit marin, étroit et long comme un cercueil. Il y resta longtemps, les yeux ouverts, songeant à tout ce qui s'était passé depuis deux mois dans sa vie, et surtout dans son âme. À force d'avoir souffert et fait souffrir les autres, sa douleur agressive et vengeresse s'était fatiguée, comme une lame émoussée. Il n'avait presque plus le courage d'en vouloir à quelqu'un et de quoi que ce fût, et il laissait aller sa révolte à vau-l'eau à la façon de son existence. Il se sentait tellement las de lutter, las de frapper, las de détester, las de tout, qu'il n'en pouvait plus et tâchait d'engourdir son coeur dans l'oubli, comme on tombe dans le sommeil. Il entendait vaguement autour de lui les bruits nouveaux du navire, bruits légers, à peine perceptibles en cette nuit calme du port; et de sa blessure jusque-là si cruelle il ne sentait plus aussi que les tiraillements douloureux des plaies qui se cicatrisent.

INTERPRETER: You're lying down. You don't feel too good about what's happened. You're really tired.

[PATTINSON lies down and stares at the ceiling]

FRENCH DIRECTOR: J'en ai marre marre marre de cet comédien de merde, dites-lui encore une fois que c'est Maupassant, pas cette merde de Twilight. Est-ce vraiment impossible de comprendre?

INTERPRETER: He asks if you can try to remember you're not Edward.

[With apologies to "Lost in Translation"](less)

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Mar 06, 2013 Bettie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Bettie by: Laura

Shelves: spring-2013, tbr-busting-2013, translation, e-book, gutenberg-project, france, published-1887, shortstory-shortstories-novellas, families, filthy-lucre

Nutty NUUT read

Translator: Clara Bell

Opening: "Tschah!" exclaimed old Roland suddenly, after he had remained motionless for a quarter of an hour, his eyes fixed on the water, while now and again he very slightly lifted his line sunk in the sea.

Mme. Roland, dozing in the stern by the side of Mme. Rosemilly, who had been invited to join the fishing-party, woke up, and turning her head to look at her husband, said:

"Well, well! Gerome."

And the old fellow replied in a fury:

"They do not bite at all....more

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Jan 25, 2009 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, 2009reads, classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 24, 2010 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: france, 19th-century-lit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Don't read this book if you are in the mood for something light and airy. As one of the characters says toward the end of Pierre and Jean, "How ugly life is! If for once you find a little sweetness in it you are wicked to enjoy it and pay very heavily for it later."

It certainly didn't begin that way. We have an idyllic little family with two grown-up sons, one a lawyer and the other a doctor, and you end up with a divided family being torn by centrifugal forces. It is like Chaucer's definition o...more Don't read this book if you are in the mood for something light and airy. As one of the characters says toward the end of Pierre and Jean, "How ugly life is! If for once you find a little sweetness in it you are wicked to enjoy it and pay very heavily for it later."

It certainly didn't begin that way. We have an idyllic little family with two grown-up sons, one a lawyer and the other a doctor, and you end up with a divided family being torn by centrifugal forces. It is like Chaucer's definition of tragedy as "a dite of a prosperite for a time, that endeth in wrecchidnesse."

Oddly, it all starts with an unexpected inheritance from a former friend of the family who gives the younger son, Jean, 25,000 francs -- and completely ignores the other son. The suspicion begins to grow in the brother, Pierre, that possibly Jean was not the son of Gerome Roland, his own father, but of the deceased friend of the family.

The poison of envy begins gnawing at Pierre's vitals until it begins to rot his relationship with family and friends. When he finally confronts Jean with his suspicions, their mother overhears their conversation in the next room and becomes almost catatonic with shame -- because it was, in fact, the truth.

What remains is for the family to go their separate ways. Pierre becomes the ship doctor for a new Transatlantic liner plying the sea between Le Havre and New York. Although he is about to be married, Jean is at first miserable to hear of his parentage leading to a crisis between the brothers and the mother -- with the father remaining in blissful ignorance.

In the book's last scene, Pierre's ship vanishes in the distance:

As they were about to leave the quay and go along the boulevard Francois I, his [Gerome's] wife turned back once again to take one last look at the open sea, but she could see nothing but a wisp of grey smoke, so distant, so faint that it looked like a light mist.

As with everything of de Maupassant's that I have read, I wonder why I don't read more. Perhaps French realism and naturalism is ultimately self-limiting. Reading a number of Zola's and Flaubert's novels in rapid succession, for example, takes an almost impossible emotional equilibrium to take in so many desperately unhappy tales.

