Customer Reviews

I'll Never be Young Again

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Although described as a "sensitive portrait of a young man in love", Daphne du Mauriers "I'll never be young again" is much more than that. It is the unassuming mental journey of a young man, rescued from suicide, as he rediscovers joys and beauties of the world and regains a place amongst people and society.

Richard, leaving an unhappy childhood and a cold family behind him, moves on in life, trying to understand himself and what he wants from life. He makes journeys through Europe, treks through mountains and drinks in cafes in cities, until finally settling down with Hesta, a Parisian girl. Through his narrations and stories we go through his mind, understand people, psychology and social behaviour. The book is so beautifully and gently written that while the narrator himself doesnt make loud proclamations about whats going on around him, we feel at times we can understand more of whats happening than he can.

While it isn't as much as a story as a study in psychology, this book is definitely a must read.

"I'll Never Be Young Again" is Du Maurier's second novel, and as such shows both her strengths and weaknesses. One of the many things I love about her novels is her unparalleled ability to get into the heads of her characters. The protagonist here, Dick, is no exception. I didn't find him to be sympathetic character at all, especially in the second part of the novel (set in Paris)--but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, because it is precisely Du Maurier's skill in forming her characters that made me dislike him so. And to think she was only about 23 or 24 when she wrote this book! (In part, I think her being the same age as Dick and possibly feeling and experiencing some of what he feels and experiences is largely what made his character so believable.) While "I'll Never..." doesn't have the suspense and narrative pull of some of her later books, most notably Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek and My Cousin Rachel, it is still a strong book by an excellent writer. For those new to Dame Du Maurier, I'd recommend starting with one of the books I previously mentioned, but for her fans, "I'll Never..." is a must-read.

Daphne du Maurier's second novel is written in the voice of Dick, the only son of a famous but cold father, who at the age of 21 is determined to kill himself until caught by Jake, a slightly older man who has just come out of prison for killing a former friend. The pair immediately bond and form an unlikely friendship and begin the ultimate road trip, finding passage as sailors on a boat to Scandinavia and travelling across the Swedish mountains on horseback.

While the book is very well-written, Dick is ultimately a self-absorbed and unlikable character with no real redeeming qualities. It is difficult to understand why Jake, who has the maturity and wisdom that come with the passing years, puts up with him. When Dick moves onto Paris and begins a self-absorbed love affair with a talented musical student, he demonstrates all the selfishness and faults of Jake's former friend.

While I'll Never Be Young Again is a fantastic example of the technical skill and quality of Daphne du Maurier's writing even at a very young age (she was only 23 when she penned this book), I found the storyline and main character too unlikable to fully enjoy this book.

Richard is twenty-one, and feels his life has no meaning. He would like to become a writer, but he can't measure up to his father, a well-respected poet, and has no idea where to go from here. And so, just when he has given up on everything, Jake comes along. Jake is older, mysterious and philosophical. He lost his youth through some rather rough circumstances, and mourns the fact that he will never be young again. However, he is determined to live youth through Richard. And when they embark upon a journey through Europe, Richard goes through a journey of his own -- one of self-discovery. But during this journey, he will have to put up with the same things others had once had to put up with him.

Most early efforts are somewhat autobiographical. I have a feeling that this novel was very personal for Daphne du Maurier. As I read this book, I couldn't help but wonder if she, like Richard, had difficulty finding her own voice as a writer. I also wonder if she'd felt she didn't measure up to her grandfather, George du Maurier. I haven't read any of her autobiographies and memoirs, so I don't know. I'll Never Be Young Again is a coming-of-age story. It was also Du Maurier's second novel -- her first featuring her "male alter ego." The relationship between Richard and Jake is interesting, to say the least. And there are similarities between that relationship and Richard's later relationship with Hesta, only in reverse. (You'll see what I mean once you read this.) And if you read it and think that Richard is whiny and insufferable... you're not alone. As for the novel itself, while it lacks the wonderful writing of later works like Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, Mary Anne and The House on the Strand, it is quite good nevertheless. It isn't great though. The narrative lags in certain parts. However, I don't think Daphne du Maurier was capable of writing a bad book, and an average effort from her would be a masterpiece for somebody else. I look forward to reading Du Maurier's remaining backlist.

