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The Apple Tree: A Ghost Story for Christmas
We're thrilled to offer this series of beautifully illustrated, collectible books. Designed and illustrated by the world-renowned cartoonist Seth, they're trimmed to fit the coziest stocking.
A widower admits it only to himself: Midge's death is a relief. Yet now that he's free of her hectoring, he still feels her presence. Does he feel guilty? Or does that weather-beaten tree in the orchard bear an uncanny resemblance to her hunched posture?
A widower admits it only to himself: Midge's death is a relief. Yet now that he's free of her hectoring, he still feels her presence. Does he feel guilty? Or does that weather-beaten tree in the orchard bear an uncanny resemblance to her hunched posture?
124 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
15 people are currently reading
1366 people want to read
About the author
Daphne du Maurier
434 books10.2k followersDaphne du Maurier was born on 13 May 1907 at 24 Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park, London, the middle of three daughters of prominent actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and actress Muriel, née Beaumont. In many ways her life resembles a fairy tale. Born into a family with a rich artistic and historical background, her paternal grandfather was author and Punch cartoonist George du Maurier, who created the character of Svengali in the 1894 novel Trilby, and her mother was a maternal niece of journalist, author, and lecturer Comyns Beaumont. She and her sisters were indulged as a children and grew up enjoying enormous freedom from financial and parental restraint. Her elder sister, Angela du Maurier, also became a writer, and her younger sister Jeanne was a painter.
She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's Bystander magazine. A prestigious publishing house accepted her first novel when she was in her early twenties, and its publication brought her not only fame but the attentions of a handsome soldier, Major (later Lieutenant-General Sir) Frederick Browning, whom she married.
She continued writing under her maiden name, and her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight. While Alfred Hitchcock's films based upon her novels proceeded to make her one of the best-known authors in the world, she enjoyed the life of a fairy princess in a mansion in Cornwall called Menabilly, which served as the model for Manderley in Rebecca.
Daphne du Maurier was obsessed with the past. She intensively researched the lives of Francis and Anthony Bacon, the history of Cornwall, the Regency period, and nineteenth-century France and England. Above all, however, she was obsessed with her own family history, which she chronicled in Gerald: A Portrait, a biography of her father; The du Mauriers, a study of her family which focused on her grandfather, George du Maurier, the novelist and illustrator for Punch; The Glassblowers, a novel based upon the lives of her du Maurier ancestors; and Growing Pains, an autobiography that ignores nearly 50 years of her life in favour of the joyful and more romantic period of her youth. Daphne du Maurier can best be understood in terms of her remarkable and paradoxical family, the ghosts which haunted her life and fiction.
While contemporary writers were dealing critically with such subjects as the war, alienation, religion, poverty, Marxism, psychology and art, and experimenting with new techniques such as the stream of consciousness, du Maurier produced 'old-fashioned' novels with straightforward narratives that appealed to a popular audience's love of fantasy, adventure, sexuality and mystery. At an early age, she recognised that her readership was comprised principally of women, and she cultivated their loyal following through several decades by embodying their desires and dreams in her novels and short stories.
In some of her novels, however, she went beyond the technique of the formulaic romance to achieve a powerful psychological realism reflecting her intense feelings about her father, and to a lesser degree, her mother. This vision, which underlies Julius, Rebecca and The Parasites, is that of an author overwhelmed by the memory of her father's commanding presence. In Julius and The Parasites, for example, she introduces the image of a domineering but deadly father and the daring subject of incest.
In Rebecca, on the other hand, du Maurier fuses psychological realism with a sophisticated version of the Cinderella story.
She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's Bystander magazine. A prestigious publishing house accepted her first novel when she was in her early twenties, and its publication brought her not only fame but the attentions of a handsome soldier, Major (later Lieutenant-General Sir) Frederick Browning, whom she married.
She continued writing under her maiden name, and her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight. While Alfred Hitchcock's films based upon her novels proceeded to make her one of the best-known authors in the world, she enjoyed the life of a fairy princess in a mansion in Cornwall called Menabilly, which served as the model for Manderley in Rebecca.
