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Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: December 17, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
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Amazon.com Sales Rank: 3848
208 pages

The Birds and Other Stories was originally published in 1952 as "The Apple Tree: A Short Novel and Several Long Stories". In 1963 Penguin published a new edition as "The Birds and Other Stories.". Also in 1963, Alfred Hitchcock released his movie adaptation of "The Birds." Another story from this collection, "Kiss Me Again Stranger" was a 1953 CBS television program.

Editors Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas reviewed the collection in the May 1953 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Among other things they found that nearly half the work fell into the fantasy genre with some being close to science fiction with most being "largely overlong and not too original.". I found this to be largely true with "The Birds" and "Kiss Me Again Stranger" being notable exceptions.

The forward to this edition, by British writer David Thomson, can not match the elegance of du Maurier but does demonstrate some of why Thomson has been called such things as the greatest living film critic and historian. Thomson, as might be expected, writes more about cinema than du Maurier's stories. He concentrates on Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" but he also provides looks at other du Maurier works which Hitchcock adapted to cinema. Thomson reveals fascinating information about how Alfred Hitchcock made movies. He also offers some insight into differences between authors and directors. The forward is almost worth the modest price of this Kindle edition.

My word du Maurier could write prose. The first few pages of "The Birds" have an elegance, a way with words that I can only wish for but at this late date in my life never achieve. But then very few can or have. Along with this wondrous prose there is also du Maurier's ability to tell a story and create characters which draw in the reader. All, taken together, make "The Birds" gripping reading and definitely worth the price of the Kindle edition.

In the second story, wondrous prose can not prevent "Monte Veritas", from meandering along tediously until it finally ends. The end proves to have not been worth the journey. At least not worth it to me. It is one of those stories which I find to be almost pointless. Besides, so much of the ending is given away at the beginning that there are few surprises. Perhaps I would feel differently were the story shorter. It would be easy to cut it by about 25% without losing anything of note. A person of skill could probably could it by half. "The Birds" is tense and gripping. Monte Veritas is not.

"The Apple Tree" begins much like an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. If this had been Hitchcock, the husband, who finds his wife tiresome and unpleasant, would have murdered her. But in this story she dies of natural causes and even in death will not leave the poor man in peace. An interesting story which I found overly long with too much buildup and too little action.

"The Little Photographer" is an engaging story of boredom, adultery and the unintended consequences.

"Kiss Me Again Stranger" is a nice bit of horror which builds slowly to an almost inevitable ending. But is it going to be supernatural or psychological? The reader does not know what is going to happen but does know that it won't be good.

"The Old Man" is a peculiar, unexpected sort of story. Of course it won't appeal to all but I liked it in a mild sort of way.