This book was a little bit hard to get into because of the writing style. As many can agree, the main character is irritating most of the time. If he was supposed to be an admired and heroic character it would have made for bad writing, but to me it was clear that she was purposely portraying him in an unflattering light.

While he is on his adventures with his friend, he only appears to be naive and foolish, prone to flights of fancy, mood swings, and quick changes in philosophy (as one reviewer suggested, "bipolar"). This section of the book had a lot of long-winded descriptions that I skimmed past.

When he ends up in Paris and meets a girl, he goes from being a foolish youth to being a self-important, pretentious chauvinist. When he espouses ideas, it doesn't seem that any of them are originally or genuinely believed by him; it seems he just says a lot of psuedo-intellectual things to make himself feel brilliant. He falls in love with a girl, pressures her for sex and cohabitation when he wants it, and when he gets over his infatuation, he only thinks of her in terms of meeting his needs. There are several instances when he is directly hypocritical ("it's one thing for me to say or do such a thing, but for a woman, it's unacceptable") which are a bit over the top. It would have been more realistic either for him to not realize his hypocrisy or to come up with rationalizations for it.

During this time he is preoccupied with writing a book. Based on his lack of introspection and empathy for others, I didn't think he would be a good writer. Let's just say with both the book and the girl, he gets what he deserves.

Throughout all phases of the book, I lacked sympathy for him most of the time, because he was still a rich kid. His outdoorsy adventures were a break from living like a rich kid, but in Paris he still seemed to live a mostly decadent lifestyle.

The ending of the book was realistic in that all his issues were not magically solved. In the end, he comes to terms with being an average person--not a wild adventurer, and not a brilliant poet. There is endless advice about following your dreams and seizing the day--but the downside of that is that people can't just enjoy the little things because they feel they need to constantly chase grandiose opportunities. He follows (what he thought were) his dreams, but he also learns to deal with reality. It is rare to hear the message that not everyone can be a star and that it's good to be an ordinary person, but I felt that it was in a way the moral of the story.

Dick is contemplating throwing himself off a bridge, but is 'saved' by Jake. They take a long, rambling journey through Norway, and possibly some other places, but I don't know for sure because I just couldn't read it anymore. Dick is trying to escape the influence of his 'famous poet' father, but it seems like the book is an excuse for du Maurier to feature her poetic descriptions of the fjords. Dick himself seems to be suffering from bi-polar disorder, alternately in love with and disenchanted by any experience he engages in often swinging from moody to moodier almost instantly. It's enough to make the reader just as crazy.

Du Maurier's second novel begins in London as Richard (Dick) is snatched from attempting to take his own life by wanderer Jake. The two men strike up an instant friendship and begin a devil-may-care look at life and jump on the first ship leaving town and head for Sweden. They trek the mountains and party with tourists as a steamboat cruises the fjords until they finally end up in a brawl that sends them catching the first boat out of Stockholm - although that boat is destined for a fate that forever separates the two friends.

Adrift again but no longer suicidal, Dick leads a shiftless life in Paris drifting from job to job as he dreams of becoming a writer like his famous father, until one day he meets young music student Hesta and they settle into a relationship - although Dick still shrugs responsibility and puts off writing his "great book". Dick eventually begins to mature through his relationship with Hesta, but the relationship becomes strained as Dick's influence in her life changes her from a sensible grounded student into a carefree partying drifter no longer interested in her music lessons.

Ironic, isn't it? But so true to life - didn't we all hate our parents and do really stupid things when we were young? I believe this is the first time Du Maurier used her famous "male voice" and she shows remarkable insight into Dick's not so very likeable character (I did want to smack him on Hesta's behalf a few times). While not up to what she wrote in her later years, if you're a fan of Du Maurier's you might want to give this one a whirl - It's one that will definitely stay with you for a bit as you reflect back on your own misspent youth. I almost gave it three stars, but then it _is_ Du Maurier after all. 4/5 stars.