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** spoiler alert ** I really enjoyed this collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier πŸ™‚ and over the past year or so she's become a writer I very much admire awa enjoy. I've still only read a few of her books, and more of her short stories than her novels, but have started noticing some patterns and themes, and I'm very much looking forward to reading more πŸ™‚

a kinda mix of summaries and responses, full of spoilers, if you read on...

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1. East Wind
the island rock of St Hilda's and it's isolated inhabitants.
a storm, the wind from the East, brings in a large ship from far off lands...
the excitement and disruption the boat and it's sailors bring... then leaves on the morning tide, after the storm, and after the main damage has been done.
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2. The Doll
great introduction to the fictional reconstruction of a notebook πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜‰ and some of the notes within the text are fun, awa structuring and progressing the story πŸ™‚

the intensity (of feeling, of thought, of ++) is really well conveyed πŸ™‚ obsession?
great imagery and language in places. and a great ending - left feeling the despair and utter unknowing/lostness πŸ™‚
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3. And Now to God the Father
this story brought a big change of pace, and a lighter tone. it also takes us back into the realm of the more mundane.
the new and modern, charismatic and charming, vicar... the population forgive his being high church cos of all the things they like about him... and that he teaches/understands their sin πŸ˜‰
his scheming manipulation, ever securing his position in society thru strategic connections.
high contrast against the more local backdrop of class, gender, disability, poverty... the very real lives of those around him, including eg the curate...
felt very tongue in cheek, while at the same time providing serious social comment
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4. A Difference in Temperament
individuality within a relationship vs doing everything together -
two opposing/polarised perspectives/feelings, a couple out of synch. miscommunication and misunderstanding. the characters wanting to behave better, not necessarily wanting to react as they do. each waiting for the other to make the first move, the placating move. I found this very well written.

"but that's not what I meant, he thought, that's not what I meant at all"

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5. Frustration.
a VERY long engagement... and abit of a disastrous wedding night πŸ˜†
a comedy more than anything, and a good antidote/foil to the story before πŸ™‚
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6. Piccadilly.
a woman on the corner/street, commiserating on what a dirty job a man has being a newspaper boy πŸ˜‰ Maisie tells him her story... one of choices based on superstition and symbol πŸ™‚
excellent character telling story, and monologue πŸ˜ƒ
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7. Tame Cat.
a child growing up... perceptions and hopes.
her mother still sees her as a child... tho Uncle John can see the difference, and/or is abit creepy :/😯 and she's still young enough to be oblivious to his interest πŸ˜‰
John as a tame cat... revealing himself to be a predatory cat...
her mother coming to erroneous conclusions too!
really interesting the different perspectives and reactions to a girl coming of age πŸ™‚
the girl herself, who initially thought she was all grown up now, gradually understanding the dynamics and meanings, and thus finally coming of age at the end of the story πŸ™‚
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8. Maisie.
I think this was the same Maisie from 6/'Piccadilly' πŸ˜ƒ
a day in her life - her friend Dolly's death following flu... her heart knocking against her chest... she meets Nora, who is well out of sorts (an sti? or an abortion?).
the difficulty of making ends meet on the street...
the thoughts and encounters Maisie has as she goes about her day... the cost of everything... an older woman begging.
Maisie's futures meeting her in the street. Maisie not being able to do anything about them, but focus on the moment.
I thought this was excellent πŸ˜ƒ poignant without being laboured.
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9. Nothing Hurts For Long.
a woman waiting for her husband, who is returning from three months away. she's focussed completely on his return, all thru that day, even tho he's not returning until evening. she's called to a friend whose relationship has ended, and gives sympathy and/or advice.
she returns home in time, but her husband is late.
I enjoyed her thoughts in this space of time, about who she is and what she is doing to herself for her man...
when he finally returns, she doesn't fully recognise him, and there's a new distance in their relationship.
the jingling his money in his pockets suddenly took me back to the man by the river in story 8! πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜ I loved the subtle interconnectedness of some of the stories πŸ™‚πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜
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10. Weekend.
another relationship that has experienced distance - he in India, she in London...
they're kinda congratulating themselves and each other about what a great connection they have... she tuning into his mood... how by the next day they give each other pet names and develop their own language.
for a while it even felt it's possible they're simply playing at the relationship, having only come together for the weekend, at the beach.
again there's a noticing of difference, compared to their previous knowing of each other within their relationship.
they take a boat out, and get stranded in a bay, and argue... ALOT! it begins to rain πŸ˜† they see each other very differently, the rosiness gone.
the realisation that they're not at all compatible, and don't much like each other πŸ˜†
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11. The Happy Valley.
a woman in place.
a meeting, a connecting, and yet a slight remove on her part. an interestingly sketched story. a circularity. their dreams, some of which they recount, and the story has a dreamlike quality in places πŸ™‚ her 'abstraction', out of place/time -ness. the chronology and reality of events is (deliberately) confusing. it suggested several possibilities, and it felt very complex wrt time and reality πŸ™‚ the story had a great suspense and eeriness to it. "only herself was real".
I think this was my favourite (for its feeling) within the collection πŸ™‚πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜β™�
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12. And His Letters Grew Colder.
written in letters from one party to another, a man to a woman. you piece together some of what is happening in between.
a man writing his apparent infatuation with a woman, wanting more. there's reciprocation, a building relationship, but there are external constraints (tho not explicitly described). he comes across as romanticising and focussed on his own desires, tho occasionally acknowledges hers. then after a month away together, he seems to be backing off abit, citing her safety wrt not being seen together. suddenly worrying about the consequences late into the relationship, perhaps after he's gotten what he wanted.
it's quite uncomfortable to read - he's increasingly controlling, rejecting, dismissive, patronising, insulting πŸ™πŸ˜¬πŸ˜’
I thought it was well written to evoke all those emotions etc, and for me to be siding with a woman who's words I've never heard/read πŸ˜ƒ
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13. The Limpet.
a woman narrating some of her life to date, starting with her current adult circumstances, and linking back to childhood experiences, then back to adulthood. her 'sensitivity'.
a hilarious portrait of a very manipulative young woman! πŸ˜† very much 'that woman'! "...and noone can call me indiscreet" πŸ˜†
so very tongue in cheek.
in my mind, fasure a rival for some of Alan Bennett's pieces - I think in part it's the monologue making me think to him, awa the kind of character and humour.
at just under an hour, I initially thought it might be a little long, but it went by quickly πŸ˜―πŸ™‚
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accessed as a library audiobook, very well read by Hattie Morahan πŸ™‚