Don't Look Now (1971)

I was initially worried about this story, thinking that it was going to be something of a disappointment, leaving me hanging on the resolution like The Birds did... but it wasn't, and didn't.

This story was rather eerie, and the music that accompanied the reading heightened this effect quite a bit. Often, when I'm listening to audiobooks, I think of the story in terms of format and try to compare. I know that a reader can add or detract from the story, that sounds or music (which I'm not usually a fan of) can do the same, and that the experience of reading and listening can be quite different from each other. This audio was fantastic, and the music was used tastefully and to great effect. I think that one twist's significance in the story might have actually been... maybe not missed, but perhaps overlooked until viewed in hindsight, but the way the audio was done, I not only understood immediately, but was also startled and creeped out. Awesome. :D

This story had a very gothic horror feel, and was full of twists and turns and hints and the like, and it seems that nothing is quite what it seems. I tried guessing what the actual twist was going to be, and failed miserably. None of my twist-guesses made sense unless there was either one overused explanation, or unless there was a really huge explanation that could be plausible but unlikely. The one in the book was better by far. Probably why I read books and don't write them. You're welcome, world.

I thought that there was one detail which was introduced a bit late in the story that wasn't really necessary, but worked toward the ending. The ending would still have worked without this, but I guess for those people who might have been a bit baffled, it served as a kind of "There's your answer" bit. Me personally, I think that had it been left out, it would have been even creepier and with even more "What the fuck?!" thrown in. But that's just preference.

All in all, I really liked this one, probably the most of any of du Maurier's stories I've read so far. The tally is now up to a whopping 3. I'm on a roll!

Horror October 2011: #14 ( )

Don’t Look Now is a collection of nine short stories that Daphne Du Maurier published between 1952 and 1980. Daphne Du Maurier’s writing runs the gamut from straight historical to suspense/thriller, so I was intrigued to see what her stories would be like.

These stories cover much of Du Maurier’s career, and they’re all stunning. She takes what are seemingly ordinary people and subjects and turns the story into something far more sinister. From the arresting opening story, in which a couple are grieving the loss of their child and take a holiday to Venice, to a story in which England’s birds attack the human population, to a story in which a woman has eye surgery and wakes to view the inner beast in humans, these stories are amazing and contain a lot of significance, even though some of them are a couple of pages long. Any one of these stories could have been made into an Alfred Hitchcock film; and I’d swear that M. Night Shyamalan used “Split Second” as inspiration for The Sixth Sense. The collection itself is great because all of these stories connect in some way to the others. My personal favorite story in this collection is the titular “Don’t Look Now”—Daphne Du Maurier at her best. This is a collection not to be missed if you’re a fan of the author like I am, or like short stories. ( )

The main character John and his wife Laura are on holiday in Venice.
They lost their daugher, she was dead, and they want time to forget her.
But in Venice, they met strange old sisters and happen mysterious things around them.

I like the end of this story, it is like a my favorite movie "six sense".
This is very suprised us very much, but I have many inexplicable thigs after finish reading.
Who is the murder? What happened to him? Why? and so on.
I was very confused by this book. ( )

This is a 2008 collection of nine short stories and novellas from across du Maurier's career, and should not be confused with the 1971 volume Don't Look Now, which is a retitling of the original collection Not after Midnight.

The collection would be a must-have just for the title story and "The Birds," but there are some other gems here as well, such as “Kiss Me Again, Stranger” and the utterly bizarre “The Blue Lenses.”

Full review of all the stories: http://www.blackgate.com/2010/12/28/don%e2%80%99t-look-now-it%e2%80%99s-the-bird... ( )

Mine is the Folio Society edition, which is different to two of the three reviews below (but the same as 'overthemoon's)

What can I say. Absolutely riveting read - I got through 300 pages in just two days, and at times could not put the book down. All the tales have a twist in them, some bordering on horror, others - if not most of them - supernatural.

If you have the same edition as me, don't read the introduction first - it is really full of spoilers! ( )