Nat realises though, that the attacks are affected by the tides. The birds break through the upstairs bedroom windows. No-one else pays him any heed as he boards up all the windows on his cottage and blocks all the chimneys except for the kitchen one. Nat notices the birds arriving in large numbers and after the shock of the first attack, realises he needs to prepare better. He lives with his wife and two young children in a cottage near the big farm, where he works three days a week on a war-time disability pension. The war is over, but still fresh in everyone’s minds. Nat is a rather solitary but caring English farmer. They just went on soaring and circling, rising, falling, trying their strength against the wind. It was the gulls that made the darkening of the sky. They were circling, hundreds of them, thousands of them, lifting their wings against the wind.
The book is completely different.īut it was not the sea that held his eyes. You can keep the creepy, scary images of the birds slowly amassing on the wires and rooftops if you like, but forget the plot and characters.
The second thing required when reading The Birds is to forget the movie. The next attack by the birds is imminent and we are left with the image of Nat smoking his last cigarette. We do not know what happened to the rest of the world thanks to the loss of all radio contact, even the foreign services, and we are left to wonder how Nat and his family will ultimately fare. Novelettes are often whimsical or romantic in tone (according to wikidictionary) but they have a clear structure, which can include some world building, character development and plotting. Like short stories they tend to have a limited cast of characters, simple plots with very few twists. Novelettes are known for their concise, complete nature and tight focus. The only conceivable way to join in this year was with a short story – The Birds to be exact.Īn initial search revealed that there has been a short story versus novelette controversy surrounding The Birds for a while.Īpparently (I did not count them myself) the word count is closer to novelette length, but the open ending is more typical of a short story. But I’m rather smitten with Daphne du Maurier’s work and I look forward to Ali’s special reading week each year to celebrate their shared birthdays. Lots of big reading plans not much blogging time.
On December the third the wind changed overnight and it was winter.
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