Part-time farm worker Nat Hocken is a quiet man who is not easily excited or rattled. But when he watches the local birds suddenly become vicious, Nat begins to suspect that something is very wrong, though nobody else chooses to believe him. Birds will birds, right? As others shrug off the threat of berserk birds as a bit daft, Nat is determined to protect those dearest to him from this bizarre menace, which leads him to a desperate fight for survival.How many of you have seen Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror film The Birds? Hitchcock is one of my favorite directors--he shares that title with Joel Coen. Well, Joel has him slightly beat, but I still adore Hitchcock's work. (Everyone must see The Trouble with Harry, I demand it! Do it now!) But I have never watched The Birds. I am a bad Hitchcock fan. Whatever. After you watch The Trouble With Harry, watch Strangers on a Train, too. It's extra creepy in a weird way. I am getting distracted. Ahem. How many of you know that The Birds is based on a novella by famed British suspense writer Daphne Du Maurier? I did not know that until a couple of weeks ago, which embarrassed me greatly, because I love Du Maurier. She is the author of quite possibly my favorite novel--Rebecca (If you haven't read that, do it now! Mrs. Danvers is the creepiest housekeeper ever! And Rebecca is, well, something to behold ^^)--and I love her other work as well, so I promptly checked out a copy of The Birds and read it. Dame Daphne didn't let me down.
I think the reason this novella is so disturbing is the precise reason that it shouldn't be. I mean, come on, it's a bird invasion! Compared with a zombie or alien invasion that seems quite tame. But Du Maurier, with her genius for making the mundane malevolent, ensures that a mass attack by birds is just as, if not more, spooky than undead flesh eaters. (Let's face it, birds have sharp pointy beaks and talons, and they are somewhat more speedy than zombies.) ^^
Set in rural Cornwell, England--a favorite setting for Du Maurier--The Birds plays very much with the idea that even the most idyllic hamlets are not immune to horror. I am a sucker for books with English settings--especially West County settings--so I enjoyed the British atmosphere, but I also think the rural setting made this more ominous and sinister than an urban setting. Rather than giving us a large group of characters to focus on in an emergency, Du Maurier instead limits her focus to Nat, his wife, and two small children. The result is an intense, claustrophobic tale. This story isn't super scary, but it is quite ominous and there are several scenes that are especially chilling. I enjoy atmospheric type suspense and horror very much, so I appreciated that this book wasn't the text equivalent of a slasher movie.
I also liked that the protagonist Nat is not an annoying idiot. So many horror/suspense tales have a cast of pure knuckleheads who I despise and wish death upon. (Hehe I am usually not disappointed.) Nat is resourceful and astute, and his intelligence is a major reason why I was rooting for him and was sympathetic to him. His wife is a little bit clueless, and consequently is annoying in a harmless sort of way, but she is not the focus of the story, so I was fine with that.
The Birds is an atmospheric suspense tale that is perfect for fans of more psychological horror. With its isolated setting and likable protagonist, this book reminded me very much of M. Night Shyamalan's alien invasion movie Signs, which is another one of my favorites. And, at only 30 some pages, this chilling tale is the perfect way to while away a humid summer afternoon. (Apologies for the somewhat intentional pun.) ^^
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Next Week: I have a special treat for all of you! I am pleased to announce that I will be doing an early review of Krista D. Ball's paranormal fantasy novella Harvest Moon. This is a great story that I can't wait to share with all of you! :)
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Today in Literary History: June 12th, 1942: On her thirteenth birthday, Dutch Jewish teenager Anne Frank is given a diary. She took the diary with her one month later when her family went into hiding from the Nazis, and she wrote in it regularly during her two years in seclusion. This diary--which went on to become an international bestseller as The Diary of a Young Girl--is one of my favorite books. I highly recommend it.
I've watched the Alfred Hitchcock version of "The Birds," I must say I was alternately horrified and bemused- old films and ancient special effects always makes me grin, but it was genuinely horrifying in some parts. I would also like to note this was the first and only horror movie I've seen, and I've read very little horror literature. If I do read horror stories, I prefer it to be mysterious and chilling, instead of constantly unsurprising yet extremely gory. I might like to pick this one up some time, it sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteFeathery, I think you'll like this one because it is very unique, and it is scary without being gratuitous. I like also good atmospheric or psychological horror (both film or book) and dislike gory horror. I prefer a well-crafted story with genuine scares to blatant manipulation.
