Today is the first day of #DDMreadingweek, for those of you joining in I have started a new page for this year’s reading event, and I will be updating it over the week with links to other reviews and posts. You can find it here.
Like last year, I decided to start with a collection of stories. The Birds and other stories is probably best known for its title story, which was adapted for film, by Alfred Hitchcock in 1963. It is the opening story in the collection, and it captivates immediately. There are six long short stories in the collection, each of them fully immersive and of a satisfying length. Du Maurier’s settings are varied, her sense of place so good that her stories – whether full length novel or short story – are immediately visual. In these stories, we find ourselves on the English coast, in a remote European mountain village, a sun soaked holiday resort for the wealthy and a rural English landscape.
In The Birds human beings come suddenly and unexpectedly under attack, when the wind changes on December 3rd and birds of every kind take to the skies. In their thousands the birds acting against their normal instincts, turn on the human population. We see the unfolding horror through the eyes of Nat Hocken, a husband and father living near on the coast. To begin with Nat merely thinks the changes to the weather have somehow affected the birds in some strange way, he has no sense that civilisation could be in any way threatened. Birds of all kinds and sizes flock together, sparrows, finches, and gulls fill the skies, then they break into the house at night, filling the children’s bedroom attacking, terrifying. Similar reports begin coming in from across the country – the radio goes off air – Nat struggles to protect his family. It is a brilliant, chilling story – and in an age when we are concerned with things like climate change and its affect on animal species, there is something quite salutary about it.
“…as the slow sea sucked at the shore and then withdrew, leaving the strip of seaweed bare and the shingle churned, the sea birds raced and ran upon the beaches. Then that same impulse to flight seized upon them too. Crying, whistling, calling, they skimmed the placid sea and left the shore. Make haste, make speed, hurry and begone; yet where, and to what purpose? The restless urge of autumn, unsatisfying, sad, had put a spell upon them and they must flock, and wheel, and cry; they must spill themselves of motion before winter came.”
Monte Verita is a story that takes place over a number of years. It is the longest story in the collection, and it drags a little, things get increasingly odd as the narrative progresses, I found it oddly compelling nevertheless, and it is certainly memorable. Here we have another male narrator; a man who in his younger days with his good friend Victor enjoyed mountain climbing all over Europe. When Victor marries Anna, the three are frequently together. Anna declares her desire to join her husband on the mountains, but it is the mountain paradise of Monte Verita that seems to be calling her. A place that promises immortality – it comes at a terrible price.
Du Maurier’sdark irony is in evidence in The Apple Tree. The narrator is a man recently widowed. Flashbacks to his marriage show his wife to have been an unhappy, grumbling woman, martyring herself to the housework. However, how reliable this narrator is we can’t really know. Following his wife’s death, the man revels in his new freedom, not mourning his wife at all – he even remembers with some nostalgia the pretty land girl he once kissed some years earlier. One thing spoils his new happiness, the apple tree in his garden long thought to be barren begins to show signs of new life. When the tree starts to produce apples, the fruit taste fine to everyone but the widower for whom it tastes disgusting. The man starts to hate the tree with an all consuming bitterness, he sees it overshadowing the smaller, younger prettier trees next to it, stealing the very life from them. It’s as if it is possessed of an angry or malign spirit.
“The moon shone full upon the little apple tree, the young one. There was a radiance about it in this light that gave it a fairy-tale quality. Small and lithe and slim, the young tree might have been a dancer arms upheld, poised ready on her toes for flight. Such a careless, happy grace about it. Brave young tree. Away to the left stood the other one, half of it in shadow still. Even the moonlight could not give it beauty. What in heaven’s name was the matter with the thing that it had to stand there, humped and stooping, instead of looking upwards to the light? It marred the still quiet night, it spoilt the setting.”
The Little Photographer concerns a beautiful, lonely marquise on holiday with her two children and their governess. Her husband has remained at home to attend to business. She is bored and restless, many of her friends have had passing liaisons which they tell her about and make sound so exciting. On a visit to the village she meets a young photographer and hires him to take photos of her and the children. They start meeting up in the hot afternoons, while everyone else rests, however soon he starting to get too attached – speaking of following her home. The Marquise is desperate to save herself and her marriage, realising too late how foolish she has been.
In Kiss me again, stranger a young mechanic meets the girl of his dreams at the cinema. She is an enigmatic beauty, and the reader senses right away something is going on that we don’t yet understand. This isn’t a ghost story, yet there is something slightly spooky about the story – especially when the girl takes the young man into a graveyard on a late evening walk.
I really can’t say too much about the final story; The Old Man, without giving away important spoilers. It has the most brilliant twist though. Our narrator has been watching a family down by the river, he assigns each member a name, the patriarch is the old man. Silently, he watches the turbulent relationships between the family develop over time. I shall say no more.
This fascinating, compelling set of stories really got my Daphne du Maurier reading off to a great start.
Thanks so much for hosting this reading week again, Ali. I really enjoyed it last year and, once again, am thoroughly enthralled by DDM’s writing. I look forward to lots of DDM immersion this week – this collection sounds brilliant, and the perfect way to kick things off! 😀
It was a great way to get started really, DDM is such a good storyteller that the shorter form suited her perfectly.
