The Night: A Nightmare

Book excerpt: Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Night: A Nightmare" depicts a vivid portrayal of the streets of Paris. Our narrator roams the streets of the city after hours, embracing and explaining his love of night as he goes. Yet this time, the night takes a more a menacing turn and soon becomes a living nightmare for him. Maupassant 's story plunges into the darker places of the human psyche with colorful storytelling, taking the reader on a nocturnal and personal tour of historical 19th-century Paris landmarks. Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) was a prolific French writer considered a pioneer in modern short story writing. Maupassant was a protégé of French writer Gustave Flaubert and is known for novels such as A Woman's Life and short stories including "The Horla" and "The Dumpling." Maupassant's stories fall into the Naturalist movement, often depicting social entanglements and complex human fates. They have inspired countless film adaptations including the French-Belgian drama called A Woman's Life (2016).