Customer Reviews

BEL-AMI

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Guy De Maupassant (1850-1893), if "Bel-Ami" is any indication, must rank as one of the best writers in the history of the western world. Born in Normandy in 1850, Maupassant became a disciple of the French author Flaubert early in life. Guy quit his job with the civil service after publishing his first short story, "Boule de Suif" in 1880. What followed was a phenomenal flurry of 250 short stories and six novels before his premature death from syphilis in 1893. During his short life, Maupassant helped to form the "groupe de Medan," a loosely knit group of naturalist writers headed by Emile Zola. He also worked as a journalist, covering such important events as the French campaigns in Algeria and Tunisia. A hard worker when it came to writing, Maupassant also possessed a zest for life, including a love for the ladies that eventually killed him.

"Bel-Ami" is hardly an original premise. How many books written through the years discuss the idea of a rural man heading to the city to make it big? That is exactly what happens with this book in the form of main character Georges Duroy. After a five-year stint in the French army, Duroy moves to Paris to make his fortune. Regrettably, Duroy is languishing in a lowly job as a railroad clerk until he meets his old army buddy Forestier. From this point forward, Georges is on the fast track to success. Forestier gets him a job at a scandal rag named "La Vie Francaise" where Georges rapidly ascends the ranks from lowly reporter to chief editor. Along the way, Duroy engages in all sorts of amorous adventures with women both high and low on the Paris social register. By the time the story ends, Georges is within sight of the highest positions in French society, all accomplished through sheer cunning and social maneuvering.

There are so many themes running through this sordid tale of the decadent Third Republic that it is impossible to adequately describe them all here. The introduction to this Penguin edition, written by translator Douglas Parmee, does a good job of showing how incidents in Maupassant's life appear in the character of Georges Duroy. The protagonist's rural background, his experience in France's North African expeditions, his work as a reporter and the subsequent expose of the seediness of journalism, the numerous affairs, the social positioning, and the philosophical musings on death are all expressions of Maupassant's personality and activities. I do hope, however, that Maupassant was not as big of a cad as Georges Duroy because this character may be one of the biggest jerks in the history of literature.

You cannot help but hate Duroy. He has little self-control except when he realizes that holding off on a conquest might mean self-advancement. Georges takes his mistress to the same theater where he picks up prostitutes, takes money from people without paying them back, corrupts women of high moral standards, sleeps with his boss's wife, seduces his boss's daughter, and physically assaults his mistress. There is just no way to sympathize with this guy, and the fact that he gains riches and fame is particularly galling to anyone with any sense of decency. But that is the message De Maupassant is trying to convey; that the complete decadence of French society during this time allows the likes of Duroy to succeed, and to succeed with a smile. Witness the scene towards the end of the book when Walter, Duroy's boss, grudgingly accedes his daughter to Georges's slimy scheme. "He will go far," says Walter, with more respect for Duroy's distasteful achievement than disdain for his lack of morals.

Another theme in the book, and one that runs through the pages like a 400-pound gorilla, is hypocrisy. The propensities for backstabbing, lying, and blatant disregard for self-realization in "Bel-Ami" is laugh out loud astonishing. These are shallow, manipulative people without a shred of decency, and Maupassant never passes up an opportunity to expose these despicable people. The hypocritical stance of the characters and situations often vie with powerfully descriptive passages of Paris and the French countryside, which are truly beautiful to read and have probably accounted for thousands of tourist trips to that country. The characters in "Bel-Ami" may be of no account morally, but they move and live in an environment of unsurpassed beauty.

Maupassant's knowledge of his own impending death weighs heavily in the story. Two sections highlight his musings on mortality: the monologue of the poet Norbert de Varenne and the death of Forestier. For the author, his slow deterioration from a disease made death a daily reality. What seemed to worry De Maupassant the most about death was not punishment from God but the idea of nothingness and being forgotten by the living. Of course, death makes no impression on Georges Duroy, who experiences only a moderate twinge over the passing of Forestier before making a play for that man's wife in order to improve his social position.

I am elated that I discovered this author. Guy De Maupassant is a brilliant writer whose early death robbed the world of a great talent. Although his short stories are considered some of the best ever written, do not pass by this novel. I have rarely seen an author who can write about mundane, daily situations with as much aplomb (see the scene about the fencing party as a prime example). De Maupassant's masterful abilities make this ordinary plot strikingly original and I will revisit this author again in the future. You should too.

Just a beautifully written story. This is my second time reading it, and I can't wait to read it again in 10 years! Love Maupassant, I would recommend it for sure.

The novel can make you wonder how the society can be so porous to allow somebody to get from dire poverty to filthy richness. It is important to note that Georges Duroy, unlike Rastignac from Balzac's "Pere Goriot/Old Goriot", was never torn between good and evil and, unlike Julien Sorel from Stendhal's "le Rouge et le Noire/the Red and the Black" never won women's hearts as a plebeian. Georges Duroy may personify the cynical and corrupt society, however his success would not have been possible without the society, in spite of all its vises, being so sensuous (especially the female part of it).

