I really enjoy Daphne du Maurier's writing. I have read a few of her novels including the classic REBECCA that I consider one of the great novels of all time. This is the first collection of her short stories that I have read and I was not disappointed!
This volume includes six stories:
The Birds
This is of course the story that is the basis for the Alfred Hitchcock movie. I like the movie but this story is much more ominous and full of foreboding. While the movie takes place in Bodega Bay, California, the story is set in Cornwall, England and the onslaught of the Birds is more widespread to include England, Europe and possibly the whole world. I thought overall this was the best story in the collection. The story and its mood reminded me somewhat of the novels of John Wyndham such as DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS with an unknown element threatening the world. A very terrifying and disturbing story.
Monte Verita
This is the longest story in the volume and probably the strangest. It's about a young couple and their friend who enjoy mountain climbing. The couple goes to Monte Verita in an undisclosed European location and discovers an ancient monastery at the top of the mountain with a cult of people living a very serene life. The young woman gets drawn into the cult and cannot leave while her husband desperately tries to get her back. But she is content there. The story encompasses many years until something unexplained happens to the people in the monastery. I liked this story but is was very strange and reminded me of stories by H.P. Lovecraft and others that were published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales.
The Apple Tree
This one is about a man who loses his wife after many years of marriage. But the loss was really more of a relief for him as he saw his wife as a burden or irritant. But is she really gone? Why does the sickly apple tree in his garden remind him of her? This was a somewhat whimsical tale with a good lesson to be learned at the end.
The Little Photographer
This ones about a beautiful and lonely Marquise on vacation with her two children who has an affair with a local photographer. But when the photographer doesn't want to give her up, the Marquise takes drastic steps to protect herself. But is she safe enough?
Kiss Me Again, Stranger
A young auto mechanic falls for a pretty usher at a movie theater. He wants her as a steady girl friend but turns out she is not what she seems. This is a very cautionary tale about being careful who you fall for.
The Old Man
This one took me completely by surprise! About an old man and his family who live by a lake. But what happened to the man's children? The ending of this one really blew me away. After reading the last paragraph in the story, I had to go back and reread the story which changed my whole perspective.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection of stories and will be looking forward to reading more du Maurier.
This volume includes six stories:
The Birds
This is of course the story that is the basis for the Alfred Hitchcock movie. I like the movie but this story is much more ominous and full of foreboding. While the movie takes place in Bodega Bay, California, the story is set in Cornwall, England and the onslaught of the Birds is more widespread to include England, Europe and possibly the whole world. I thought overall this was the best story in the collection. The story and its mood reminded me somewhat of the novels of John Wyndham such as DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS with an unknown element threatening the world. A very terrifying and disturbing story.
Monte Verita
This is the longest story in the volume and probably the strangest. It's about a young couple and their friend who enjoy mountain climbing. The couple goes to Monte Verita in an undisclosed European location and discovers an ancient monastery at the top of the mountain with a cult of people living a very serene life. The young woman gets drawn into the cult and cannot leave while her husband desperately tries to get her back. But she is content there. The story encompasses many years until something unexplained happens to the people in the monastery. I liked this story but is was very strange and reminded me of stories by H.P. Lovecraft and others that were published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales.
The Apple Tree
This one is about a man who loses his wife after many years of marriage. But the loss was really more of a relief for him as he saw his wife as a burden or irritant. But is she really gone? Why does the sickly apple tree in his garden remind him of her? This was a somewhat whimsical tale with a good lesson to be learned at the end.
The Little Photographer
This ones about a beautiful and lonely Marquise on vacation with her two children who has an affair with a local photographer. But when the photographer doesn't want to give her up, the Marquise takes drastic steps to protect herself. But is she safe enough?
Kiss Me Again, Stranger
A young auto mechanic falls for a pretty usher at a movie theater. He wants her as a steady girl friend but turns out she is not what she seems. This is a very cautionary tale about being careful who you fall for.
The Old Man
This one took me completely by surprise! About an old man and his family who live by a lake. But what happened to the man's children? The ending of this one really blew me away. After reading the last paragraph in the story, I had to go back and reread the story which changed my whole perspective.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection of stories and will be looking forward to reading more du Maurier.
