Author: Daphne du Maurier
Title: The Birds and Other Stories
Year of publication: 1952
Page count: 256
Rating: ★★★★
This collection of six short stories was originally published as The Apple Tree in the UK and Kiss Me Again, Stranger in the US before being republished under its current name thanks to the success of the Hitchcock adaptation of the new title story. The stories showcase du Maurier’s versatility as a writer—they were my first shorts by her, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I greatly enjoyed them. I’ve found that short stories are a medium that many talented novelists aren’t very good at, but I thought these were excellently crafted, even the ones where I didn’t like the story itself much.
The Birds · ★★★★½
In what’s undoubtedly the most famous of the stories included thanks to the Hitchcock adaptation, birds begin attacking people. It was my favorite of the stories included!
Monte Veritá · ★★★½
This one admittedly would have benefited from being trimmed down a little, but I still enjoyed it very much: A mysterious sect on an isolated mountain attracts young women from the nearby villages, and they are never heard from again, but rumored to become immortal.
The Apple Tree · ★★★
This one follows a hateful little man who, following the death of his neglected wife, suspects her spirit of inhabiting an old apple tree in his garden. A truly satisfying ending.
The Little Photographer · ★★½
Possibly my least favorite of them all, because it is, while well-written, a quite cliché story lacking a bit in originality. It tells of a rich Marquise, bored and dissatisfied with her life, who attempts to spice things up by having an affair while on holiday without her husband.
Kiss Me Again, Stranger · ★★★
I would’ve liked this one enough to give it four stars if it weren’t for the kinda sexist and slightly creepy notions that permeate the main character’s thoughts and actions. With the premise of a shy mechanic following a cinema usherette home from work, it’s a story that would feel right at home in a Stephen King or Neil Gaiman collection.
The Old Man · ★★★★
This is a story rewarded by a second reading. It’s the shortest, and it was hands down my least favorite—until the last paragraph, which changed everything in the most genius way. An observer tells the family history of his neighbors, suspecting the father of killing one of his children.
watercolorstain 