Daphne du Maurier was obsessed with the past. She intensively researched the lives of Francis and Anthony Bacon, the history of Cornwall, the Regency period, and nineteenth-century France and England. Above all, however, she was obsessed with her own family history, which she chronicled in Gerald: A Portrait, a biography of her father; The du Mauriers, a study of her family which focused on her grandfather, George du Maurier, the novelist and illustrator for Punch; The Glassblowers, a novel based upon the lives of her du Maurier ancestors; and Growing Pains, an autobiography that ignores nearly 50 years of her life in favour of the joyful and more romantic period of her youth. Daphne du Maurier can best be understood in terms of her remarkable and paradoxical family, the ghosts which haunted her life and fiction.
While contemporary writers were dealing critically with such subjects as the war, alienation, religion, poverty, Marxism, psychology and art, and experimenting with new techniques such as the stream of consciousness, du Maurier produced 'old-fashioned' novels with straightforward narratives that appealed to a popular audience's love of fantasy, adventure, sexuality and mystery. At an early age, she recognised that her readership was comprised principally of women, and she cultivated their loyal following through several decades by embodying their desires and dreams in her novels and short stories.
In some of her novels, however, she went beyond the technique of the formulaic romance to achieve a powerful psychological realism reflecting her intense feelings about her father, and to a lesser degree, her mother. This vision, which underlies Julius, Rebecca and The Parasites, is that of an author overwhelmed by the memory of her father's commanding presence. In Julius and The Parasites, for example, she introduces the image of a domineering but deadly father and the daring subject of incest.
In Rebecca, on the other hand, du Maurier fuses psychological realism with a sophisticated version of the Cinderella story.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
December 11, 2020
i foolishly neglected to review last year's batch of seth's ghost stories for christmas, and now i have three NEW ones to read and review.
fortunately, this one was one of the short stories included in du maurier's collection The Birds and Other Stories, and i'd written reviews for each individual story back when i read it, so permit me some recycling as i try to catch up on my review-backlog.
this one is darkly comic with an unlikeable, unreliable narrator who is recently widowed and glad of it. finally, he is free to do as he pleases, living like a bachelor without the pesky sighing martyrdom of his wife invading his relaxing-space with her relentless housework and negative attitude. but there's this apple tree, see, and it is starting to remind him of her—dauntlessly clinging to life, keeping the other, younger, prettier trees in its shadow, producing fruit that everyone else finds pleasant but tastes rancid in his mouth. and he starts to HATE that tree. it starts to haunt his every waking moment and ruin his peace of mind. and he is going to have to do something about it. this is a great slow-burning character study of a man who is bitterly angry with limited self-awareness. man vs. tree—who will win?
come to my blog!
fortunately, this one was one of the short stories included in du maurier's collection The Birds and Other Stories, and i'd written reviews for each individual story back when i read it, so permit me some recycling as i try to catch up on my review-backlog.
this one is darkly comic with an unlikeable, unreliable narrator who is recently widowed and glad of it. finally, he is free to do as he pleases, living like a bachelor without the pesky sighing martyrdom of his wife invading his relaxing-space with her relentless housework and negative attitude. but there's this apple tree, see, and it is starting to remind him of her—dauntlessly clinging to life, keeping the other, younger, prettier trees in its shadow, producing fruit that everyone else finds pleasant but tastes rancid in his mouth. and he starts to HATE that tree. it starts to haunt his every waking moment and ruin his peace of mind. and he is going to have to do something about it. this is a great slow-burning character study of a man who is bitterly angry with limited self-awareness. man vs. tree—who will win?
come to my blog!
November 28, 2024
“How often he had seen Midge stand like this, dejected … suggesting that life treated her hardly …”
A wonderfully atmospheric story; perfect for this time of year. A ghost story for Christmas indeed! Included in the Echoes from the Macabre: Selected Stories collection, along with The Birds.
An unhappy marriage can be difficult to shake. Roots grow deep. Ghosts and guilt go hand in hand.
A wonderfully atmospheric story; perfect for this time of year. A ghost story for Christmas indeed! Included in the Echoes from the Macabre: Selected Stories collection, along with The Birds.
An unhappy marriage can be difficult to shake. Roots grow deep. Ghosts and guilt go hand in hand.
April 7, 2016
Another novella from Daphne du Maurier.
