Book Log #66: Echoes from the Macabre, by Daphne du Maurier

[annathepiper]

I picked up Echoes from the Macabre at a library sale for only a buck or so, and it was certainly well worth that price, just for the sake of reading horror-flavored stories from an older era. I vaguely recognized the name of Daphne du Maurier--but only as I actually cracked open the book did I discover that she was the original author of the short story that became Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

Most of the stories in this volume are fairly low-key horror-wise, by modern standards; they felt to me rather akin to Twilight Zone episodes. This is not a bad thing. The issue I had with several of them, though, was that in at least a couple of cases the main characters were actively dislikeable. This of course leads one to wonder whether the entire point of such stories (such as "The Apple Tree", which is pretty much all about an irascible older gent flipping out as he equates a stunted apple tree in his yard with his now-deceased wife, or "Not After Midnight", wherein a standoffish tutor has a disturbing encounter with a treasure-hunting couple) is that these characters are getting their just desserts.

"The Blue Lenses" stood out for me very strongly, enough that I wondered whether I'd seen a dramatization of that story before--perhaps even as a Twilight Zone episode or something similar. "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" was also solid, with its depiction of a young man having a passing encounter with a captivating and unsettling young woman.

The final story in the volume was, of course, "The Birds". It's a different experience reading the short story than it is seeing the film; the story is much more claustrophobic, focusing on a single family under siege in their house. The tension and uncertainty of what's brought on the mysterious bird behavior makes the piece quite effective, and a suitable closer for the book as a whole. All in all, three stars.

Comments

[wrog]

whether the entire point of such stories is that these characters are getting their just desserts

um, that is pretty much the point of all Twilight Zone episodes that aren't just Ants Trapped in a Jar of Tang^TM.

[annathepiper]

Sure. Which is why I was musing on whether that's also the point of Daphne du Maurier stories, since I did get such a similar vibe off of the ones in this book. :)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I vaguely recognized the name of Daphne du Maurier--but only as I actually cracked open the book did I discover that she was the original author of the short story that became Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

Indeed. Also Rebecca, also Don't Look Now. It's not the films, though, it's the books: Rebecca-the-novel keeps her famous (over here, at least; I was really surprised that she's only vaguely recognisable elsewhere), but Jamaica Inn, The House on the Strand (it has time travel! it's SF!), Rule Britannia (America stages a coup in the UK! it's SF!), they're all worth reading.

She was notoriously difficult as a person; you might not have liked her either, but she holds an unshakable place in British 20th-century literature.

[annathepiper]

"Don't Look Now" was in this volume, too. That was another of the solid ones. :) And of course I did see Rebecca prominently mentioned when I looked her up.

[bloody-keri.livejournal.com]

This sounds wonderful! I'm going to look for it; I've never seen it. I love Du Maurier. She's also the author of the much-loved 'Rebecca', by the way. I'd love to read this collection. I'll have to look around and see if it's in print anywhere. Thanks for the review!

[annathepiper]

I'd never seen it either! And yeah, I saw Rebecca prominently mentioned when I looked her up on Wikipedia; clearly I shall have to track that down. You're most welcome. :)