Wonderful review Ali. I think you’re absolutely right to highlight the highly visual nature of du Maurier’s stories, that sense of them playing out in the mind as the narrative unfolds. I guess that’s why so much of her work has been adapted for the screen over the years, giving rise to so many iconic images and sequences. I treated myself to a lovely Virago hardback edition of this collection last year- it really does sound very good indeed.
Oh that hardback edition is lovely. I’m sure you will enjoy these when you get to read them.
These sound marvellous and very dark Ali. I wish I had a du Maurier to hand to join in this week, but alas I have failed to find *anything* in the many book stacks – most frustrasting. However, I shall watch your posts with interest. (NB I would never be able to read The Birds as I was emotionally scarred for life after seeing the film when I was far too young!)
The Birds is alarming, but I enjoyed the creepy nature of it, reading it on bed with a cuppa. I have always avoided the film though. I can sympathise with your younger self, I can’t watch scary things.
I just listened to The Birds and you’re right that’s a chilling story. It sounds like all of the other short stories in this book are more chilling than basing it on twists (which is what I know from the other works of her I’ve read). Would you say that’s accurate?
Yes all but one of these stories have a fairly chilling atmosphere. The final story is a bit different and has a clever twist instead.
That would be The Old Man?
Yes.
I’ll check it out.
It is a long time since I worked my way through all of the Daphne Du Maurier short stories on the library shelves. I remember loving them, the ones you mention all ring bells, and you have really made me want to do some re-reading.
They are definitely stories I can imagine wanting to re-read at some point. As are the other short stories I have read by Daphne du Maurier.
Thanks for hosting this again. I have a collection of short stories entitled and including Not After Midnight so will be starting the week with those. Looking forward to Daphne du Maurier again.
Her short stories are excellent I think, so I hope you enjoy the collection you have.
I’m really keen to read this Ali, given how much I loved the Don’t Look Now collection last year!
The Don’t Look Now collection is so good too. I’m sure you will enjoy it.
She’s such a good writer. I’m so grateful to you for nudging me to read more of her work.
I have only read The Birds so far which is terrific. You made me realize that I’ll have to read the others in the collection too. Especially the last ones.
It’s a very good collection, but The Birds is probably the stand out story. Although there’s lots to like in the others too.
Sadly I won’t be able to join in this year but I’m looking forward to all the posts! Having read a collection of her short stories for this week last year, I really think she’s so skilled at the form. Some of those you mention were in my collection but not all – I definitely want to explore her further.
Don’t worry, we can’t all join in everything and you are busy with your novella a day challenge. I hope you see some reviews that inspire you as the week goes on.
I’m not usually a big fan of short stories, but I’ve read all of du Maurier’s and really enjoyed them. This is one of my favourites of her short story collections. I particularly enjoyed The Old Man with that wonderful twist!
Yes her short stories are so enjoyable, I think she puts so much into them that they become like mini novels. The Old Man is so clever.
Those do sound quite alarming and I’m a bit unnerved by Jamaica Inn at the moment!
Oh yes, well Jamaica Inn is quite unnerving I suppose. very compellingly told though.
This collection sounds great and I fully intend to read everything she’s ever written – eventually! I read Mary Anne for this week and posted my review today. Thanks for hosting this week! I look forward to reading other reviews of her works.
Brilliant, thanks for joining in. I so enjoyed reading Mary Anne last year. Will catch up your blog post later on, looking forward to reading your thoughts.
Thanks for hosting again, Ali. I decided to read Myself When Young, which I enjoyed, and now I really want to go to Cornwall! Maybe next year?
I think a lot of us would love to visit Cornwall right now. I look forward to reading your thoughts later.
I started out my #DDMreadingweek with a short story collection I have, which includes all the same stories you mentioned here. I didn’t read your reviews of all the stories yet (but I’ll come back after I finish the book).
So I just finished The Birds. My goodness! I didn’t realize it would be that suspenseful. De Maurier’s imagery is so rich and vivid. I felt like I was there too, living through the torment of the birds’ attacks. Wow!
The Birds is a fantastic story, I hope you enjoy the rest of the collection.
This is only one of two books of hers I’ve read. I really enjoyed this collection. There are some very creepy stories in there, cleverly done.
There are some creepy stories, I really liked them and they never go too far and descend into out and out horror.
[…] not going to discuss story content. I’ll refer you to Ali’s review for that. I want to talk about the organisation of a short story collection as it applies here. […]
I remember this collection being very entertaining and remember racing through it, but when I reread my post about it (from ten years ago!) I see that I was frustrated with the depiction of the female characters (especially in the title story). But I suspect DDM had to play with some stereotyping in order to focus on the plotting, and maybe I should have cut her a little more slack on that count. I’d like to reread them and see if I still feel the same way.
Yes her women characters don’t stand out quite so well I agree. I wonder what you would think of them now.
I feel sure that my copy has the same cover as yours, Ali and yet I don’t recognise the final two stories at all. The others are very familiar. I shall have to unearth my copy now and check! Of those I do recalal, The Birds of course, stands out. Like you I found Monte Verita overlong yet compelling. The Apple Tree irritated me because it felt very predictable. The Little Photographer, on the other hand, caught me entirely unawares. This is the only collection of short stories from DDM that I’ve read. I must try to remedy that. Great review, thank you!
The Birds is definitely the stand out story for me. The Apple Tree was more predictable yes, and I loved The Little Photographer for its unexoectedness.