The Apple Tree is a tale of a widower who found his recently deceased wife annoying and was not overly sad to lose her. He had spent his life been made to feel guilty about how little he did around the house and how hard she worked. So when she died of pneumonia it was a relief to him and he starts to enjoy life again. Everything is wonderful until he notices that one of the apple trees has a resemblance to his late wife.
What follows is a psychological tale that is chilling and bordering on the supernatural.
The Apple Tree is a tale of a widower who found his recently deceased wife annoying and was not overly sad to lose her. He had spent his life been made to feel guilty about how little he did around the house and how hard she worked. So when she died of pneumonia it was a relief to him and he starts to enjoy life again. Everything is wonderful until he notices that one of the apple trees has a resemblance to his late wife.
What follows is a psychological tale that is chilling and bordering on the supernatural.
June 13, 2021
Daphne du Maurier va ser una de les muses del director Alfred Hitchcock. I no és per menys, el seu nom hauria de ser tan popular com el de l'aclamat cineasta i, tristament, no ho és. Aquest recull de set relats llargs inclou 'Els ocells', que no requereix ni presentació. Però els set textos contenen altes dosis de misteri, de suspens, de terror psicològic i, fins i tot, tocs de realisme màgic i d'elements sobrenaturals. Els girs de guió, el pensament lateral i la intriga són el seu tret distintiu, l'autora excel·leix en l'habilitat de fer-nos dubtar i despistar-nos per sorprendre'ns quan menys ho esperem. Si hi afegim que l'escriptura és àgil i planera, i que la seva capacitat narrativa és inqüestionable, ens podem fer a la idea de la mena de llibre que tenim entre mans.
La segona publicació de Les Altres Herbes, projecte conjunt de L'Altra i Males Herbes, no podria haver fet més diana pel que fa als meus gustos. Si l'autora ja em va meravellar a La cosina Rachel, La pomera no fa altra cosa que confirmar-me que és potser la millor escriptora d'intriga que he llegit, i un dels millors autors en general. És magnètica, imaginativa i sorprenent. Les seves històries enganxen i t'obliguen a estar a l'aguait, neguitós i expectant per descobrir per on aniran els trets. Però és inútil, quan tu hi vas, du Maurier ja ha tornat i s'està fumant una cigarreta mentre et mira amb un somriure per sota el nas. M'ha encantat La pomera, tenia dubtes perquè els relats són llargs, a mig camí de nouvelles. Però són tots bons, cosa difícil en els reculls, diferents i amb els seus propis punts forts. El conjunt és excel·lent. No em cansaré de reivindicar l'autora. Si us agrada el suspens de qualitat, no us la perdeu. I si no, tampoc.
(SERGI)
La segona publicació de Les Altres Herbes, projecte conjunt de L'Altra i Males Herbes, no podria haver fet més diana pel que fa als meus gustos. Si l'autora ja em va meravellar a La cosina Rachel, La pomera no fa altra cosa que confirmar-me que és potser la millor escriptora d'intriga que he llegit, i un dels millors autors en general. És magnètica, imaginativa i sorprenent. Les seves històries enganxen i t'obliguen a estar a l'aguait, neguitós i expectant per descobrir per on aniran els trets. Però és inútil, quan tu hi vas, du Maurier ja ha tornat i s'està fumant una cigarreta mentre et mira amb un somriure per sota el nas. M'ha encantat La pomera, tenia dubtes perquè els relats són llargs, a mig camí de nouvelles. Però són tots bons, cosa difícil en els reculls, diferents i amb els seus propis punts forts. El conjunt és excel·lent. No em cansaré de reivindicar l'autora. Si us agrada el suspens de qualitat, no us la perdeu. I si no, tampoc.
(SERGI)
November 14, 2022
"The apple tree, the one on the left, was no longer in shadow. The moon shone upon the withered branches and they looked like skeleton's arms raised in supplication. Frozen arms, stiff and numb with pain."
She is so good with the short story approach, each line leads to Something - clever narrative.
She is so good with the short story approach, each line leads to Something - clever narrative.
December 26, 2019
My husband and I read this clever little book together on Christmas and we both immensely enjoyed it.
