Echoes from the Macabre: Selected Stories

Wow! What an amazing author. I've always loved Rebecca but didn't think to check out her other work. This was an incredible read, the last story "The Birds" was way better than the movie. I could not sleep for hours after reading it.

I was really looking forward to some spine chilling, 'raise the hair on the back of my neck' kind of stories. Instead, I found the stories to be of a more subtle, disquieting nature and even then, some of the stories came across as rather flat. Don't get me wrong. Du Maurier does a good job of getting into the psyche of her characters. I just find her writing to take a rather 'matter of fact' tone that doesn't draw a reader like me emotionally into the stories. I listened to the stories over the course of one week. The reader of the audiobook I listened to, Valentine Dyall, has a wonderful older gravely voice that is perfect for stories that tend towards the horrific but even he was unable to get more that a slight reaction out of me to show more the stories. If I had to choose favorites out of the bunch, I would choose Don't Look Now for the Venice setting and the rising disquiet of one of the main characters and The Old Man for its surprise ending and how a writer like Du Maurier can get the reader to imagine one thing when something quite different has occurred. Kiss Me Again, Stranger was, well, a bit odd but an interesting post WWII setting. The rest of the stories, including Du Maurier's famous story The Birds were just average or less than average reads for me. I will admit that I prefer Du Maurier's The Birds over Hitchcock's adaptation. Du Maurier's story is focused solely on the rising human fear and dread of a looming apocalypse. I don't even remember the premise for the other stories - that is how memorable they were for me.

I would probably recommend these stories to a fan of Du Maurier or a reader who prefers their horror stories to be of a subtle, disquieting nature. None of the stories are scary enough to keep one awake at night, trembling in bed, that is for sure. show less

I listened to this, with it containing 5 stories, Don't look now, Kiss me Again Stranger, Not after Midnight, The Old Man and The Birds.
They all had an air of menace about them, some of them more overt than others. In each there was a bot of a twist, and in few pf them was there a comfortable resolution. The last of The Birds and I can see why it made a great film, as the sight of the Birds massing is epic when heard.
A very good listen, but I'm glad I was listening to it in for safety of my car, these could easily put the wind up me in other, less familiar, surroundings.

I loved this book. Loved it. Set me off on a Daphne Du Maurier phase. I gave this book away so it could be enjoyed by others. The story "The Birds" is so chilling that the movie seems to lose it's scare. I also enjoyed "Don't Look Now" and had to see THAT movie. "The Old Man" was a good story and I didn't see that ending coming! Heartily recommended.

[b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948._SX50_.jpg|46663] was one of the first non-children's novels I ever read, when I was twelve, from a Reader's Digest condensed volume. This came into my hands pretty soon after. These fed my eternal love of creepy stories nicely. "Don't Look Now" is just so weird and disturbing and brilliant.

And lo, these many years later, still great.

Personal copy

Nine short stories by Daphne Du Maurier (although it says eight on the book jacket for some reason):

Don't Look Now
The Apple Tree
The Pool
The Blue Lenses
Kiss Me Again, Stranger
The Chamois
Not After Midnight
The Old Man
The Birds

My favourites are "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" and "Not After Midnight", both of which turn out quite differently from the vampire stories you expect them to be at the start.

An eclectic collection from a fabulous writer. Contains Don't Look Now, The Apple Tree, The Pool, The Blue Lenses, Kiss Me Again Stranger, The Chamois, Not After Midnight, The Old Man, and The Birds.