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    The Birds: And Other Stories
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    The Birds: And Other Stories
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    The Birds: And Other Stories
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Birds: And Other Stories

    Written by Daphne du Maurier

    Narrated by Michael Sinclair, James Langton, Katherine Kellgren and Barbara Rosenblat

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    "Anyone starting this book under the impression that he may sleepily relax is in for a shock...continually provokes both pity and terror." --The Observer (UK)

    A classic of alienation and horror, The Birds was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's dominance over the natural world. The mountain paradise of 'Monte Verità' promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three's a crowd . . .
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateJan 20, 2015
    ISBN9781478956334
    Unavailable
    The Birds: And Other Stories
    Author

    Daphne du Maurier

    Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989) has been called one of the great shapers of popular culture and the modern imagination. Among her more famous works are The Scapegoat, Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, and the short story "The Birds," all of which were subsequently made into films—the latter three directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

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    Reviews for The Birds

    3.5/5

    15 ratings18 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Some of these stories, especially "The Birds" and "The Apple Tree," I really liked. The others I just liked, without the adverb. "The Old Man" made me smile. I enjoyed the atmosphere of "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" but was kind of disappointed in the ending (although I'm SO glad she wasn't a vampire). "The Little Photographer" left me feeling squirmy; I couldn't decide what I wanted to happen to the main character. "Monte Verita" was almost awesome, but the turn it took at the end seemed weird to me.Overall, I really like the structure of du Maurier's stories. They circle back in a satisfying way, and often they're peopled with characters who either become overly emotional about smallish things or accept with a pragmatic shrug of the shoulders things that seem to warrant a bigger reaction.
    • 5/5
      I listened to the BBC audio dramatization of du Maurier?s The Birds (the same one Hitchcock based his movie on). It follows a family of three who have moved from London to the country. It takes place in England, it seems to be just after the war (WWII, I am assuming, as it was written in 1952). They notice birds congregating outside their home and becoming more and more aggressive. I really liked this. Boy, that ending was creepy!!! I did see the movie years ago, and now I?d be interested in seeing it again. As I look at other reviews, it seems the movie is quite different. I?m not sure how close the dramatization is, but I thought this BBC version was done very well!
    • 4/5
      This is my very first Daphne Du Maurier read and it will not be the last. The stories varied in quality but I enjoyed them all to some degree. The writing was superb, whether I liked the story or not. Can't wait to read her most famous works.1. The Birds - This is one of my favourite Hitchcock movies and the story is so different from the movie that it is hard to not compare it to the movie. I can see how Hitchcock used the atmosphere of the story and pulled a couple of scenes from it. I think I like the plot of the story here better than the movie but Hitchcock's version is too ingrained into me to not be a little disappointed to find they are so completely different. But I really liked this and think it is a brilliant piece of horror fiction. (4/5)2. Monte Verita - This starts off as a classic atmospheric eerie Gothic tale and there is a point, perhaps halfway through where it could have been closed off and ended. However, it is at this point that the story gets a second wind and turns into a more haunting and metaphysical tale of finding truth, the meaning of life, peace. Can (should) Utopia exist? Fine story-telling, though I preferred the first half. (4/5)3. The Apple Tree - Again, I liked this. A