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Available free at Librivox, here: read by the talented Lisa Reichert. She is better than the ordinary Librivox reader!

This is Guy de Maupassant's first novel, written when he was twenty-seven. It is also known as Une Vie and L'Humble Vérité. The author completed only six novels before his death in 1893, at the young age of forty-two. He is better known for his short stories, but I am drawn to his novels. He belonged to the Naturalist school of writing, clearly evident here in this book.

Set in Normandy, France, the central protagonist Jeanne, has completed her final year of “education� in a convent. She is seventeen and the year is 1819. Her father and mother have arranged for her to inherit a newly refurbished chateau overlooking the sea not far from Étretat, the remarkable and stunningly beautiful rock formations 92 km northeast of Le Havre. Maupassant, as a naturalist, has both the eyes to see and the writing skill to lyrically draw the striking beauty of the landscape! He draws with a fine touch the cliffs and the sea, the flora and the fauna of the area and the people who inhabit this part of France. He draws the peasants and the clergy and the aristocrats. I adore how he draws nature.

Now, let’s look at the plot. It concerns Jeanne's life. Maupassant does not view mankind or human nature affably. Jeanne, straight out of the convent, is naïve and innocent, with no knowledge whatsoever of the realities of life. She dreams and believes she will soon fall rapturously in love and marry a good, kind wonderful man. What rolls out is life, which is to say real life, not the happy fairytale version, but instead a dark version where there exist only occasional glimmers of hope.

I was caught up in the story and it felt very real to me. There are characters that do terrible things, but I understood why they felt compelled to do what they did; I felt compassion for them and rooted for them. Here, I am speaking of the (view spoiler)[husband who brings about the death of his own wife and Jeanne’s stingy, despicable and licentious spouse. The two were having an affair (hide spoiler)]. This is not a happy story, but as a result, when events turn just a teeny bit toward the better, you feel overjoyed, very moved and extremely happy.

Lisa Reichert is one of the better / best narrators at Librivox. She reads smoothly. She does not overdramatize. I could hear every word. Her French pronunciation is OK—you can figure out what French words she is saying. Four stars for this Librivox narration.

I was gripped by this story. I continually needed to know what would happen / go wrong next. The wisdom voiced by an elderly priest had me smiling—he knew his parishioners through and through! I recommend this book. There are beautiful and accurate descriptions of nature and, if you are like me, your heart will be moved.



*Bel-Ami 5 stars
*A Woman's Life 4 stars
*The Necklace 3 stars
*Pierre and Jean 2 stars

*Mont Oriol, Or, a Romance of Auvergne TBR