And yet, Flaubert, Zola, the Goncourt brothers, and de Maupassant are unquestionably great writers.

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Jul 25, 2012 Pierre E. Loignon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: litterature

Dans ce roman, comme dans tous les romans de Maupassant, les personnages sont complètement dénués de profondeur. Ce sont de petits êtres fragiles, sensibles aux moindres contrecoups de leurs destinées.
Cette absence d’humanité digne de ce nom est le secret d’auteur qui permet à Maupassant de fondre parfaitement ensemble sa trame narratrice, ses personnages, son récit et le contexte où l’ensemble se déploie dans son style parfait. Ceteris paribus sic stantibus, comme en sciences, l’on se sent, co...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Sasha Martinez added it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2011

Why do stories of two brothers—or two sisters—[especially] insist on contrast and comparison? Because they’re knee-jerk, they’re instinctive, they’re human nature? In literature, authors tend to go on the route of fairy tales or parables—if not legitimately or in structure, then in tone, or feel.

De Maupssant’s short novel feels like that. It’s almost too easy to compare and contrast—the author gives us two brothers, standing side by side, from the get go. It’s almost like an invitation. One brot...more Why do stories of two brothers—or two sisters—[especially] insist on contrast and comparison? Because they’re knee-jerk, they’re instinctive, they’re human nature? In literature, authors tend to go on the route of fairy tales or parables—if not legitimately or in structure, then in tone, or feel.

De Maupssant’s short novel feels like that. It’s almost too easy to compare and contrast—the author gives us two brothers, standing side by side, from the get go. It’s almost like an invitation. One brother, the younger, Jean: “a model of gentleness, willingness, and equanimity.” His older brother, Pierre: “impetuous, intelligent, volatile, and stubborn, full of utopian views and philosophical ideas.”

And here comes the pot-stirring, the possible conflict—which, you can be assured gives way to an actual [if largely psychological] one later on: "But a kind of jealousy, the sort that lies dormant and grows almost unseen between brothers or sisters and which only surfaces in later years when one of them marries or receives a stroke of good fortune, made them aware of a fraternal and harmless antagonism between them. Of course they loved each other, but each watched the other closely."

So it’s there. A relationship that’s naturally volatile. You’re brothers, you’re different from one another. Actual conflict comes in the form of an inheritance from a friend of the family—for Jean alone. Hasn’t Monsieur Maréchal expressed love for them both? Why just Jean? Someone has to enlighten Pierre—he’ll welcome any explanation, something to justify his jealousy, his anger.

The reader is, of course, quick to come to a conclusion: Jean is Monsieur Maréchal’s son. Pierre’s mother loved a man other than his father. Jean and Pierre, brothers most of their lives, suddenly are not.

What’s particularly impressive—and affecting, yes—about the novel is that it’s all mostly from Pierre’s point of view. Yes, most of the painful parts are: Pierre, alone, in his mind, has to deal with the possibility of his family unraveling. The people around them reveal themselves, mostly because what’s going on in Pierre’s head is so painful that it cannot be contained. People are made purer, or uglier.

So, yes, at the beginning, we’re invited to cast arbitrary judgments. But the conflict Pierre goes through, alone—it’s not so much that it inspires sympathy. I was simply, well, forced to think with Pierre, and go beyond those arbitrary comparisons and contrasts.

"His family! For the past two days some unknown, evil hand, the hand of a dead man, had torn away at and destroyed, one by one, every link that bound these four creatures together. He had no mother, for he couldn’t love her anymore, not being able to worship her with that absolute, touching, and devoted respect which a son’s heart must have. He no longer had a brother as he was the son of a stranger. He only had a father, this great lump of a man that he just couldn’t bring himself to love."

[There was quite an internal struggle for me to not make Team Pierre and Team Jean banners and shirts. Although I suspect I can probably go on and on discussing the merits of both, um, teams.](less)

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Sep 03, 2010 Dominique rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is actually a lot better than I thought it would be based on the first two chapters I read. Although at first blush this book seemed settled into describing the quiet life of a normal french family in the countryside, it wasn't long before some pretty dark secrets started springing up. I was pleasantly surprised by Pierre's psychological depth, seeing as the majority of the book takes place amid his warring thoughts. Another thing to note was the fantastic imagery of the port town le H...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Tanuj Solanki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: french

Office read on the Adelaide edu website.

As a review, I'll share a few of the notes I made while reading it.

(1) In his preface to the book, Maupassant writes, in an essay, that action should be present to conceal the psychology of a character, simply because psychology should not be flaunted. I never imagined anyone putting it so succinctly.

