#60 - Don't Look Now and Other Stories - Daphne Du Maurier (Choice: Nic's)(Venue: 2Veneti, Wigmore Street)

Present: Nic and Gill

Well, what a turnout!  But what we lacked in numbers we made up for in enthusiasm for the Venetian theme, starting our evening with an Aperol spritz and following up with beef carpaccio; salami with cheese mousse; ravioli with pumpkin and Amaretto; and fritto misto, with a salad and mashed potatoes; all washed down with a light and subtle but flavoursome Venetian Valpolicella and followed by tiramisu.

Did we talk about the book?  Well, yes, briefly, and we loved it.

Venice by moonlight, Feb 2011 (c) Nic

The eponymous story of this collection was a tightly woven, atmospheric piece with not a wasted word but an abundance of Venetian detail and intrigue and a truly chilling ending that was slow to leave me as I tried to get to sleep.  I can still conjure up an echo of the physical palpitation I felt at the denoument just by bringing back to mind the clear mental picture Du Maurier crafted of the two characters facing each other at the climax.

Not After Midnight was chosen as the lead story of and name for this collection when it was originally published in the UK and that too was a haunting tale.  Despite the fact that it was narrated by the teacher, I still felt unsure of his survival at the end.  

My least favourite was The Way of the Cross, notwithstanding it was a clever exercise in sociology and group dynamic which finds humanity wanting. However, I did like the young boy's questioning of his party's failure to stop and help a stranded motorist on the road where the Good Samaritan did his thing and it is true that most characters grew through their group experience.

The Breakthrough also had a chilling religious overtone but we could not help a greater fondness for the simple but enjoyable Border Line Case, a suspenseful tale of a young lady who unwittingly has sex with her father.

After that, the conversation meandered through Devon and Cornwall to family and Christmas.  It was a delightful evening but our absentees were, of course, missed.