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A review by thesubmariner
The Breaking Point: Stories by Daphne du Maurier
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Another solid collection from Daphne du Maurier. The standout story from me was The Alibi. Sadly, I think I’ve now read all the Daphne du Maurier short fiction collections and that makes me kind of sad, but I’ve yet to read all of her novels which I’m looking forward to.
The Alibi - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4-5*
Mr. Fenton is trying to escape his dull life with his wife. He gets ideas of the delusion of grandeur of him being a puppet master with the ability to have other people fate in his hands. After going alone for a walk one Sunday he goes to a house where he sees a woman (Madame Kaufman) with her son and wishes to strangle them both. He rents a room from Madame Kaufman and pretends to be a painter, but doesn’t kill them as he thought he would. Madame Kaufman is very kind and Fenton starts to live a double life under a fake name Mr. Sims spending a few hours a day using the apartment as a studio. He lives like this for six months and paints her infant boy. For six months everything he paints he throws in the Thames river, but one night a copper sees him and finds drawings of a small boy. Cops show up at his address and his wife Edna is in shock when he comes clean. Previously that night Fenton told Madame Kaufman that soon he will be done with his painting which she took very ill. The ending is very dark and kind of bizarre.
The Blue Lenses - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4-5*
Mrs. Marda West goes to eye surgery where she is put with blue lenses that post surgery makes her see zoomorphic heads on the hospital staff. I loved the ending.
Ganymede - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4*
A classical scholar is on holiday in October in Venice and loves to go to a restaurant called Mario located in St. Mark's Square. In that restaurant works a lad who is training to be a waiter and has striking resemblances to Ganymede from Greek mythology. Another dark ending and the entire story is extra creepy because the boy is fifteen.
The Pool - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4*
Deborah is staying at her grandparents’ house with her brother Roger when one day after playing cricket she stumbles upon a pool in the forest. This setup had a lot of promise, but it went in a different direction that I thought it was going to go. I still liked what happened, but I didn’t love it.
The Archduchess - short fiction by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 3-4*
Ronda was the last principality in Europe. That small southern European country was ruled by the Archduke whose family was reigning for 700 years. Now Ronda is a republic and is ruled by Popular front or P.F. Ltd. Ronda is the smallest country with one mountain, one river and one city serving as a capital. The language is a mix of French and Greek. They have religion and their people can't marry outside Ronda. Also, intermarriage is a thing here, like cousin with cousin marriage. However, for all the natural beauty the country’s price possession is the springs located in the hill behind the capital. Those springs were the greatest asset of the reigning family throughout the centuries because its properties give you perpetual youth, but only the Archduke knows its formula. Two of the leading opposition are Markoi who was born lame with a twisted foot and has become the editor of news spreading anti-archduke propaganda (Joseph Goebbels style). The other one was Grandos born to greed and he exploited rare substances from their special fish and flowers selling them to outsiders making him the richest man in Ronda. Their plan involves the Archduchess Paula who is talented in every form of art and is beloved by all. I wanted to love this story, but it dragged so much after the first two chapters.
The Menace - short fiction by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4*
Barry Jeans aka The Menace is a heart-throb, movie star, big guy with the huge shoulders and no hips. Cold emotionally and at times racist. He barely says a word and everybody loves. He has his wife May and his Boys who do all the taking to the media and producers. After being number one at the box office for decades and world famous he may be out of a job because "feelies" are the new thing in Hollywood. Now they're not just sending pictures in color, but with feeling from the actors. Studio measures his power of feeling into the "barker" and his result is Force G with the best result being Force A. They try dubbing and mixing other waves or Force A, but nothing is working. Now he must get a Force A result or his career is over. Talking of bizarre. I’m not sure that the whole Force A and “feelies” things were necessary, but I respect the extra attention to detail and bringing some new to the table.
The Chamois - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4-5*
An interesting story about a hunter named Stephens who is obsessed about hunting the rare chamois. He and his wife go on a trip to Greece high on the mountain searching for chamois in the snowy weather with some help from the Zus.
The Lordly Ones - short story by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4*
Ben is mute boy and he doesn’t have the best parents out there. When he opens his mouth and tries to talk, a weird sound comes out that makes him nervous. His mother then locks him in a cupboard under the stairs (Harry Potter style). One day his parents are taking him to the "moors" and Daphne du Maurier is up to her old tricks. Okay, I saw it coming this time which made the reading more enjoyable.