(2) There are nine chapters. Chapter 5 is notable – the character, Pierre, who is almost the conflicted center of the novel, feels here the germs of misogyny....more Office read on the Adelaide edu website.

As a review, I'll share a few of the notes I made while reading it.

(1) In his preface to the book, Maupassant writes, in an essay, that action should be present to conceal the psychology of a character, simply because psychology should not be flaunted. I never imagined anyone putting it so succinctly.

(2) There are nine chapters. Chapter 5 is notable – the character, Pierre, who is almost the conflicted center of the novel, feels here the germs of misogyny. Maupassant, in interlacing Pierre’s immediate experience with the fermentation of thoughts, is at his masterly best here. You have a character who is beginning to get vicious ideas regarding his mother’s character, and tries to escape them by taking a boat to another town. At the shore he is confronted by a hoard of people, many of them women. This is the text of the thing:

Now, as he went, he studied the groups, wandering round them full of a fresh set of ideas. All these many-hued dresses which covered the sands like nosegays, these pretty stuffs, those showy parasols, the fictitious grace of tightened waists, all the ingenious devices of fashion from the smart little shoe to the extravagant hat, the insinuating charm of gesture, voice and smile, all the coquettish airs in short displayed on this sea-shore, suddenly struck him as stupendous efflorescences of female depravity. All these bedizened women aimed at pleasing, bewitching, and deluding some man. They had dressed themselves out for men — for all men — all excepting the husband whom they no longer needed to conquer. They had dressed themselves out for the lover of yesterday and the lover of tomorrow, for the stranger they might meet and notice or were perhaps on the lookout for.

(3) An excellent quote for those wronged:

Have not all women, all, this fault of prodigious forgetfulness which enables them, after a few years, hardly to recognize the man to whose kisses they have lent their lips? The kiss strikes like a thunder-bolt, the love passes away like a storm, and then life, like the sky, is calm once more, and begins again as it was before. Do you ever remember a cloud?

All in all, readable if you're not in a hurry and not bound by an obsession to only read excellent, confounding, creme de la creme fiction.(less)

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Aug 20, 2012 Shari rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic

What can easily ruin the relationships between mother and son, and siblings? Maupassant offers an answer in this novel and he presents it so simply, so matter-of-fact, and so straightforward that I found myself completely moved by the story of Pierre and Jean. The psychological impact of this book got me thinking about the characters long after I have finished reading. The dilemma and heartache of Pierre over his slow discovery of his mother's past and his subsequent "exile" to resolve the rift...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Liam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Illusion of beauty -- a human convention! Illusion of ugliness -- a matter of opinion! Illusion of truth -- never constant! Illusion of the vile -- attractive to so many! The great artists are those that impose their personal illusion on mankind." (9)

"Pierre was having one of those gloomy days when you look into every corner of your soul and shake out the creases." (44)

"Without the two of you it would be empty, black and empty as the night. I would never have loved anything, known anything, des...more

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Nov 18, 2010 Genevieve rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, en-français, french, own, 19th-century

I came to read this book in a peculiar way: I found it lying on a city sidewalk, late at night. As there was no one in sight who could have dropped it, I took the book home. Its previous owner had clearly been a student; the pages were full of underlining and English translations of words (not always quite exact). Anyway I enjoyed the book very much, although 'enjoy' is perhaps the wrong term for a story of a family unraveling. The way that Maupassant shows us his characters' thoughts, and the w...more

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Oct 10, 2010 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4-Star rating for Pierre et Jean.

Much has been made by historians of literature, and in the preface of this very edition, of the importance Guy de Maupassant’s “Pierre et Jean” plays in the shift in French literature from the traditional realist novel to a newfound concern with the interiority of characters. However, it is equally important to note that such a distinction is not only of academic interest, but it is also what makes this short novel, from a writer more famed for his short stories,...more 4-Star rating for Pierre et Jean.

Much has been made by historians of literature, and in the preface of this very edition, of the importance Guy de Maupassant’s “Pierre et Jean” plays in the shift in French literature from the traditional realist novel to a newfound concern with the interiority of characters. However, it is equally important to note that such a distinction is not only of academic interest, but it is also what makes this short novel, from a writer more famed for his short stories, remain so exciting and vital for modern readers.

Maupassant sets up a fascinating dialectic between two brothers, the elder Pierre, representing rationality triumphing over emotion, and his younger and more cherished sibling, Jean, representing the dominance of heart over the mind. Pierre can be spiteful, selfish, and lazy, but de Maupassant deviously makes him introspective and aware of his failings. The more he wrestles to become a better man, and the more de Maupassant hints that he may not be the only one to blame for his venomous feelings, the more readers are lured into identifying with him. One particularly striking passage dramatizes the violently oscillating thoughts within Pierre’s own mind juxtaposed against the raging breakwaters in the beautifully realized environs of the port of Le Havre.