The story, though told in third person, most specifically follows the thought pattern of the main male character, whose name we are never given. It begins with the man taking notice of a specific apple tree in his yard three months after his wife, Midge, has passed away. He can’t help but compare the tree to Midge’s weary existence. He, in fact, relishes in the freedom he has found since his difficult wife’s death. But was she really that difficult? His perspective seems to suggest so. The apple tree, which he perceives as almost as much of a nuisance as his late wife, suddenly begins to take on new life and vexes him as it does so.
I must shamefully confess that this was the first time I’ve ever read something by the author and I now realize that I’ve been a fool. This book is incredibly well-written and though short, it is oozing with symbolism and meaty discussion topics. There is a foreboding sense of doom throughout the story yet, with such an unlikeable main character, I found myself eagerly anticipating his horrible fate.
It was not remotely difficult to read its 124 pages in one sitting. You couldn’t have made us put this down if you’d tried! It’s a fantastic story, laced with irony, sadness, and retribution.
My only word of caution, which did not cause me to be disappointed in the story, is that one should not really expect a Christmas ghost story, as the cover implies. Aside from one brief mention of it as an upcoming holiday, this book has nothing to do with Christmas at all.
The story, though told in third person, most specifically follows the thought pattern of the main male character, whose name we are never given. It begins with the man taking notice of a specific apple tree in his yard three months after his wife, Midge, has passed away. He can’t help but compare the tree to Midge’s weary existence. He, in fact, relishes in the freedom he has found since his difficult wife’s death. But was she really that difficult? His perspective seems to suggest so. The apple tree, which he perceives as almost as much of a nuisance as his late wife, suddenly begins to take on new life and vexes him as it does so.
I must shamefully confess that this was the first time I’ve ever read something by the author and I now realize that I’ve been a fool. This book is incredibly well-written and though short, it is oozing with symbolism and meaty discussion topics. There is a foreboding sense of doom throughout the story yet, with such an unlikeable main character, I found myself eagerly anticipating his horrible fate.
It was not remotely difficult to read its 124 pages in one sitting. You couldn’t have made us put this down if you’d tried! It’s a fantastic story, laced with irony, sadness, and retribution.
My only word of caution, which did not cause me to be disappointed in the story, is that one should not really expect a Christmas ghost story, as the cover implies. Aside from one brief mention of it as an upcoming holiday, this book has nothing to do with Christmas at all.
June 1, 2023
I really liked it! Each story is so different from the others, in terms of style and tone, she really knows how to create the atmosphere which best suits a character. My favourite was Monte Verita', with its enigmatic figures escaping from the world and that sense of wisdom mixed with desperation. Anna truly is a memorable character. And of course The Birds: that sense of paranoia typical of the '50s and yet so universal, transcending history and contingency with brilliant details. Another favourite was Kiss me Stranger, the girl with the lazy look and her pain are all the more vivid because they are seen from a distance. The other tales too will linger very easily in the readers' memory. Du Maurier was a true artist, combining horror, psychological insight and reverie with a sense of fear, dread, despair and envy, a touch of poetry shining through every now and then. Highly recommended.
December 17, 2020
“Looking from the window at the fantastic light and color of my glittering fairy-world of fact that holds no tenderness, no quietude, I long suddenly for peace, for understanding.”
It’s impossible for me to be objective when it comes to Daphne du Maurier. I became a huge dorky fan after reading Rebecca and I can devour anything she writes with perfect satisfaction. She is the queen of tension and nervous expectations. The characters she creates attach themselves to the reader either with love or hatred. Her narration and verbal dexterity is unique and she is a connoisseur when it comes to storytelling.
The Apple Tree consists of 7 remarkable short stories, each with a special atmosphere and singular characters. I especially enjoyed Monte Verita: The strange story of a mountain and a secret sect that lives at the peak with a ghost-like existence in a stone monastery with impassible walls. The educated, well-read friends try to figure out the mystery behind the cult when the odd female protagonist goes missing. “Victor” is the sequence to this story. The heart of the book: The Apple Tree was also an incredibly suspenseful, tense story of descent into madness; a man’s evolution after losing his wife. The Birds was seriously creepy and gave me the chills. The Little Photographer was intoxicating: an unparalleled female figure with two children, who decides to dive into adventure and have an affair.