This is a story of how sleaze, manipulation, and mediocrity prevail and get certain people ahead in life.

Georges Duroy is one of those incompetent losers who gets others to do his work for him and sleeps his way to the top, basically. This story is an expose of the corrupt and unscrupulous aspects of the newspaper publishing world and the immoral seductions of Parisian high society.

Duroy begins in the poverty and squalor of a worker's tenement building where he's struggling to make a living. Through sheer determination to change his situation and make something of his life, he moves to Paris and soon finds himself in the artistic salon of a wealthy and intelligent political hostess and the home of a rich Jewish banker and newspaper owner. Here Maupassant skillfully shows how a mediocre, untalented nobody becomes really successful in life through cunning, through good luck... and good connections!

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

Maupassant's characters are more real and colourful than those created by any of the other French naturalists. Bel Ami, his first fill length novel, is simply a joy to read. It tells the story a young ex-soldier, fighting for social position and materialism in the rat race of 1870s Paris. This novel could easily be transported to present day and loose nothing of its impact. Scandal, political intrigue and sexual manipulation are described with Maupassant's cutting pessimism, yet beautifully balanced by his black wit and appreciation for the simple joys of life.

I would never have known that Guy de Maupassant wrote novels along with his great short stories if another amazon reader hadn't turned me on to their existence. This novel, reminiscent of Madame Bovary (a male version, you might say) is terrific. You'll get a great deal of description of Paris in the late 19th century with period details worthy of any great novelist. The plot is typical: poor, rural young man from the outskirts (Rouen) has no money and no position in life, but longs to find fame and fortune. Thanks to his manly wiles (he's a natural ladies' man), he manages to sleep his way to the top. Like Madame Bovary, happiness is never really there no matter how much money and power he attains - the more you get, the more you realize that others will always have more. Still, Monsieur Duroy, even at his most calculating retains somewhat of a sympathetic quality that allows us to relate to him and root for his success. Despite its length, this novel is a fast read. One of my favorites of the year.

We can always learn something from the French, and this novel of one journalist's rise in 1880s Paris is full of little 'life lessons' about the way of the World and how to turn things to one's own advantage.

Others may see it as a bleak ironic tale depicting the triumph of cynicism and amorality in an ultimately meaningless Universe. Meaning all depends on what peg you hang everything on. If you are looking for confirmation of some universal moral values, you won't find them here, but on the other hand you'll find an entertaining, sometimes disturbing, but always fascinating tale of a talented man with appetites and passions.

The conventional wisdom would be to view Georges Duroy as a cad, and with top hat and twirly moustaches, he definitely fits that visual stereotype, but he starts at the bottom and gets to the top merely by playing the rules of the game that is already in progress.

He gains success partly through the help of several women, and perhaps the way he treats them looks somewhat callous, but I would venture to defend him on this point. It is true he uses women at every stage of his ascent, but this, after all, can only be done with their consent and all the females who are so used, do this quite willingly, charmed by his good looks and personality.

Of course, one's moral view of this character depend on whether you take a male or female view of sexual morality. Men are by nature more promiscuous, whereas women view sensuality in pair bonding terms. Men, while paying lip service to this view because of its important role in rearing the next generation, believe that there should be a little icing on the cake. When Georges apparently 'betrays' the devotion of Madame Walter - who is herself 'betraying' her husband - or Clotilde, his mistress, in favor of other females who equally want to monopolize his affections, he is merely switching from female to male sexuality morality.

As he says quite rightly when casting off Madame Walter: "We fancied each other and that's that. Now it's over."

I enjoyed this book very much and readily recognize that it is head and shoulders above so much contemporary fiction -- particularly all this Oprah Winfrey-approved garbage. Nevertheless, "Bel-Ami" is overly long and almost surreal in its redundancy -- it loops in on itself time and time again, rather like the whorls on a snail's shell that travel far but ultimately never really go or lead anywhere.

Don't misunderstand -- this is a fine book, well worth reading (the pretentious introduction isn't worthy of it, by the way). Maupassant was, however, a short story writer (one of the finest, actually), and I strongly suspect that "Bel-Ami" would have worked far more effectively as a story rather than as a novel.

By the way, the movie version, with George Sanders ideally cast in the lead role, is well worth viewing.

Has anyone ever asked you what 5 books you'd take with you to a desert island? Consider Bel Ami.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. The characters, social climbers of questionable morals in 19th century Paris, could be on the social scene in modern New York, LA, or Washington today. It's a rare book that can get inside the head of a character with no redeeming virtues whatsoever, and to do so as part of such an entertaining and compelling story. This is a book you will turn to many times, whether you're stuck on a desert island or not.

As always Maupassant creates a story that causes you to feel for his characters. His style is similar to the simpler tales of Hemmingway, not more elegant, but with more emotional development. Reads like a "light read" but has a very complex finish.