The even shorter ‘novelette,’ “The Roque Girl,” is of note for its deft use of the elements of detective fiction and for the shocking description of, and the attendant prurient interest of the local townspeople in, the rape and murder of a young girl.

Other notably strong stories included here are “Mouche,” “Shepherd’s Leap,” “On the Water,” and “In the Fields.”

NOTE ON THIS EDITION: Many of the short stories noted in the preface and the short de Maupassant bio of this edition as being his most famous and lasting works are omitted here, because, according to scholar Francis Steegmuller, they have been published innumerable times elsewhere. I would think one or two, namely “The Necklace” or “Boule de Suif,” would be included.
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Sep 19, 2011 MJ Nicholls rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pernod-and-gauloises, novels, pre-1900s, oxford-classics

Unlike Robbe-Grillet’s predatory eyes and unspoken menace, Maupassant offers a tale of overt bitter jealousy, with a healthy dose of bastardism thrown into the mix. Jean is the sole inheritor of a family friend’s fortune, leaving his brother Pierre dazed as to his own bad luck. Quite rightly in that situation, you’d be gutted—nothing for me? who was this tosser? So Pierre arrives at a simple conclusion that tears his family apart, all very suddenly, after many pleasant pages of boating and court...more

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Jun 24, 2009 hirtho rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i grabbed this cuz i recognize the author's name being mentioned with other fogie frogs like the Madam Bovary guy and maybe Proust or something, and I think he's a contemporary of Paul Verlaine who I'm a fan of - so far, I'm enjoying it, altho some soap opera-ish elements are cropping in but I recognize how petty and futile it'd be to judge on such modern prejudices - it's sorta just a palette-cleanser for me as the other thing I'm reading is taking me a while cuz of scheduling so I needed to ge...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Paul Jellinek rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a book! Although the title is French, I read it in English, and was flat-out blown away by the beauty of the writing. No wonder Flaubert was such a fan! (although, if I'm not mistaken, this book was written after Flaubert's death). This story of two very different brothers and the tensions between them is as powerful and elemental as Cain and Abel, and the many descriptions of the Normandy coast where the story plays out are every bit as evocative as any that Flaubert himself ever wrote. Ca...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Gwen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books

This is actually pretty straightforward for de Maupassant. I kept expecting a twist, like you'd find in his short stories, but there wasn't one. The solution to the mystery is given early on and the rest of the book is spent waiting on confirmation. Of course, it could be that de Maupassant wants you to dismiss the clues he gives early on so that you do read it another way, thinking you're all clever for tossing out the red herring, only to find out that nope, the answer he gave you in the begin...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Dagny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, french

M. Roland is a retired jeweller who, loving the sea, has retired to Havre with his wife. Pierre and Jean, their two grown sons have now completed their eduction in Paris, one a doctor, the other a lawyer, and have joined their parents for a rest before setting up in their professions. The brothers have been competitive their entire lives and now they meet Mme. Rosemilly, a well-to-do widow of only twenty-three. But this is only the first incident in a series of happenings that threaten to tear t...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Jason Carlin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I love about the French is that they're perfectly happy to present you with a character, make them suffer intensely, and by the end of the book have no fear in leaving them that way. It's true to life and makes me realise how much of an illusion certain books are, most obviously evident with Dean Koontz. His novels always begin with some impossible-to-overcome difficulty for the central characters, and then somehow they manage to wriggle their way to a happy resolution. It's fine if you're...more

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Jul 13, 2009 Leslie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: french

Well. This book does have all the language and style that I crave. The scenery was lovely. The description of a day spent catching shrimp was lovely to read. However, the brother, Pierre, who is so wretched, wanted a good smacking. How I wished I could reach into the pages and smack him. And then, all of a sudden, I realized that he wasn't delusional, but right. How I wanted him to be wrong. He was nasty though, and I hated him. Then, I felt sorry for him. Then I felt sorry for every damn-body....more

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May 12, 2013 Mary rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who likes a short family drama in an exotic setting

Pierre and Jean are two brothers. This short novella tells the story of a life-changing event in their lives. It is set in the late 1800s in the port town of Havre on the French Channel coast, a destination now familiar to many holidaying Brits. Family dynamics are explored. Pierre's character throughout seems to be a comment on the way our human spirit is disposed to either build up or to squash those around us. As we watch Pierre work through the fog of his own resentment we can resolve to cho...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Plucino rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature-french

"Zut !" s'écria tout à coup le père Roland...
Il libro parte come con un colpo di fucile; si sviluppa poi robustamente attorno al conflitto sotterraneo fra i fratelli Pierre e Jean, il giorno e la notte dal punto di vista fisico e caratteriale.
La trama è tutto sommato convenzionale e inquadrabile solo nel contesto della società (piccolo)borghese del XIX secolo, ma de Maupassant è uno di Schwarzenegger della letteratura, ti porta dove vuole lui e c'è poco da discutere.

