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ashleighm11's review against another edition
3.0
Not the best of du Maurier's books that I've read and really not one to start on if you're new to her. Nonetheless, it was a good book and definitely one I would recommend reading if you're a fan. A full review can be found at my blog: https://ashleighmuses.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/review-ill-never-be-young-again-daphne-du-maurier/
sarrie's review against another edition
3.0
3.5*s
I'm sad this took a month to read for me (I was interrupted with a hospital stay and a recovery period), but I think it might have helped to break the novel up. I did enjoy it, but I feel like it's probably not her strongest novel. I think I enjoyed her first book more than this one.
I'm sad this took a month to read for me (I was interrupted with a hospital stay and a recovery period), but I think it might have helped to break the novel up. I did enjoy it, but I feel like it's probably not her strongest novel. I think I enjoyed her first book more than this one.
albatrossonhalfpointe's review against another edition
1.0
I read someone else's review of this book, where she said that she actually didn't mind how unlikable the main character is and still enjoyed the book itself because it was so well-written. I wish I could be so generous, but oh my fucking god, I loathed Dick. He was fairly intolerable during the first section when he was with Jake, but he really came into his own as an awful person after he met Hesta. First, he rapes her. Not how it's described, and certainly not how he would characterize it, but it's unquestionably the appropriate word for their first sexual encounter, and even if he hadn't continued to make a complete asshole of himself in various others ways, that would have been enough to turn me off completely. But he goes on. From that first time, he pouts and whines if every subsequent date doesn't involve going back to his place for sex, he basically makes her give up her music to dote on him, but gets annoyed that she's around so much. He scoffs at the idea of making an actual commitment, neglects her completely, and then is horrified when she comes on to him, believing that women shouldn't want sex; they should merely tolerate it on demand. (Because the best sex partner is an unwilling one? Gross.) Honestly, the last quarter or so of this book was like watching a car wreck. Not entertaining, entirely awful, but you can't look away. But I kind of cheered when he finally came to his senses at the end, but it was too late, and Hesta straight-up dumped his ass for a hot foreign dude. So while I truly found Dick to so utterly reprehensible that I couldn't like this book, I'll give it credit for at least denying him the happy ending he absolutely did not deserve.
balancinghistorybooks's review against another edition
4.0
Reading a du Maurier novel is like meeting up with an old friend; you know you are in good company and will be both entertained and amused with them for hours on end. Daphne du Maurier is one of my very favourite authors, and I am so glad that she was such a prolific writer. I aim that I have read around half of her books to date, and I have so enjoyed them all. I’ll Never Be Young Again is her second novel, and the first which uses the male narrative voice throughout, something which I think she does both wonderfully and believably.
I’ll Never Be Young Again has been introduced by Elaine Dundy, who heralds it ‘a rich source of self-revelatory material’. Du Maurier sets the scene from the very first page, and in terms of the prose style, it is just as strong as her later novels.
The novel begins with our narrator and protagonist, Richard, who is about to throw himself from a bridge in London. He is saved by a stranger named Jake, who places his hand onto Richard’s shoulder at the pivotal moment. The two men become firm friends rather quickly and travel with one another, journeying first to Norway via Finland and Denmark as sailors. The plot is very wise, and du Maurier is insightful throughout. Richard, a young and naive being when the story begins, grows up noticeably as the novel progresses, in the most realistic of ways. I did not always like him, but he was most intriguing. There is a real sense of the setting shaping the characters within it, and this has been used to great effect.
The turns of phrase and descriptions which have been used within the novel are beautiful: “To me this was the meaning of being alive, this very sensation of the pavement beneath our feet, and the lamp shining upon a square, the smell of the warm air, the careless knowledge that it mattered little where we went with no one to care but our two selves.”
I’ll Never Be Young Again is one of the most vivid of du Maurier’s novels which I have read to date, and is a book which I shall certainly be recommending.
I’ll Never Be Young Again has been introduced by Elaine Dundy, who heralds it ‘a rich source of self-revelatory material’. Du Maurier sets the scene from the very first page, and in terms of the prose style, it is just as strong as her later novels.
The novel begins with our narrator and protagonist, Richard, who is about to throw himself from a bridge in London. He is saved by a stranger named Jake, who places his hand onto Richard’s shoulder at the pivotal moment. The two men become firm friends rather quickly and travel with one another, journeying first to Norway via Finland and Denmark as sailors. The plot is very wise, and du Maurier is insightful throughout. Richard, a young and naive being when the story begins, grows up noticeably as the novel progresses, in the most realistic of ways. I did not always like him, but he was most intriguing. There is a real sense of the setting shaping the characters within it, and this has been used to great effect.
The turns of phrase and descriptions which have been used within the novel are beautiful: “To me this was the meaning of being alive, this very sensation of the pavement beneath our feet, and the lamp shining upon a square, the smell of the warm air, the careless knowledge that it mattered little where we went with no one to care but our two selves.”
I’ll Never Be Young Again is one of the most vivid of du Maurier’s novels which I have read to date, and is a book which I shall certainly be recommending.
bianca89279's review against another edition
2.0
This beautifully named novel ended up being quite boring, so I gave up around the 70% mark.
Du Maurier's beautiful writing is present throughout, especially when it comes to landscape descriptions, still, this novel dragged. The main character, Richard, was insufferable, an entitled prat, who whined and moaned.
Not du Maurier's best work. She's still one of my favourites.
Du Maurier's beautiful writing is present throughout, especially when it comes to landscape descriptions, still, this novel dragged. The main character, Richard, was insufferable, an entitled prat, who whined and moaned.
Not du Maurier's best work. She's still one of my favourites.
crreature's review against another edition
2.0
The main character irked me - eventually his misogynist world views turned me off so much I stopped reading maybe 4/5ths of the way through. Not badly written though, and I've not read anything else by du Maurier so maybe the rest of her work is better. Wouldn't particularly recommend this though.
martha_is_reading's review
3.0
This is the story of a thoroughly entitled, unlikeable young man named Richard (or Dick for short - which is so very appropriate in this case). The story is presented in two halves, centred around the two major characters who have a significant influence on his life. I found this a difficult read in the sense that he was just so horrendous a human being I wanted to put the book down in disgust on multiple occasions and I couldn't understand what on earth the point of the novel could be.
I won't spoil the end, but it did give me some satisfaction and gave a glimmer of the du Maurier who would eventually write [b:My Cousin Rachel|18869970|My Cousin Rachel|Daphne du Maurier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386609405l/18869970._SY75_.jpg|623258] (some of Dick's insecurities and emotional instability reminded me of Philip), and for that, I would give it 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
I won't spoil the end, but it did give me some satisfaction and gave a glimmer of the du Maurier who would eventually write [b:My Cousin Rachel|18869970|My Cousin Rachel|Daphne du Maurier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386609405l/18869970._SY75_.jpg|623258] (some of Dick's insecurities and emotional instability reminded me of Philip), and for that, I would give it 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
oatcappuccino's review against another edition
2.0
Lacked pace; plot was weak & the protagonist pretty flimsy. He had could chemistry with Jake, but the second half was so painful I couldnt finish.
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