Pierre and Jean

by Guy de Maupassant

Book Overview

The fraternal love that Pierre Roland feels for his younger brother Jean has always been tinged with jealousy. But when a lawyer arrives at the house of their parents, to declare that an old family friend has bequeathed his entire fortune to Jean, this envy rapidly becomes an all-consuming force. Despising himself for the hate that he feels, Pierre roams the seaport of Le Havre alone, desperate to come to terms with his brother's success. As he walks...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140443584
• ISBN13: 9780140443585
• Release Date: June 1979
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The es(sense) of life and the novel

These two small texts, an essay about the (technique of the) novel and the story "Pierre and Jean', are the works of a genius. The novel has to be artless The object of the novel is life which is `made of the most differing, unforeseen, contradictory, ill-assorted things; it is brutal, arbitrary, disconnected, full of inexplicable, illogical and contradictory disasters.' The aim of the novel is not to tell a story, to amuse or touch our hearts, but to force us to think and understand the profound, hidden meaning of events. The author must put his work together in such a skillful, hidden and apparently artless way that it should be impossible to perceive his plan and intentions. He must demonstrate how people are modified through the influence of circumstances, how feelings and passions develop, how people struggle in all sorts of social environments, how interests clash. The psychology of the characters should be concealed behind the events of life. Pierre and Jean This formidable short story is a perfect example of de Maupassant's theory of the novel. Its central subject is parental doubt, provoked by an unexpected event: an old friend leaves his entire fortune to a member of a family. The writing is ingeniously elliptic: the boat which enters the port at the beginning of the story leaves it at the end under totally different circumstances. The images are brilliant: `a short, round man, round through having rolled over the seven seas, whose ideas seemed round like pebbles on the shore.' `All those multicolored dresses, covering the sand like beds of flowers, these gaudy sunshades, the seductive art of gesture, voice and smile, the coquetry displayed on this beach, suddenly were revealed to him as an immense flowering of female perversity.' The endless stream of revelations, of emotionally charged personal confrontations and of the dramatic psychological shocks, ultimately uncovers the es(sense) of life, the passion of love, for an individual human being. This sublime text is a must read for all lovers of world literature.

A Classic Short Story

This has to be one of the nicest novella's I have ever had the pleasure of perusing. I guess one should expect nothing less from this Maupassant masterpiece. After all, Maupassant (along with Chekov) is considered one of the founding fathers of the modern day short story, and this is considered to be his greatest work. There is more to this book than the old Cain and Abel story of sibling rivalry. It's also a telling tale of filial love, forgiveness, and the steadfast, unconditional love of a mother. It's very powerfully told with all the passion and emotion one would expect from a disciple of Flaubert and a friend of both Zola & Turgenev. I will definitely be placing this work on my top shelf of favorites. It is one of those rare stories that will leave you thinking about it long after you turn the last page. Maupassant created a character in Pierre that is so sublimely human, such a complex, abstruse, big ball of paradox. At times, it is easy to despise him and at other times you can't help but identify with, and feel compassion for the man. After all, how heartless can one be not to sympathize with a man who has gone his whole entire life playing second fiddle to his more attractive, amicable, and younger brother Jean. Jean gets the girl, he gets the inheritance, gets the luxury flat Pierre originally had his sights on, and most importantly perhaps (because this has been going on since childhood) Jean is his parent's favorite. Come now, it's so easy to pass judgment on this man, but who among us wouldn't be experiencing the same inner torment that plagues Pierre? "There was within him some little place that hurt, one of those almost imperceptible bruises that cannot be located, yet fidget, tire, depress and irritate you, an unidentifiable, trifling pain, a sort of seed of unhappiness." I highly recommend this one!

A STUDY OF FAMILY RELATIONS

WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED TO HAPPEN IN A FAMILY WHEN ONE OF ITS MEMBERS INHERITS A LARGE SUM OF MONEY? EVERYBODY IS HAPPIER AND BETTER OFF, RIGHT? WRONG! AS WE SEE FROM THIS STORY, THE WHOLE FABRIC OF THE FAMILY CAN BECOME TORN. YET, BY EMPLOYING SOME SUBTLE TACTICS, MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY CAN FIND A WAY TO STAY TOGETHER. AT A BIG PRICE THOUGH, BECAUSE ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY HAS TO HOLD HIMSELF ALOOF IN ORDER TO PRESERVE FAMILY BOUNDS. A VERY DELICATE STUDY OF THE SUBJECT!

Sibling Rivalry

This short novel just blew me away with intense and detailed characterzations and a plot that builds tension based on the interaction between the members of a family that is nearly rocked by a seemingly positive development. The two grown brothers are established as near opposites in almost every detail and when one inherits money from an old family acquaintance the reason behind their differences becomes the driving force of the story and it's revelation nearly rips the family apart.A short novel that will stay with you for some time after reading it.

A good story

This book is one of Maupassant's finest works. It concerns the intruiges between two brothers (Pierre et Jean) when Jean inherits a large sum of money from a "familly friend" whom Pierre secretly suspects of being the father of his brother Jean. A great book, and a very interesting look at French society in the mid 1880's.