Stefan Zweig and his Maries

Historical novel is a sly path for any writer: how to make up true story if the only source of information about the heroes is historical evidence, which is arid and adjusted to social demands? This problem doesn't stand so sharply for the master of psychological portrait- Stefan Zweig. His biographies "Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman" and "Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles" tell us about historical events, royal intrigues and what is mostly important- these two women, who were quite ordinary in love expectations and unique in their destiny.

E.M.Remarque, "Shadows in Paradise"

Every human, probably, has something in the past, which they're trying to forget. But how can we erase the history, though unpleasant one, if it is part of our life? 

The heroes in Remarque's novel are chased by the ghosts of their past. The shadows of ugly and horrific events of the second World War are not the stalkers you can easily get rid of, even if you ran away from them to the paradise, which the USA were for poor victims of cruel ideology. 

The novel tells us how a purpose of life changes for a person depending on the environment, how to LIVE AFTER you were lucky enough to survive, how to live peaceful life and reorientate your goals when the memories are so strong. Many people can't live normal life after significant stressful events: happiness is transient, while fear can stay with you forever. Remarque shows that sometimes the most severe battles are held inside our mind. To live, not exist, man must conquer not only the external conditions, but the forces within himself, forces that pull him down in the past

Guy de Maupassant

Even if you're not fond of French classic literature, there's a high possibility you know the name of Guy de Maupassant. The famous anecdote about the Eiffel tower tells exactly about this monsieur, who used to lunch at the tower's base just because it was the only place in Paris without view on it. He must have been a curious gentleman. At least his novels are: "Une vie", "Bel-Ami", short stories preferably about Franco-Prussian War, and many other writings I'm not, unfortunately, acquainted with. Yet.

Despite two centuries dividing us from Maupassant's time and events that inspired him for writing, the stories are still actual, characters still exist, scenarios are the same. While reading "Bel-Ami", many faces of our coevals may be spinning in your mind, which proves, people are almost the same either in the time of equestrian teams, or hybrid supercars. The same works with "Une Vie". However, the latter novel is way more straight in terms of sober reality. When you deal with Maupassant, prepare yourself to see the truth, which mostly shows ugly face of our life. If some authors show you the play, and you enjoy watching the book theatre, Guy de Maupassant does not create any pink decorations for you, dear reader, he just shows you everything as it is. You demanded truth? Here it is. But...can you handle it?