ReplyDeleteHehe I like old horror film special effects. They can be so cheesy. (I shall have to watch The Birds.) :D Some of the old sci fi movies have hilarious special effects, too. ^^
I LOVE The Birds. Read it last year in English (I have the most awesome English curriculum ever). It scared me, probably mostly because you could TOTALLY see it happening. The fact that it's not zombies or aliens makes you think "Gosh...I wonder if this could happen to my town!"
ReplyDeletePlus, you never look at birds quite the same way again. Especially gulls. *shudder*
OOOH you're reviewing Krista's novel! Very nice! We CCers need to help each other out, and all that. :D
*gasp* You do have an awesome English curriculum! I really enjoyed this story very much, as well. Have you read anything else of Du Maurier's, Scott? She's quite good.
ReplyDeleteHehe I am a bit scared of birds, anyway, and this story didn't help matters. ^^
Yes! I can't wait to post my review of Harvest Moon. Krista did a fantastic job--it's an excellent novella. :)
I kind of watched The Birds while Penguins was at work, so she hasn't seen it yet. She wasn't particually happy about that. Ah well, it's revenge for that time she went to watch Madagascar with the family while I was playing soccer. Ha, take that!
ReplyDeleteHehe My brother and I are always doing that to each other . . . and then torturing the other with details. :D
ReplyDeleteDid you like the movie? Was it good? :)
Hey, I watched that movie when I was a kid and I thought it was scary. It's sort of like the Jaws movie only the sharks have wings. I don't think it's set in England, though. Hitchcock must have Americanized it to make it more frightening for his audience.
ReplyDeleteSharks with wings? o_O I sooooo need to see this movie! :D
ReplyDeleteBut I do believe you're right, just based on what I have read, that the movie is set in the U.S. and not England. That kind of disappoints me, because I am a diehard Anglophile. But scariness makes up for that. ^^
Hello, Chairman? You watched the Birds without me before we watched Madagascar without you. AND you watched Vertigo without me. I missed out on TWO HITCHCOCKS! You only missed out on an animated picture.
ReplyDeleteZella, you make this sound really good. I hate that I missed it (screw you, Chairman).
(Sorry Zella for putting you in the middle of a sibling fight)
And I watched Signs just the other day! So good. Scares the hell out of my other brother, O'Malley. He's never been able to cope with dogs barking or windchimes since. (strangely Twister was what turned me off windchimes).
Hehe No problem, Penguins. As I told your brother, my brother and I have had similar wars. (He watched The Departed without me . . . :( )
ReplyDeleteThe Birds is quite good. Now I want to watch it! *gasp* We could watch it together, Penguins! :)
Signs is so good! Probably my favorite alien movie, actually. Shyamalan's work has sort of went downhill recently, but have you watched The Sixth Sense? OMG! Wonderful movie! So haunting. :)
Oh, ya. The Sixth Sense is petrifying. It must be one of the best horror movies ever made. Btw Zella do you have a favorite book that's set in the Cornwall or West County area?
ReplyDeleteZella. Contact me when you find a copy of the birds. Then we watch it together via twitter. :)
ReplyDeleteEric, I have a few favorites set there, most of which have a suspense/mystery theme. Number one would probably be Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I love the atmosphere she paints of the Cornish countryside. Manderley--the estate the novel is set in--is almost like a character itself. I also adore Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, which takes Sherlock Holmes from London to Devon's broody, atmospheric Dartmoor. A lot of great Agatha Christie novels are set in Devon, which is where Christie was from. My personal favorite of those would probably be And Then There Were None, a creepy suspense tale which is set off the coast of Devon. And, though they aren't spooky, I adore Jane Austen novels, and two of my favorites--Northanger Abbey and Persuasion--are partially set in the town of Bath. That's all I can think of right now. :)
ReplyDeletePenguins, Brilliant! I shall let you know when I find a copy. I hope my library has one. If not, I will find a copy somehow! I have never watched a movie with anyone in Australia before! *gets excited* :D
Yay! So exciting! I've never watched a movie with anyone in America before. This is going to be fun, slightmy strange, yes, but fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Z. That's a lot! Happy birdwatching, you two! :)
ReplyDeletePenguins, We'll need to figure out when we'll both be awake to watch it! I am going to have to order it, but that shouldn't take too long. *is excited* :D
ReplyDeleteEric, LOL I got a little carried away . . . If you want the one with the best atmosphere, read Rebecca. Though I highly recommend the others, as well. :)