I loved each and every story in this book and felt the instant pull as soon as I turned page one. Definitely recommended!
It’s impossible for me to be objective when it comes to Daphne du Maurier. I became a huge dorky fan after reading Rebecca and I can devour anything she writes with perfect satisfaction. She is the queen of tension and nervous expectations. The characters she creates attach themselves to the reader either with love or hatred. Her narration and verbal dexterity is unique and she is a connoisseur when it comes to storytelling.
The Apple Tree consists of 7 remarkable short stories, each with a special atmosphere and singular characters. I especially enjoyed Monte Verita: The strange story of a mountain and a secret sect that lives at the peak with a ghost-like existence in a stone monastery with impassible walls. The educated, well-read friends try to figure out the mystery behind the cult when the odd female protagonist goes missing. “Victor” is the sequence to this story. The heart of the book: The Apple Tree was also an incredibly suspenseful, tense story of descent into madness; a man’s evolution after losing his wife. The Birds was seriously creepy and gave me the chills. The Little Photographer was intoxicating: an unparalleled female figure with two children, who decides to dive into adventure and have an affair.
I loved each and every story in this book and felt the instant pull as soon as I turned page one. Definitely recommended!
November 3, 2024
Alguna cosa em passa amb aquesta autora, que sempre és un sí però no. Sempre em falta alguna cosa que em faci fer-la sobresortir per damunt d'altres autores. De moment, no ha passat.
January 23, 2025
Am descoperit o autoare care scrie excelent despre toate emoțiile aferente tristeții.
O poveste scurtă dar e încărcată cu multe simboluri și dacă le diseci, realizezi cât de nefericit era personajul principal și cât de bine își sacrifică viețile unele femei, sacrificii nenecesare, de altfel. Uimitor câte femei din jurul meu fac asta fără să le ceară cineva. Așa cred ele, că asta e menirea lor. Misiune inventată. Să se simtă utile. Scurtă poveste, dar bună, bună. Recomand.
O poveste scurtă dar e încărcată cu multe simboluri și dacă le diseci, realizezi cât de nefericit era personajul principal și cât de bine își sacrifică viețile unele femei, sacrificii nenecesare, de altfel. Uimitor câte femei din jurul meu fac asta fără să le ceară cineva. Așa cred ele, că asta e menirea lor. Misiune inventată. Să se simtă utile. Scurtă poveste, dar bună, bună. Recomand.
September 28, 2020
Dame Daphne du Maurier (1907~1989), granddaughter of the artist and writer George du Maurier, and daughter of Gerald du Maurier, the most famous actor-manager of his day, began writing short stories in her early twenties. Her first novel, The Loving Spirit, was published in 1931. She is best known, and best loved, for her three novels Jamaica Inn (which immortalised an actual inn on Cornwall's Bodmin Moor), Frenchman's Creek and Rebecca. Daphne du Maurier was a very private person, but you can watch a rare interview with her at the BBC web site.
The Apple Tree was first published by Victor Gollancz Ltd. in 1952. It contains six tales: 'Monte Verità', 'The Birds', 'The Apple Tree', 'The Little Photographer', 'Kiss Me Again, Stranger', and 'The Old Man'.
I won't go into detail about 'Monte Verità', as it's difficult to say much at all without giving too much away. It is a haunting tale about the quest for truth... a fantasy, the mystery at the centre of which is never explained to the reader. It concerns a love triangle between two men and one woman: the unnamed bachelor narrator, his friend Victor, and Victor's beautiful wife, Anna, who appears to possess unearthly qualities. The narrator begins his story by disclosing the outcome of events, then we travel back to the run up to the First World War, to Victor's marriage to Anna, their subsequent journey to Monte Verità, The Mountain of Truth, and Anna's disappearance when she climbs to the summit alone to fulfil her destiny. Apparently, Victor Gollancz was bewildered by this tale and insisted that the ending be changed.
'The Birds' is the most well-known of the tales in this book, because it was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1963. But the movie and the original story, aside from being about birds attacking people, have little in common. Apparently, du Maurier didn't like Hitchcock's adaptation, in which he transported the tale from the cold, bleak English coastline to a Californian setting, and transformed du Maurier's farmers into polished city folk.