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Apr 06, 2008 Joshua rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: um...me?

I'm a fan of french literature, which i find odd, but its true none-the-less. I like stories that set a nice scene of France or countries in which french is spoken. I credit this to my love of French Soccer, in which many years ago I would watch the French Soccer highlight show every week and familiarize myself with the towns/cities of France. That show was cancelled and i'm still pissed about that.

Pierre And Jean takes place in Normandie in Le Havre which is a seaside port town. The fog, the se...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another short novel by de Maupassant...a simple enough story, but good. Two brothers, Pierre and Jean, are fond of each other, but have typical brotherly competition. Jean (the younger) receives the entire estate of a family friend who has died. Pierre is jealous and hurt to be left out...and this leads to him suspecting his mother of adultery and that the family friend is really Jean's father.

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Jun 29, 2011 Quentito Tarentino rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

J'aime beaucoup le style de Maupassant dans ce livre, à la fois simple, clair et précis. Le roman raconte une histoire d'héritage qui va opposer deux frères dans une famille bourgeoise du Havre. L'auteur analyse les conséquences de l'arrivée d'une telle somme dans une famille, notamment à travers le psychologie des personnages. Ce livre me fait d'ailleurs un peu penser à un policier mais de l'esprit.

thèmes : le contraste (blanc/noir), la pêche, l'argent.

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Apr 22, 2013 Rhonda Hankins added it · review of another edition

the introduction tells me that the author seems to think there is a great deal of mystery about the real meaning of the work & describes this as a novel that can be read at many levels. i'm not sure what any of that means so perhaps it's deeper than i appreciate, but i can say it's a fun/easy/short read. apparently (one of the?) first works of psychological fiction.

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May 22, 2010 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another from the 1001 list, but I really love Maupassant. His characters are so real and so human. One brother receives a large inheritance and the other gets nothing - wouldn't you want to know why. Money and envy always lead to bad things, but don't we all think that life would be perfect is only we had money. This shows us the danger in that belief.

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Sep 03, 2009 Julie is currently reading it · review of another edition

Shelves: own

So far, the vocabulary and grammar seem to be at a decent level for me. There are a fair amount of words I don't know, but I can usually puzzle out the basics of what's going on. Much better than the french book I checked out of the library, which was way too abstract and complex, syntactically.

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Aug 03, 2011 Sebas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was hard to read this book, as I read it in French and my French is still not very good.
I think the idea is fine, but some of the descriptions are too long and detailed. Some of them use specific language, boat details for example, and at some points the book becomes quite boring.
Apart from those parts where I got lost and couldnt understand what was happening, because of my French, it was a good book.

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Dec 31, 2011 Portia S rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was lovely. I immediately found the relation between Maupassant and Maugham, it was wonderufl, really. this story depicts the way in which the subtle jealousy between two brothers exploded with the coming of the death of a family friend. I really enjoyed this, good work.

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Aug 08, 2012 Pascale Plänk Steig rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It’s odd to admit that I’d never read any of Guy de Maupassant’s stories after the awful necklace story, in 7th grade. I really enjoyed this story about two brothers and how an unexpected inheritance forever changes their relationship.

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About Guy de Maupassant

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer. He is one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protege of Flaubert, Maupassant's short stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless dénouement. He also wrote six short novels. A number of his stories often denote the futility of war and the innocent civilians who get crushed i...more

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Quotes from Pierre et Jean

“The great artists are those who impose their personal vision upon humanity.” — 6 people liked it

“cette oppression douloureuse, ce malaise de l’ame que laisse en nous lé chagrin sur lequel on a dormi. Il semble que lé malheur, dont lé choc nous a seulement heurte la veille, se soit glisse, durant nôtre repos, dans nôtre chair elle-meme, qu’il meurtrit et fatigue comme une fièvre.
هذا الضيق المؤلم، إنزعاج الروح الذي ننام عليه يترك فينا الأسى. ويبدو أن صدمة التعاسة التي ضربتنا بالأمس تنزلق خلال راحتنا، في لحمنا نفسه فتُمرض وتًتعب كالحمى.” — 1 person liked it

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Pierre Et Jean

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