Don't Look Now

DNF not indicative of quality! This is an anthology and does not need to be read straight through (I just wanted to track my pages read!)

This a review for the collection of short stories written by Daphne du Maurier and collected by Patrick McGrath, published by New York Review Books.  What an incredible collection this was, the author's writing has a clear and engaging prose. The stories varied from horror (psychological, environmental) to speculative fiction (with elements of science fiction and fantasy) with always an underlying sense of gothic mystery.  For each story, the plot was superbly constructed with the eerie atmosphere building up suspense until the incredible twist. There's a couple of stories that didn't fully compelled me though, as such is the case with collections.  Here are my personal rating for each story. 
Don't look now 4.75 The Birds 4.75 Escort 3.75 Split Second 5 Kiss me again, Stranger 4.5 Blue Lenses 5 La Sainte-Vierge 4.25 Indiscretion 4.25 Monte Verità 4.75
Overall a very strong collection that is worth checking out, and is truly suited for a winter reading. 

Only read the title story, but MAN. Having seen the movie before I wasn't expecting too much for some reason but the clarity of prose and overall sense of despair really pushes it over the top. Need to read more du Maurier, clearly.

Good god, I fucking love Daphne Du Maurier and I haven't even read Rebecca yet.

This was a really good collection of Daphne DuMaurier short stories. I really enjoyed Don't Look Now, The Blue Lenses, Split Second, Kiss Me Again, Stranger, and Indiscretion. Even the ones I didn't particularly enjoy were really well done as well, they just weren't as interesting to me. (I took so long to finish because the length of Monte Verita was daunting at the time and then it was just a bit slow.) Overall, really well done DuMaurier is a great writer.

These short stories have a very different feel than du Maurier's “Rebecca”, which is her most famous book (I'm pretty sure). At first I was surprised - subconsciously I had expected them to be in the same style - but then I was pleased because these stories are able to stand on their own, without needing the same pattern as “Rebecca” to make them exciting. Each story branches off into unexpected places, such as technology and mythology, but the collection works together smoothly and doesn't feel jarring when you move between stories.