The Breaking Point and Other Short Stories by Daphne du Maurier
Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.
MY BOOK BEGINNING
The Fentons were taking their usual Sunday walk along the Embankment.-- from "The Alibi," the first story in The Breaking Point and Other Short Stories by Daphne du Maurier.
I'm in a Du Maurier Deep Dive group on Instagram. We are working our way through all of Daphne du Maurier's books. We started with the novels, with a brief diversion to read The Birds, probably her best-known collection of short stories. Now we are reading the other short story collections. The Breaking Point is our current read.
In general, I prefer novels to short stories. But I am also a completist when it comes to favorite authors like du Maurier. So I often find myself in the position of having finished the novels and have only short stories left to reach my goal. I've enjoyed the two collections of du Maurier stories we've read so far, but they are a little uneven. That's the thing about short stories, isn't it?
YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS
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THE FRIDAY 56
Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.
MY FRIDAY 56
-- from "The Blue Lenses" in The Breaking Point:
It must have been during the fifth week that Marta West had tentatively suggested, first to Nurse Ansel and then to her husband, that perhaps when she returned home the night nurse might go with them for the first week. It would chime with Nurse Ansel's own holiday.
FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION
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.
Sounds like a good collection. Hope you enjoy it overall.
ReplyDeleteIn general, I prefer novels to short stories too, but I think Du Maurier's short stories are better than most. I've read The Breaking Point collection and thought it fascinating. My copy has an introduction that says they 'are dark, difficult, perturbing – and sometimes shocking. Du Maurier grouped them together under the title The Breaking Point – and they were written during a period when she herself came close to a severe nervous breakdown.' My favourite is The Pool.
ReplyDeleteSounds good. I prefer novels, too, but sometimes I like short stories. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI've read Rebecca but never Du Maurier's short stories: sounds great for the gray wintry days that are around the corner.
ReplyDeleteSorry, your linky didn't work for me. I printed the first paragraph of The Vegetarian in my post today on the author Han Kang, who won this year's Nobel in literature .
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