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afrolicthroughfiction 's review for:
The Breakthrough
by Daphne du Maurier
Originally posted on A Frolic Through Fiction
* Rated 3.5 stars
My first taste of du Maurier, at last! I’ve been meaning to delve into her books for awhile now – especially Rebecca – and I figured this one would be the perfect little taster to get me started. And I wasn’t wrong! Definitely more on the SciFi side of things, this one follows a scientist as he tries to discover the secret behind the afterlife, or the essence of life itself. Without feeling too short or too long, du Maurier managed to compact a huge idea into a short amount of words in a way that was well paced but felt urgent at the same time. A paranormal undertone seemed to run throughout, and I found that the questions I was wondering never quite got the straight answer I was looking for, nudging it more towards the unsettling story I’d come to expect from du Maurier’s reputation. And I can see how that reputation was built – her writing provides an effortlessly dark atmosphere that surrounds her story, although “surrounds” sounds too accidental…more like…she manages to create a shroud that settles onto you as you read. Though not necessarily my sort of read, the questioning behind the morality of science and the line between things you can do vs things you should do, this book has only left me more convinced that I’ll absolutely adore Rebecca when I get round to reading it.