haunting, atmospheric tale. Briefly put, a man is haunted by an apple tree after the death of his wife. The tree is old, gnarled and misshapen. He wants to cut it down but his gardener thinks he can get it to flower this yeat. Perhaps the tree symbolizes his wife or his marriage but in the end getting rid of what ails you didn't make him happier. (4/5)4. The Little Photographer - This is about an incredibly horrible woman, The Marquise, who lounges around all day getting fatigued from painting her nails. She's lonely because her husband works a lot, though he's devoted. She moans and muses about her sad little life thinking how other women in her place would have an affair but no she hasn't not ever. But daydreams of affairs and flings turn to an encounter which has no emotions connected to it and The Marquise is a very class system oriented woman. Fortunately, she gets hers in the end. While I abhorred both main characters, the endings for both of them were as they deserved. (3/5)5. Kiss Me Again, Stranger - A young man lives a contented life, working, living with a couple for room and board and he's never been much one for the women, never having found anyone who really struck his fancy. But this particular night he meets her, the woman who makes him start thinking of a future, and he spends the evening with her on the bus, having coffee and not arriving back home until three in the morning. The next day he founds out something shocking. (4/5)6. The Old Man - Hmmm. The narrator is talking to the reader as if we've asked her a question and she proceeds to tell us about her neighbour, the Old Man, his wife, their three daughters and one son. They are an unusual family, keeping to themselves. The man is angry and temperamental, the wife devoted to him, the girls beautiful and hard works while boy is large and simple-minded. The story starts of frivolous and becomes darker and darker. Then when it reaches it's darkest moment DuMaurier changes the perspective with the final paragraph. I liked the story but that last twist threw me and it didn't resonate with me. A strange story really. (3/5)
    • 5/5
      I don't believe I read through the entire anthology, but it could just be because "The Birds" left such an impression. Having seen the film multiple times, I was surprised and pleased to discover that du Maurier's original story is even more compelling. The atmosphere is just chilling - not even Hitchcock could recreate it.
    • 5/5
      This was a fantastic reading. It's the story of a man who was haunted by an apple tree. The man's wife died a few moth ago. He is living on the countryside in a big house. A housekeeper and a gardener are the only persons who keep the everyday chores going. He didn't feel sad that his wife died. On the contrary he felt very happy to do what he wanted to do. In his big garden were several apple trees. One of them, which was the closest to the house, seemed to be dead since many years. There hadn't been any blossoms nor fruits in ages. Therefore he told the gardener to chop the tree down. The gardener wasn't compliant to fulfill the task because he discovered some blossoms and asked for giving the tree another chance. In fact the tree got more blossoms than any other of the apple trees and got also a load of fruits. Everybody loved the fruits but not the owner. There were more incidents during the year which I won't write due to not spoil the outcome. It's a story which I can strongly recommend. It is fast-paced and very gripping.
    • 4/5
      The book contains six stories differing in length. The first story is the most famous, because of Hitchcock's film. It is obvious that birds are important in this story, but halfway through the last story I was drawn into thinking about birds as well. This turned out to be the author's Intention.In between these two stories, there are some excellent short stories as well. The apple tree is my favourite, showing that some persons can haunt you even after death.
    • 5/5
      If only everyone had half Daphne du Maurier's flair with narrators, I wouldn't be wary of first person narratives at all. I love the way she writes: it feels dated, of course, but that just seems part of the flavour of her stories for me. And her skill with twists -- I don't know why her short stories aren't used more in creative writing classes, because they really demonstrate the power of the sting in the tail of a story.