Click here to read the rest of the review...
The Apple Tree was first published by Victor Gollancz Ltd. in 1952. It contains six tales: 'Monte Verità', 'The Birds', 'The Apple Tree', 'The Little Photographer', 'Kiss Me Again, Stranger', and 'The Old Man'.
I won't go into detail about 'Monte Verità', as it's difficult to say much at all without giving too much away. It is a haunting tale about the quest for truth... a fantasy, the mystery at the centre of which is never explained to the reader. It concerns a love triangle between two men and one woman: the unnamed bachelor narrator, his friend Victor, and Victor's beautiful wife, Anna, who appears to possess unearthly qualities. The narrator begins his story by disclosing the outcome of events, then we travel back to the run up to the First World War, to Victor's marriage to Anna, their subsequent journey to Monte Verità, The Mountain of Truth, and Anna's disappearance when she climbs to the summit alone to fulfil her destiny. Apparently, Victor Gollancz was bewildered by this tale and insisted that the ending be changed.
'The Birds' is the most well-known of the tales in this book, because it was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1963. But the movie and the original story, aside from being about birds attacking people, have little in common. Apparently, du Maurier didn't like Hitchcock's adaptation, in which he transported the tale from the cold, bleak English coastline to a Californian setting, and transformed du Maurier's farmers into polished city folk.
Click here to read the rest of the review...
October 15, 2010
A creepy Halloween read for October.
Gothic horror, how I love thee, and Ms. du Maurier is your ultimate practitioner!
1 novella broken into two (Monte Verita & Victor), and 5 short stories: The Birds (yes, the one turned into the Hitchcock movie), The Apple Tree, The Little Photographer, Kiss Me Again Stranger, and The Old Man.
The first 3 (novella, The Birds and The Apple Tree) were 5-star reads, the others were 3 or 4 stars, but still fun.
I love the subtle creepiness that slowly builds.
Gothic horror, how I love thee, and Ms. du Maurier is your ultimate practitioner!
1 novella broken into two (Monte Verita & Victor), and 5 short stories: The Birds (yes, the one turned into the Hitchcock movie), The Apple Tree, The Little Photographer, Kiss Me Again Stranger, and The Old Man.
The first 3 (novella, The Birds and The Apple Tree) were 5-star reads, the others were 3 or 4 stars, but still fun.
I love the subtle creepiness that slowly builds.
December 30, 2022
A very short book, perfect for a cold winter night.
Haunted beyond the realms of Death, we're taken into a widower who isn't exactly in a fuss over his deceased wife, as he is resented with her, and hides an unutterable memory better left in the past. Suddenly, he noticed an almost dead apple tree in his orchard, which little by little builds an eerie feel on him: a disturbing resemblance to his late wife.
A psychological horror that leads us through our main character's doom accompanied by that Gothic feel that whispers 'Rebecca'. The prose of Daphne du Maurier is absolutely a delight to read, gradually building characters with mystery and class as only she could've done.
Haunted beyond the realms of Death, we're taken into a widower who isn't exactly in a fuss over his deceased wife, as he is resented with her, and hides an unutterable memory better left in the past. Suddenly, he noticed an almost dead apple tree in his orchard, which little by little builds an eerie feel on him: a disturbing resemblance to his late wife.
A psychological horror that leads us through our main character's doom accompanied by that Gothic feel that whispers 'Rebecca'. The prose of Daphne du Maurier is absolutely a delight to read, gradually building characters with mystery and class as only she could've done.
February 13, 2025
I enjoyed that this was an early, ghostly entry into the "Good for Her" horror canon. It took me way longer to finish than it should have though because I hated the main character so badly I had to keep taking breaks. I wanted him to suffer more!
December 3, 2021
0,4 estrellas
April 9, 2022
Originals, intrigants, atrapants, amb suspens, inquietants... Els contes de Du Maurier tenen alguns dels millors ingredients que tots volem en la lectura. La relació estranya i amarga entre un home i la seva pomera; una enigmàtica noia a qui agrada quedar en cementiris, l'immens Monte Verità (el millor conte per a mi) o la història d'un atac brutal d'uns ocells que va inspirar la pel·lícula de Hitchcock. I tot impecablement escrit. Imprescindible.
