Hungry Hill

This was a great family saga! This had been sitting on my bookshelf for years. I knew the setting was Ireland so that's why I wanted to read it. I was hoping for more about the history of the times in Ireland, like the potato famine. I found it a little strange that the word "Ireland" was never mentioned in the book. (I think du Maurier had a reason for that.) The first half of the book is better than the second half. At least, I enjoyed those characters more. It's a great book but if I didn't know I never would have guessed du Maurier wrote it. It's nowhere near as good as "Rebecca." (I am a huge fan of "Rebecca.") The descriptions just aren't as good. But, it is a great read, especially if you like family sagas.

Or perhaps I should say "an expectedly good read" as it is by Daphne Du Maurier! I picked this book up in a log cabin in the Adirondacks, it having thoughtfully being left there by a previous vacationer, and couldn't put it down! While at some points in the novel you feel Du Maurier is being an upper-class patrician, there's an ironic twist to the tale that proves a thought-provoking dessert. Following the travails of a wealthy, landed Irish family, the Brodericks, the book is a critique of how the energetic, entrepreneurial founder of the family fortune left a mixed legacy to his descendants. The family's wealth does not leave it immune to the less attractive traits created by nature and nurture nor to the changing times. The story of this compelling clan (and their rivals) is a reminder that, no matter how fortunate, there is a very great limit to the control we have over our destinies.

I received the book in an excellent time. It is in good condition. I am excited to read the book and know it will be a good asset to my library. Thank you so much. I will purchase more from you if you have what I need come to auction.

A fascinating look at a wealthy family incompassing several generations. A truly remarkable work of fiction. Du Maurier, in my opinion, was one of the best storytellers of the 20th century. Without being overly philisophical she was brilliant in the way she wove a story together, and was almost poetic in her writing technique. The story is never dull and never predictable. A great read. Probably only available in used bookstores.

Exquisite period view of our living experience. From the "arranged" to the destined, by choice or by consequence maybe we can never be certain. You can feel the wind in your hair standing overlooking the moor with the smell of the damp earth beneath your soul ... the manor faintly lit by the evening light as you return with the dogs at your feet... the taker or the giver. Fate awaits you... a remarkable story of a generation etched in a time gone by. Daphne du Marier at her finest.