Guy de Maupassant's Like Death is "Like Bliss" to Read

Michael and I routinely grab two copies of just about any new translation put out by New York Review Books. Richard Howard's 2017 translation of this amazing novel is a treat to read from beginning to end.

The protagonist is a portrait artist who does work that immediately brings the work of James Tissot to my mind's eye. Gounod's Faust plays an important part in the novel.

This passage (though not referenced directly in the novel) from the Song of Songs sets the tone:

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is as strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame.

I will give nothing more away.