Ratings12
Average rating3.8
Series
3 primary booksPenguin Modern Classics is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1940 with contributions by Daphne du Maurier, Dorothy Parker, and Anaïs Nin.
Reviews with the most likes.
This was a really good collection of Daphne DuMaurier short stories. I really enjoyed Don't Look Now, The Blue Lenses, Split Second, Kiss Me Again, Stranger, and Indiscretion. Even the ones I didn't particularly enjoy were really well done as well, they just weren't as interesting to me. (I took so long to finish because the length of Monte Verita was daunting at the time and then it was just a bit slow.) Overall, really well done DuMaurier is a great writer.
These short stories have a very different feel than du Maurier's “Rebecca”, which is her most famous book (I'm pretty sure). At first I was surprised - subconsciously I had expected them to be in the same style - but then I was pleased because these stories are able to stand on their own, without needing the same pattern as “Rebecca” to make them exciting. Each story branches off into unexpected places, such as technology and mythology, but the collection works together smoothly and doesn't feel jarring when you move between stories.
Good god, I fucking love Daphne Du Maurier and I haven't even read Rebecca yet.
Only read the title story, but MAN. Having seen the movie before I wasn't expecting too much for some reason but the clarity of prose and overall sense of despair really pushes it over the top. Need to read more du Maurier, clearly.