Name: The Breakthrough
ISBN: 9780241339206

Daphne Du Maurier

Anon

Dispatch the maimed, the old, the weak, destroy the very world itself, for what is the point of life if the promise of fulfilment lies elsewhere? On the windswept coast of rural Suffolk, a deranged scientist attempts to extract the essence of life itself.

The Breakthrough

Andrew John Kinney

My father always recommended Rebecca by du Maurier, possibly because he had worked for her husband, General Browning, in Ceylon in WW2, and for that reason took an interest in her writing. Whatever the reason for his recommendation, I never took to Rebecca - I think I started it twice and gave up out of boredom both times. So when I saw this slim volume (The Breakthrough) by du Maurier, I decided to try it and see if a completely different genre (sci-fi) might make her work more appealing to me. Not so much, as it turns out. The book is quite readable, but ultimately was a disappointment. The main character is not very likeable, and the other characters are not very developed, and the book holds no particular moral in store for the reader.

I did not hate the book, but I will not be trying other things by du Maurier absent a very strong recommendation by someone whose opinion I respect.