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Bezig met laden... The Breaking Point and Other Stories (1959)door Daphne Du Maurier
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. En esta obra se reúnen ocho relatos de temática distinta pero de idéntica factura literaria, brillante exponente de su acusada personalidad literaria y de su agudeza en el análisis psicológico. “The Breaking Point” is a collection of nine short stories published in 1959; the short preface notes that 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.” This point is reached in each of these stories, by individuals and, in one tale, by an entire country. Obviously different readers will have different responses to these well-crafted, atmospheric stories; my favourite was “The Blue Lenses,” in which eye surgery to replace faulty lenses has unusual results - I don’t want to say more, except that it’s quite brilliant. I also loved “The Archduchess,” in which a fictional European country has a revolution that changes its leadership from 700 years of autocratic rule by one family to a delicious system called “Popular Front Ltd.,” a combination of big business and communism - I had never thought of Du Maurier as being politically engaged or as writing satire, but this is a terrific example of both! All of the stories are compelling, however, and showcase the author’s remarkable talent as a writer; there’s a reason she’s still read some 60 years (in the case of this book) later. Highly recommended! Another excellent collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier. Every story demonstrates an excellent understanding of what makes people tick, and most of the stories have some element of the strange or surreal. My particular favourites were “The Blue Lenses” and “The Menace”. “The Blue Lenses” creeped me out the most, because it was about eye surgery and I’m squeamish about eye things to begin with. “The Menace” was actually a sweet story, in a way, with only a touch of the strange (the “feelies” being a new development in motion pictures that smacked of Brave New World). I also liked “Ganymede”, the story set in Venice; du Maurier and Patricia Highsmith do an excellent job of bringing Venice to life whenever they set stories there. And “The Alibi” set the tone at the beginning of the collection, with a man planning to defeat suburban boredom by randomly choosing a house whose occupants he will murder. “The Pool” made me think of Narnia for some reason, and as an older sister myself I appreciated the interactions between the girl and her younger brother. This one made me nostalgic for summers we spent with our own grandparents (although I never discovered a secret world). “The Archduchess” was well constructed and I thought very on point with some of its observations, particularly of how depressingly easy it could be for people to sow the seeds of anarchy in a normally peace-loving society. In today’s era of spreading misinformation online, Ronda would have succumbed to revolution that much sooner. The last two stories in the collection, “The Chamois” and “The Lordly Ones”, I didn’t get as much out of, possibly because I was trying to read this one to a deadline. Of the two, “The Chamois” had stronger characterization for me (the husband was a total jerk). “The Lordly Ones” was one I’d have to think about some more, although I don’t doubt that it achieved the effect it was after. If you haven’t read any of du Maurier’s short stories, do yourself a favour and pick up one of her collections. geen besprekingen | voeg een bespreking toe
Onderdeel van de uitgeversreeks(en)Virago Modern Classics (540) Onderscheidingen
The apathy of Sunday lay upon the streets. Houses were closed, withdrawn. "They don't know," he thought, "those people inside, how one gesture of mine, now, at this minute, might alter their world. A knock on the door, and someone answers - a woman yawning, an old man in carpet slippers, a child sent by its parents in irritation; and according to what I will, what I decide, their whole future will be decided . . . Sudden murder. Theft. Fire." It was as simple as that.' In this collection of suspenseful tales in which fantasies, murderous dreams and half-forgotten worlds are exposed, Daphne du Maurier explores the boundaries of reality and imagination. Her characters are caught at those moments when the delicate link between reason and emotion has been stretched to the breaking point. Often chilling, sometimes poignant, these stories display the full range of Daphne du Maurier's considerable talent. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)823.912Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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