Reviews

Vertigo by Thomas Narcejac, Pierre Boileau

franderochefort's review against another edition

3.0

Boileau-Narcejac's D'entre les morts deserves better than its minor footnote in history as the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, even if the film is probably inevitably the more notable work - the French writing team's original source material is fascinating for how much more blatant it is with its Orpheus/Eurydice imagery as well as the atmosphere of dread and classically French pessimism and obsession with desire and death that characterize the film in contrast to the breezy American psychosexuality of Hitchcock's reworking. The film does follow the plot surprisingly loyally however, and the book itself even suggests its ultimately cinematic character in a pivotal turning point about halfway in - where the two part ways is mostly in the third act, where D'entre les morts deploys a similar twist ending to that of Les Diaboliques by contrast. Our protagonist in the form of Flavieres is also much more of a shambling neurotic mess, a barely functioning alcoholic petrified of death and clinging to the vision of Madeleine's beauty and purity as a kind of search for immortality. Very oneiric and fascinating work.

________

I read this extensively without any dictionary usage which feels like a huge step up for me in my understanding, especially for how well I was able to follow the events of the book, and by the time I breezed through the last few chapters in the garden I felt pretty confident beyond just finding the book interesting - would have been hard to imagine I'd be up to this point even a few months ago.

paulataua's review against another edition

5.0

This is the book that inspired ‘Vertigo’ the film. While the core of the story is much the same, Hitchcock and the writers deal with different aspects of that story and the endings are quite different. Despite having seen the movie a zillion times (slight exaggeration), the book had me hooked from the first few pages and I really enjoyed it. I have already got my hands on another of their books. Worth reading!

anaamatildee's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

katiebartmess's review

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

klarabourban's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

laurazarantonello's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

christineliu's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

chris_tyson's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

latas's review

4.0

This book was so different from the English crime thrillers that I usually read.
What an ending! It was completely unexpected. When I started the book, the supernatural elements didn't bode well with me and I was wondering where it was going. But the ending made it up.
Glad to end 2022 with a 4 * read !

mile_f's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0