Guy de Maupassant 
Recollection 

Just like Jack Nicholson’s character in ‘About Schmidt, ‘ the narrator of ‘A Recollection’ is feeling useless.He feels, to quote Morrissey, that ‘Everyday is Like Sunday.’ To shake himself from his drudgery, he decides to take a stroll from Paris to catch a boat to Saint-Cloud. After a dreamy stroll, he encounters a married couple, who seem to be in a spot of bother. Taken with the wife, the narrator agrees to help them, but will her company help or hinder his need for excitement? Combining romance with waspish humour, Maupassant offers an interesting slice of middle-age life.With memory as its central theme, ‘A Recollection’ is the ideal read for fans of Kazuo Ishiguro. —