Volume 56, Number 3 · February 26, 2009
Cruising with Genius
By Graham Robb
Afloat
by Guy de Maupassant, translated from the French and with an introduction by Douglas Parmée
New York Review Books, 105 pp., $14.00 (paper)
In 1874, a twenty-four-year-old government clerk called Guy de Maupassant, depressed and maddened by his boring work and philistine colleagues at the Naval Ministry in Paris, was desperate to embark on a new career. Thankfully, his father paid him a small allowance, and his job at the ministry left him plenty of spare time. He spent most of his money and leisure time boating on the Seine, fencing, shooting, picnicking with friends, and visiting prostitutes.
Review, 3978 words
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