The Horla (The Art of the Novella)

By Guy de Maupassant and De Maupassant

Book Overview

Our woe is upon us. This chilling tale of one man's descent into madness was published shortly before the author was institutionalized for insanity, and so The Horla has inevitably been seen as informed by Guy de Maupassant's mental illness. While such speculation is murky, it is clear that de Maupassant--hailed alongside Chekhov as father of the short story--was at the peak of his powers in this innovative precursor of first-person psychological fiction. Indeed, he worked for years on The Horla 's themes and form, first drafting it as "Letter from a Madman," then telling it from a doctor's point of view, before finally releasing the terrified protagonist to speak for himself in its devastating final version. In a brilliant new translation, all three versions appear here as a single volume for the first time. The Art of The Novella Series Too short to be a novel, too long to be a short story, the novella is generally unrecognized by academics and publishers. Nonetheless, it is a form beloved and practiced by literature's greatest writers. In the Art Of The Novella series, Melville House celebrates this renegade art form and its practitioners with titles that are, in many instances, presented in book form for the first time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0976140748
• ISBN13: 9780976140740
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Melville House
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.3" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Absolutely outstanding

It's not for no reason that The Horla is widely regarded as the best horror story ever told. I advise anyone who contemplates reading this to pour themselves a good stiff gin before turning the pages!The Horla is written in the style of a diary, and is set in a rural area of northern France, near the medieval city of Rouen. The author of the diary is a rich, reclusive gentleman who wants for nothing, and spends most his time and energy contemplating the great philosophical questions of life. He enjoys the simple pleasures of his existence - such as watching ships whizz along the Seine. The story begins in a happy mood with the diarist full of life and complety content, but as the days pass by he becomes ill. At first he believes the ailment is physical, but it soon becomes apparent that the illness is mental. As strange things begin to happen around him - which can only be explained rationally by his own actions of which he is not aware - the reader is drawn into the mystery that forms the crux of the plot: is he really mad, or are supernatural forces at work?Maupassant leaves us guessing all the way, and while initially it looks like a clear-cut case of madness, the diarist contemplates other, more terrifying explanations of the bizarre incidents that seem to take place in his house. The story ends in a shocking climax - which I won't spoil by revealing it here!What makes The Horla the masterpiece that it is, is that it "works" on so many levels. The entries in the diary reveal that the author is completely clear-headed and lucid, and because he admits the possibility of being mad, this gives his later ideas of the supernatural the credibility they need to make the reader think twice about his condition. The horror builds gradually, and much of it is left unsaid. The reader is forced to employ a lot of imagination.This a gem of a tale, and no self-respecting connoisseur of horror worth their salt should go without The Horla on their bookshelf!

The Master of Horror and Terror

We have all heard of Stephen King - but check out Guy De Maupassant. The Horla is probably the greatest short horror story ever written. If you like psychological horror and are looking for a new title or author then I strongly advise you to try the stories of Maupassant. Maupassant (who eventually went insane himsef) knows the real terrors that lurk around us...He's been there...If you want the ultimate collection of his horror fiction then a 'must-buy' is The Divided Self by the same author.

una historia alucinante

EL HORLA GUY DE MAUPASSANTESTE ES UN CUENTO BREVE MUY BIEN CONTADO, ALUCINANTE, ESCRITO DE UNA FORMA EN QUE YA NO SE ESCRIBEN LOS CUENTOS DE MISTERIO. ESTE DEJA GRAN PARTE DE LAS COSAS AL LECTOR QUE SE DEBATE ENTRE CREER EN LA EXISTENCIA DE HORLA O LA LOCURA DEL NARRADOR QUE AL FINAL TERMINA CON SU SUPLICIO.Luis Méndez

Fear of the unknown

This is probably one of Maupassant's best known and most amazing short stories. It recounts the strange paranoia of a man who fears he is posessed by an unknown creature. As the story unfolds, this paranoia turns into sheer terror, as the narrator realises he is the prisoner of this strange being who dictates his will to him while he sleeps. He soon realises he no longer has any ocntrol over his own life, and attempts to forment a plan to rid himself of this parasite. Alas, in the final scene, when he sets fire to his house in a desperate attempt to vainquish his foe, he only succeeds in killing his housemaid, and realises he is the eternal prisoner of this exterior conscience. The novella ends in a state of utmost tragedy and crisis with the realisation that the reader, as the narrator is a type of "prisoner" in the wider frame of things.

A story to read with your door closed

This is the story of a strange creature that comes from some place and has some strange effects, but the most important thing in this book is the atmosphere that the author creates. Mauppassant's style is beautiful and precise. He has not a positive vision of the world, maybe because of this particular way of seeing this book is sometimes so terrible, and so beautiful at the same time. In addition to be greatly written, it is a good story: mysterious, but not silly or ridiculous. When I began reading I was fascinated, while the story goes on, I was more and more inside its universe of confusion, mystery and fear. Finally It touches me so deeply that I finish reading it with all my doors and windows closed. I was afraid, but I could not stop reading. Of course, I am not afraid anymore, I am glad for have reading this wonderful book.