Reviews

The introduction to this short story collection hinted that this wasn’t Du Maurier’s best work, which I definitely do have to agree with. ‘The Alibi’ was really interesting and gave me food for thought, but the story why I’d bought this collection in the first place (‘The Blue Lenses’) wasn’t all that interesting. I’ve read The Rendevouz and The Birds collections by now, so maybe that’s why it didn’t manage to shock me much. I didn’t quite get ‘the Pool’ and I had to look up what a chamois is, so maybe I just didn’t ‘get’ it. But I have enjoyed her previous works and none of these were up to that same standard; the twist here was usually predictable or a bit of a letdown. Mostly just glad to have read this now.

emily_bg's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

schnauzermum's review against another edition

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4.0

‘There comes a moment in the life of every individual when reality must be faced. When this happens, it is as though a link between emotion and reason is stretched to the limit of endurance, and sometimes snaps.’

The author’s note introduces eight short stories. I’d forgotten what a good writer du Maurier could be. Four of the stories (‘The Alibi’, ‘The Blue Lenses’, ‘Ganymede’ and ‘The Chamois’) are very strong, probing the complexities of the human mind. All these stories are dark and unnerving. Two stories (‘The Pool’ and ‘The Lordly Ones’) are poetic and strange. I was less impressed with ‘The Archduchess’ and ‘The Menace’, which seemed to me to be very different in mood and the effect was somewhat jarring.

I think I need to re-read some of du Maurier’s novels.

sadie4d's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

buzzingbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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