The Alibi - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4-5*
Mr. Fenton is trying to escape his dull life with his wife. He gets ideas of the delusion of grandeur of him being a puppet master with the ability to have other people fate in his hands. After going alone for a walk one Sunday he goes to a house where he sees a woman (Madame Kaufman) with her son and wishes to strangle them both. He rents a room from Madame Kaufman and pretends to be a painter, but doesn’t kill them as he thought he would. Madame Kaufman is very kind and Fenton starts to live a double life under a fake name Mr. Sims spending a few hours a day using the apartment as a studio. He lives like this for six months and paints her infant boy. For six months everything he paints he throws in the Thames river, but one night a copper sees him and finds drawings of a small boy. Cops show up at his address and his wife Edna is in shock when he comes clean. Previously that night Fenton told Madame Kaufman that soon he will be done with his painting which she took very ill. The ending is very dark and kind of bizarre.
The Blue Lenses - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4-5*
Mrs. Marda West goes to eye surgery where she is put with blue lenses that post surgery makes her see zoomorphic heads on the hospital staff. I loved the ending.
Ganymede - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4*
A classical scholar is on holiday in October in Venice and loves to go to a restaurant called Mario located in St. Mark's Square. In that restaurant works a lad who is training to be a waiter and has striking resemblances to Ganymede from Greek mythology. Another dark ending and the entire story is extra creepy because the boy is fifteen.
The Pool - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4*
Deborah is staying at her grandparents’ house with her brother Roger when one day after playing cricket she stumbles upon a pool in the forest. This setup had a lot of promise, but it went in a different direction that I thought it was going to go. I still liked what happened, but I didn’t love it.
The Archduchess - short fiction by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 3-4*
Ronda was the last principality in Europe. That small southern European country was ruled by the Archduke whose family was reigning for 700 years. Now Ronda is a republic and is ruled by Popular front or P.F. Ltd. Ronda is the smallest country with one mountain, one river and one city serving as a capital. The language is a mix of French and Greek. They have religion and their people can't marry outside Ronda. Also, intermarriage is a thing here, like cousin with cousin marriage. However, for all the natural beauty the country’s price possession is the springs located in the hill behind the capital. Those springs were the greatest asset of the reigning family throughout the centuries because its properties give you perpetual youth, but only the Archduke knows its formula. Two of the leading opposition are Markoi who was born lame with a twisted foot and has become the editor of news spreading anti-archduke propaganda (Joseph Goebbels style). The other one was Grandos born to greed and he exploited rare substances from their special fish and flowers selling them to outsiders making him the richest man in Ronda. Their plan involves the Archduchess Paula who is talented in every form of art and is beloved by all. I wanted to love this story, but it dragged so much after the first two chapters.
The Menace - short fiction by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4*
Barry Jeans aka The Menace is a heart-throb, movie star, big guy with the huge shoulders and no hips. Cold emotionally and at times racist. He barely says a word and everybody loves. He has his wife May and his Boys who do all the taking to the media and producers. After being number one at the box office for decades and world famous he may be out of a job because "feelies" are the new thing in Hollywood. Now they're not just sending pictures in color, but with feeling from the actors. Studio measures his power of feeling into the "barker" and his result is Force G with the best result being Force A. They try dubbing and mixing other waves or Force A, but nothing is working. Now he must get a Force A result or his career is over. Talking of bizarre. I’m not sure that the whole Force A and “feelies” things were necessary, but I respect the extra attention to detail and bringing some new to the table.
The Chamois - novelette by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4-5*
An interesting story about a hunter named Stephens who is obsessed about hunting the rare chamois. He and his wife go on a trip to Greece high on the mountain searching for chamois in the snowy weather with some help from the Zus.
The Lordly Ones - short story by Daphne du Maurier (1959) 4*
Ben is mute boy and he doesn’t have the best parents out there. When he opens his mouth and tries to talk, a weird sound comes out that makes him nervous. His mother then locks him in a cupboard under the stairs (Harry Potter style). One day his parents are taking him to the "moors" and Daphne du Maurier is up to her old tricks. Okay, I saw it coming this time which made the reading more enjoyable.