100 Shots of Short post #2

I've neglected this challenge a bit, but today I read a few more short stories. I love how you can try out new authors in only a few minutes by reading a short story!

The Kiss by Guy de Maupassant- I LOVED The Necklace by Maupassant. I have read it several times in English and in French. I love short stories with irony like that. I need to get into Maupassant some more. he's brilliant, and has an awkward facial hair situation.

I remember reading Eva's post on "The Kiss," so this was one I had to read. Usually stories that don't really have a plotline get on my nerves, but the language in the story was so beautiful. I tried to find the story in French as well. There's nothing better than a beautiful story written in a beautiful language! Here are some of my favorite quotes from the story.

"My dear, we have in our hands the most terrible power in the world: LOVE."

"Love, my dear, is made up of imperceptible sensations. We know that it is as strong as death, but also as frail as glass. The slightest shock breaks it, and our power crumbles"

"Therefore, my dear, the kiss is our strongest weapon, but we must take care not to dull it. Do not forget that its value is only relative, purely conventional. It continually changes according to circumstances, the state of expectancy and the ecstasy of the mind."

A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri- How's that for an interesting name to have? I read this story for a class, and enjoyed it a lot! It is about a young couple that has experienced something that has made them grow apart. Then, their city has to turn off the power for an hour each night for a week in order to make repairs. When their house becomes dark, the young couple gets to know each other again, talking about everything.

It was fascinating to me to see how the darkness in the story symbolized hope instead of negative things such as death like it usually does in literature. Just for that, the story is a good thing to read!

The Gray Hare by Leo Tolstoy- For a short story this one is really, really short! "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" ranks up there in my favorite short stories right with "The Necklace," so I decided to seek out some more of Tolstoy's stories since I am not ready to make the plunge into one of his novels. Basically, the story is about a hare that hope about town in the winter. That is all. I guess I will have to read some more Tolstoy soon to satisfy my craving.