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A review by jenmcmaynes
The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne du Maurier
3.0
I was a little so-so on this book. On the one hand, I found the actual plot pretty predicable, right down to the "flight" in the title and all the revelations leading up to it. On the other hand, I enjoyed how du Maurier depicted a 1960s college campus in Italy as a little fiefdom, with department heads serving as nobility, students as peasants, and the Rector as a benevolent but absent king. Very well done and interesting.
The portrayal of women left a lot to be desired (I can't believe that, even in 1960s Italy, people would laugh off the rape of a spinster!). Armino was a very passive main character; events just seemed to happen to him and he never really took any action. In fact, he was actually very like a stereotypical woman in books from this era!
Not nearly as gothic and atmospheric as Rebecca, or as heartbreaking as My Cousin Rachel, but a solid read.
The portrayal of women left a lot to be desired (I can't believe that, even in 1960s Italy, people would laugh off the rape of a spinster!). Armino was a very passive main character; events just seemed to happen to him and he never really took any action. In fact, he was actually very like a stereotypical woman in books from this era!
Not nearly as gothic and atmospheric as Rebecca, or as heartbreaking as My Cousin Rachel, but a solid read.