I picked this book because it is by Daphne Du Maurier, the author of Rebecca, Frenchman’s Creek, and other novels and short stories that mesmerized me in the past. This collection, published in 1980, is one of the last if not the last.

Not all the stories live up to the highest expectations from this author but most of them do with several surprising twists and excellent storytelling and then others with the dark, foreboding du Maurier tone. As in Rebecca, Du Maurier uses Gothic themes and imagery with spectacular effects. For example, in Split Second, a middle-aged woman goes out for a walk and returns after facing death to an altered world.

Among the stories, Split Second, The Rendezvous, and No Motive are the longest. Panic, a story about a casual love affair, is probably the shortest. What binds most stories together is the mysterious undercurrent flowing through each one of them. In a few of the stories, the endings are left open, which in conjunction with their themes, work very well in creating a special effect.

The Rendezvous, the title story which I liked a lot, is about a successful author who becomes disappointed when he wants to experience life instead of imagining it.

My favorite story in the book, however, is Adieu Sagesse, which is about the friendship of two men from two different social classes. An old dilapidated boat binds them together and through the fixing of this boat, they become closer and are able to escape from their boring lives and social constructs, using that very boat even though this may not be the wisest decision for them.

Then, Escort is a clever ghost-ship story in World War II while Angels and Archangels address religion and duplicity. The Closing Door is about a young man facing a terrible diagnosis and Leading Lady has the setting of a theater’s backstage.

All in all, these stories stage a disturbing atmosphere or a character, a carefully described setting, a sense of the strange and eerie, and a hint at the idea that some events are off the rational world’s boundaries. The smooth prose, the exquisite storytelling and the selections of events in the stories reflect the seriousness of this author’s work.

getting lost in the storytelling by one of my favorite authors.

Adieu Sagesse, among all the stories in the book.

read the other books by Daphne du Maurier that I haven't read yet and reread those that I have.

is Dame Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989), an English author an playwright.

It is short stories and we all write short stories in WdC.

The stories in this book are compiled from the work of different periods in the author's life. Although the author is classified as a romantic novelist, her work is so much more than that. To begin with, happy endings are rare if at all. Then, in general, this author has a taste for twisting plots, an acrid wit, and a grim view of life, in general.

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Created May 06, 2018 at 3:04pm • Submit your own review...