      Anyway, I'm not sure which was my favourite story from this book. All of them had a hold on me while I was reading: The Birds creeped me out, and made me wonder -- what if something as bizarre and out of the blue happened? What would we do. Monte Verit? filled me with a sort of longing, really, to climb that mountain and at least see those women from afar, and I really liked the way it was put together, so that it only all made sense at the end. The Apple Tree was well done, with one of those so-revealing narrators that du Maurier was so good at, but it's definitely not my favourite -- and The Little Photographer just made me uncomfortable and angry; I saw the danger coming early, in that story, possibly through the help of having read reviews and from knowing what the sting in the tail would be like. Kiss Me Again, Stranger is a story I'd love to have written, with that slightly creepy nameless female and oh, that ending line. The Old Man is a really short one, but no less effective for that, and I'd best not spoil a word of it for future readers.
    • 3/5
      I'm a big fan of Hitchcock's film 'The Birds', which I've seen more times than I can remember, and I'm also a fan of Daphne du Maurier's novels, but this is the first time I'd read the story on which Hitchcock's film is based. Apparently du Maurier disliked the film, particularly the change of locale from Cornwall to America. The short story is much more low-key than the film, very much starker, the bleak landscape providing the perfect backdrop to the horror of birds suddenly becoming hostile and attacking people.The other stories in the book have the same theme of the ordinary and everyday suddenly seeming disturbing and even dangerous. 'Monte Verita' is the story of two friends and the beautiful but strange woman one of them marries. 'The Apple Tree' is a well-done tale of a man whose nagging, miserable wife dies leaving the man free. Except his freedom is short-lived. He becomes morbidly obsessed by one of the apple trees in his garden - it's as if his wife's sour presence haunts the apple tree, which bears freakishly profuse blossoms and apples that come off the tree rotten. 'The Little Photographer' features a rich, bored woman who idly begins an affair - not out of lust, but rather because she thinks it's the thing to do, and will make her life more interesting. Because she is the man's social superior, she thinks he will meekly accept her wish to end the affair - when he shows his stubborn, possessive side, she has no idea what to do.In 'Kiss Me Again, Stranger', a young man is drawn to an usherette in his local cinema. He dreams of making her his girl, but when he tries to find her again he discovers that she's disappeared under disturbing circumstances.The final story, 'The Old Man', is a subtle story about a man with a son who - unlike his daughters - just won't leave him alone.Du Maurier's plain writing style is the perfect complement to these stories in which everyday things and people take a sudden sinister turn. [September 2006]
    • 4/5
      A very different story to that I remember watching in balck and white on TV. Much more though provoking I thought especially the ending. The other short stories were gripping - excellent.
    • 4/5
      this book seemed as if they were trying to warn people of what animals can do. it seemed a little too fake and the movie did not help at all. i tell everyone i know that they should at least read this book just once for the fun of it.
    • 2/5
      I thought this book was pretty good. It wasnt confussing in any areas. what i didnt like about it is that it leaves you hanging in the end, it didnt really tell you want happened.
    • 4/5
      The story is about a man from a small costal town in Engand. Birds suddenly start gathering in large numbers. They attack everyone they see. The man tries to warn his neighbors, but they think he's crazy. He boards up his house, and takes his family inside. They try to wait out the attacks.
    • 3/5
      The Birds is a story of a small town being attacked by birds. The people, and the gov. cant explain why the birds are freaking out. Alot of their neighbors and friends get hurt or killed by the birds, and they are scared.The family covers their windows, and stocks up on food and other stuff to last them till the birds go away.
    • 3/5
      "The Birds" is a dramatic story of a small town in Europe being attacked by all different kinds of birds. Neither the citizens, nor the government can explain why the birds are doing this. All they know, is that they have to protect themselves. They witness many of their neighbors and friends injored or even killed by these birds, and they know that this is no joke.The family that the story follows boards up their house, stuffs the chimnies, and stocks up on food and other supplies to last them however long they are needing to stay hidden in their house.
    • 2/5
      Out of nowhere, a flock of birds starts attacking a small town. So, people are boarding up their houses to keep the psycho birds away. Some theories that the town members have as to why the birds are acting this way are: they are hungry, they are trying to save themselves from going extinct, the recent change in the climate is affecting their behavior. When the birds look at their reflections in windows or mirrors, they respond by swooping down and hitting the glass with full force. Many of them die this way; all of the remaining birds fly away.
    • 1/5
      it was... a different kind of story. very creative, but it was very predictable. you'll really enjoy this book if u dont have a short attention spand. it bored me to sleep. but i liked the part about the dude who got his eyes poked out by a bird
    • 3/5
      I read this aloud to my son, since he is studying birds this month :) It is actually a great example of attentiveness, and he certainly pays more attention to birds now... This is one of my favorite authors, Rebecca being my favorite book of hers. She is very good at suspense. The threat of danger implied. More in your imagination than in what is actually written.
    • 4/5
      A number of highly atmospheric and chilling short stories.