November 22, 2021
4,5/5
Tots els relats són molt bons i estan molt ben escrits i traduïts.
Et mantenen enganxat i només pots pensar en acabar de llegir-los.
Ganes de més du Maurier.
Tots els relats són molt bons i estan molt ben escrits i traduïts.
Et mantenen enganxat i només pots pensar en acabar de llegir-los.
Ganes de més du Maurier.
November 2, 2024
És difícil llegir un llibre de relats i on tots i cada un d’ells siguin tan bons com els d’aquest recull.
Cada història té una energia, un mon i un narrador únics. M’ha agradat especialment com totes les inquietants trames giren entorn la psicologia dels personatges, i com de riques són en subtileses.
Genial també la manera com, en alguns relats, Daphne du Maurier usa la veu d’un narrador insuportable per posar-lo en evidència.
Cada història té una energia, un mon i un narrador únics. M’ha agradat especialment com totes les inquietants trames giren entorn la psicologia dels personatges, i com de riques són en subtileses.
Genial també la manera com, en alguns relats, Daphne du Maurier usa la veu d’un narrador insuportable per posar-lo en evidència.
December 21, 2021
Daphne du Maurier does it again.
This short story was a treat to devour. Ripe with turmoil from the very beginning.
This short story was a treat to devour. Ripe with turmoil from the very beginning.
December 24, 2021
3.5 This story is what you would get if the Giving Tree wanted revenge.
December 1, 2023
4.5/5 M'han agradat molt les històries curtes d'aquest recull de Daphne de Maurier. El que més m'ha agradat ha estat Els Ocells però són totes molt bones!
May 21, 2020
Monte Verita & Victor
This two-part story may be my least favorite of the collection, perhaps because the story didn't seem so true to life. It has hints of surrealism, and is a bit detached from this earth. Still, it was good Du Maurier read.
The Birds
Wow! From its reputation, I expected a scintillating tale; but from reading it now, I'm astounded at the gigantic story that came to life on these few, short pages.
The Apple Tree
I felt like this one contains echoes of Du Maurier's Rebecca in it. The idea of being haunted from beyond the grave. This is the story of a man who cannot escape his bitter wife, even after she passes. It gave me chills. The story held me entranced, all the way to the last page. The most memorable story for me, from this collection.
The Little Photographer
Tantalizing. Dramatic. (Contains some adult themes.)
Kiss Me Again, Stranger
An intriguing tale, with a unique perspective. Enjoyable. (Contains some adult themes.)
This two-part story may be my least favorite of the collection, perhaps because the story didn't seem so true to life. It has hints of surrealism, and is a bit detached from this earth. Still, it was good Du Maurier read.
The Birds
Wow! From its reputation, I expected a scintillating tale; but from reading it now, I'm astounded at the gigantic story that came to life on these few, short pages.
The Apple Tree
I felt like this one contains echoes of Du Maurier's Rebecca in it. The idea of being haunted from beyond the grave. This is the story of a man who cannot escape his bitter wife, even after she passes. It gave me chills. The story held me entranced, all the way to the last page. The most memorable story for me, from this collection.
The Little Photographer
Tantalizing. Dramatic. (Contains some adult themes.)
Kiss Me Again, Stranger
An intriguing tale, with a unique perspective. Enjoyable. (Contains some adult themes.)
October 24, 2021
El llibre de relats de du Maurier comença amb la història que va inspirar la pel·lícula “Els ocells”, de Hichcock, i continua amb un grapat més de contes que, des de la quotidianitat, acaben portant al lector a situacions estranyes, successos misteriosos, alguns inclús ratllant el sobrenatural.
Tenim un grapat de personatges en aparença normals, amb circumstàncies o contextos que els duen a situacions allunyades de la “normalitat”. Les dones tenen un paper rellevant en moltes de les històries; dones que es troben fora o en el límit dels convencionalismes de l’època.
Un grapat d’històries estranyes, originals, que soprenen; escrites de manera excepcional per l’autora, que t’atrapa en la historia i en l’atmosfera que basteix. Una lectura molt recomanable.
