The House on the Strand

Rating:
Summary: A Dismal Book with No Meat.
Review: After absolutely loving DuMaurier's Rebecca, I had high expectations for this book, especially since the storyline based on time travel sounded promising. I was disappointed and frustrated when the novel did not deliver what it promised. First of all, it contained barely anything resembling a plot. The main character just wandered around, secretly used the drug, and became violently ill. Lather, rinse, repeat. The detailed descriptions of his pain and retching were especially unpleasant. The time-travel scenes did at least have a storyline, but it was disjointed, confusing, and incomprehensibly written; this was compounded by the fact that the historical characters had near-identical surnames (I realize that there was a minor reason for this, but it proves a huge disadvantage for the reader). The spark of romantic connection between Isolde and the main character was also promising, but nothing came of it. I read the entire book, hoping that there was a point somewhere, but not even the smallest payoff ever surfaced. This book just rambled around in the gloom without any direction or destination, and I found it dry, unenjoyable, and a waste of my time.

Rating:
Summary: Easy-to-read and immensely enjoyable
Review: After fighting my way through Rebecca, this author wasn't on the top of my 'must-read' list. But for whatever reason I tried The House on the Strand, I am grateful. An interesting story well told that wraps you up and carries you along.

Rating:
Summary: I guess I just didn't get it
Review: Anyone who has ever read Rebecca knows that Daphne du Maurier was always ahead of her time. Her concern with what we now call Women's Issues was a hallmark in all of her works.

In none of her books is that more apparent than in The House on the Strand. Although the viewpoint character is male, the concern for women's rights still shines through.

If you have seen the TV miniseries 'The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan' or the motion picture 'Somewhere in Time' you will at first think that both of them somehow got their inspiration from this book when you first start reading it. But this is much deeper than either of those stories. While the major character does indeed flash backwards and forwards in time, his discoveries in the past help him understand his present circumstances. The emphasis then is not on his wanting to 'escape' the present, as in the two movies, but on wanting to understand how the present and the past interrelate.

Also, some of the minor characters are historically real, and this adds a lot of interest to the tale. It makes you want to go visit the area in southern England where the story is set, and do a little investigating for yourself.

Provides some real food for thought.

Rating:
Summary: years ahead of its time
Review: Anyone who has ever read Rebecca knows that Daphne du Maurier was always ahead of her time. Her concern with what we now call Women's Issues was a hallmark in all of her works.

In none of her books is that more apparent than in The House on the Strand. Although the viewpoint character is male, the concern for women's rights still shines through.

If you have seen the TV miniseries 'The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan' or the motion picture 'Somewhere in Time' you will at first think that both of them somehow got their inspiration from this book when you first start reading it. But this is much deeper than either of those stories. While the major character does indeed flash backwards and forwards in time, his discoveries in the past help him understand his present circumstances. The emphasis then is not on his wanting to 'escape' the present, as in the two movies, but on wanting to understand how the present and the past interrelate.

Also, some of the minor characters are historically real, and this adds a lot of interest to the tale. It makes you want to go visit the area in southern England where the story is set, and do a little investigating for yourself.

Provides some real food for thought.

Rating:
Summary: Flawed, but Worthwhile...
Review: As a lifetime fan of time travel stories, I was enthralled by this somewhat outdated, but nonetheless absorbing, Du Maurier gem. In a departure from her usual period pieces, Du Maurier has used a then-modern setting for this tale of a man who dabbles in time travel experimentation while house-sitting for a friend. As the time travel becomes more addictive (and simultaneously destructive) the reader is alternately amused by his role as the harried husband and father, and caught up in the time travel episodes he experiences, wherein he becomes a voyeur to the lives of a long-dead clan. While the novel occasionally becomes bogged down by overly elaborate details, it is well-worth the read and left me feeling satisfied at its end.

Rating:
Summary: A Superb Piece of Literature
Review: Daphne du Maurier has a very rare talent, and that is to concisely describe the little details that make up such a great part of her stories. She notices the dust on the windowsill, a certain glance of light, the ant crawling through the grass, and turns it from a trivial, fleeting thought into a concrete one. It's so natural. The human mind is capable of so many thoughts, but few human minds can capture them so perfectly.

But enough digression... This was a grand and glorious book, about a guy and his scientist friend Magnus. Written in first person as many of D du M's books are, right away the story draws the reader into the very mind of the main dude (whose name I cannot remember so I'll call him "I"). Basically, the main guy is Magnus' guinea pig. Magnus is one of those scientists who, like Dr Jekyll or Dr Frankenstein, delve into the unknown and in the end destroy themselves or others. Magnus does both. In a way, more than Magnus or Mr I, the drug Magnus creates is the main character. It is a dangerous menace. And addicting. Magnus and Mr I cannot be content with only one trip. The trips take them many years back in history to their town as it used to be, and "I" particularly is caught up in the lives of certain people there. Magnus is the same to a less determined degree.

The trouble is that when Magnus extracted Mr I's promise to do the experiment, "I" was not counting on his wife and sons coming around to see him at Magnus' house...

So he has to be careful when and where he takes the drug. Sometimes he winds up very far from home. Sometimes it leaves him ill. But he is caught up in history and will not be content to stop.

The ending is unrivalled. There is no other book that I've ever read with such an unexpected last paragraph. Do me and yourself a favour and don't dare look at the last page until you get there. The entire impact of the book rests on that last line.

I recommend this book with all my heart. It is altogether fascinating and I want to read it again very soon.

Rating:
Summary: An oustanding edition of an enduring DuMaurier novel.
Review: Daphne DuMaurier's House On The Strand tells of an experimental concoction which enables time travel, and of a man who finds himself in the 14th century addicted to time travel. An outstanding edition of a classic DuMaurier novel.

Rating:
Summary: A little flat
Review: Du Maurier's "Rebecca" and "The Scapegoat" are both among my all-time favorites, and after reading the reviews here, I was looking forward to "House on the Strand." I've got about 40 pages left, though, and am not a fan of this book.

While the story itself is intriguing, I am not hooked -- even on repeat readings of the other two books I mentioned, I couldn't put them down. This one ... it just doesn't pull me in. I think it's because the characters are all rather two-dimensional -- both in the past and present. I didn't really care what happened to any of the people the narrator interacts with; rather, the most interesting thing to me is his growing addiction to this time-travel drug. So in that respect, I liked it -- and that point, along with Du Maurier's writing, is why I gave this as many stars as I did.

Rating:
Summary: A little flat
Review: Du Maurier's "Rebecca" and "The Scapegoat" are both among my all-time favorites, and after reading the reviews here, I was looking forward to "House on the Strand." I've got about 40 pages left, though, and am not a fan of this book.

While the story itself is intriguing, I am not hooked -- even on repeat readings of the other two books I mentioned, I couldn't put them down. This one ... it just doesn't pull me in. I think it's because the characters are all rather two-dimensional -- both in the past and present. I didn't really care what happened to any of the people the narrator interacts with; rather, the most interesting thing to me is his growing addiction to this time-travel drug. So in that respect, I liked it -- and that point, along with Du Maurier's writing, is why I gave this as many stars as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Read
Review: Great story of a modern man experimenting with a special concoction that causes him to shift back in time mentally but he is moving in the modern world. After one episode he finds himself in the moors in the rain after the drug wears off. The end is really interesting. Really an incredible read, and you'll read it more than once!