Ali Karim was a Board Member of Bouchercon [The World Crime & Mystery Convention] and co-chaired programming for Bouchercon Raleigh, North Carolina in 2015. He is Assistant Editor of Shots eZine, British correspondent for The Rap Sheet and writes and reviews for many US magazines & Ezines.
The stories contained in this doorstop of a collection have been published in the past initially in magazines, or in other collections – finally they appear together in possibly the darkest of Daphne du Maurier’s published work.
Often remembered for Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, and Frenchman's Creek [among others] - one should not overlook her tales of unease, the short fiction that unsettles and After Midnight contains the most disturbing of her fiction. This new collection has a foreword by Stephen King who opens with the quote that most readers are familiar with “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Before King explains his love of these stories, he forewarns that he will spoil some of the surprises within the collection, and for new readers of Daphne du Maurier, it may be preferred to read King’s essay as an afterward [rather than a foreword]. But for all readers, King states that “..you can rarely spoil a good story, because the joy is in the journey rather than the arrival.”
The two most well-known are due to cinematic adaptations [or perhaps a better word would be re-workings], from Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter Evan Hunter [aka Ed McBain] in The Birds and Nicolas Roeg and screenwriters Allan Scott and Chris Bryant with Don’t Look Now. Those unfamiliar with these two stories will discover them far more chilly affairs than their filmed namesakes, each containing far bleaker dénouements.
Though, all the others are equally [if not far more] unsettling and edgy - such as The Doll, with its mysterious origins as fragmented pages discovered on a beach. The surreal examination of what is perceived and interpreted as reality in The Blue Lenses with an almost John Carpenter / EC Comics flavour. Marital disharmony is explored in The Apple Tree, with its curiously horrific metaphors regarding physical and mental disfigurement / derangement. Monte Verità offers a bizarre love triangle based on an exotic location and a lament/reflection on loss. Split Second, is an eerie look at ‘time’ and recollection told in a matter-of-fact style, with a disturbing conclusion that makes the reader quickly re-read the opening.
Overall, these stories predate the oeuvres of current popular writers of The Weird, such as Thomas Ligotti, John Langan, Laird Baron. The collection illustrates that Daphne du Maurier wrote work that followed the unsettling traditions of Shirley Jackson, Robert Bloch, M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Machen, Richard Matheson among other exponents of ‘The Weird’ in Literature.
Highly recommended.
The Blue Lenses, Don't Look Now, The Alibi, The Apple Tree, The Birds, Monte Verità, The Pool, The Doll, Ganymede, Leading Lady, Not After Midnight, Split Second and The Breakthrough.
More Information HERE