Els ocells 5*
La pomera 5*
El fotògraf 4*
Fes-me un altre petó, foraster 3*
Monte Veritá 5*
El vell 3*
Cap motiu 4,5*
Tenim un grapat de personatges en aparença normals, amb circumstàncies o contextos que els duen a situacions allunyades de la “normalitat”. Les dones tenen un paper rellevant en moltes de les històries; dones que es troben fora o en el límit dels convencionalismes de l’època.
Un grapat d’històries estranyes, originals, que soprenen; escrites de manera excepcional per l’autora, que t’atrapa en la historia i en l’atmosfera que basteix. Una lectura molt recomanable.
Els ocells 5*
La pomera 5*
El fotògraf 4*
Fes-me un altre petó, foraster 3*
Monte Veritá 5*
El vell 3*
Cap motiu 4,5*
February 9, 2020
I don’t think this is the kind of ghost story that they had in mind when they used to gather around the fire telling such tales at Christmas. This is a harsh and real psychological horror story that is as good as DuMaurier’s other unforgettable stories (Rebecca, Don’t Look Now, “The Birds”). I would read at any time BUT Christmas. Starkly and suitably illustrated by Seth.
June 30, 2020
Wow, when you thought a book couldn’t be any more boring, along comes this. Although well written, it is a story about a man living in a house after his wife dies and an apple tree he doesn’t like. YES, it is that boring.
July 20, 2020
Daphne du Maurier is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This isn't a typical ghost story, but has great psychological elements to it that I thoroughly enjoyed!
June 28, 2021
Els ocells ****
La pomera ****
Un altre petó ***
Monte Verità ****
El vell ****
Cap motiu ****
La pomera ****
Un altre petó ***
Monte Verità ****
El vell ****
Cap motiu ****
October 26, 2025
Oooo all 6 of these stories were so good! The sense of impending doom and tension building, pacing, and beautifully descriptive settings in them could not have been any better, with satisfying endings. Daphne Du Maurier is a pure genius.
1. The Birds: Apocalyptic and foreboding. Inspired the Hitchcock movie. You will not look at seagulls the same way for a long time.
2. Monte Verita: A couple gets more than they bargained for when they go mountain climbing and encounter a utopian cult.
3. The Apple Tree: This was my favorite one. An old gnarly apple tree bears an eerie resemblance to a widower’s dead wife, and begins to haunt him.
4. The Little Photographer: A bored, entitled French noblewoman goes on a seaside holiday, and learns that fleeting pleasures have consequences, and she must reap what she has sown.
5. Kiss Me Again, Stranger: A young man becomes enthralled by a bewitching stranger at a movie theater, and learns the dangers of romantic naivety. Is she a ghost? Or something far worse?
6. The Old Man: A nosy neighbor has been spying on a strange family who lives nearby, and suspects that the father may have committed a murder.
1. The Birds: Apocalyptic and foreboding. Inspired the Hitchcock movie. You will not look at seagulls the same way for a long time.
2. Monte Verita: A couple gets more than they bargained for when they go mountain climbing and encounter a utopian cult.
3. The Apple Tree: This was my favorite one. An old gnarly apple tree bears an eerie resemblance to a widower’s dead wife, and begins to haunt him.
4. The Little Photographer: A bored, entitled French noblewoman goes on a seaside holiday, and learns that fleeting pleasures have consequences, and she must reap what she has sown.
5. Kiss Me Again, Stranger: A young man becomes enthralled by a bewitching stranger at a movie theater, and learns the dangers of romantic naivety. Is she a ghost? Or something far worse?
6. The Old Man: A nosy neighbor has been spying on a strange family who lives nearby, and suspects that the father may have committed a murder.
April 28, 2025
It's not a bad read. It was clever and entertaining like I've found all other Daphe Du Mauier books, and I thought I'd read them all. Also, a quick and easy read. It was supposed to be banded, and I have no idea why. It was also supposed to be a ghost story that was super scary. It was a little spooky, but even I wasn't bothered in the least. I could even predict the end pretty much from the beginning. Now, granted to see this as a movie or hear in a spooky setting may make all the difference. Good, though.
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