Absolutely loved this book - it traces the life of Julius Levy, born into poverty on the outskirts of Paris in 1860 to a Catholic mother and a Jewish father, from childhood to old age. Julius is part of a family of market stallholders - he, his mother, father and maternal grandfather - barely making a living, their lives made even worse by the invasion of the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War. After tragedies strike the family, Julius and his father make their way to Algiers (where his father was born) and here Julius learns to live by his wits - his maxim 'something for nothing' is repeated throughout the book. However, it is never 'nothing' as Julius always applies himself to making money and sustaining a living for him and his father. The only problem Julius has is his total lack of empathy with others and he merely uses people and takes advantage of them. After the death of his father, Julius leaves for England where he starts in a poor job but shows great alacrity in making money and a success of his life. However, it is all at a cost - Julius only forms relationships with difficulty and, even then, those he loves he has to control. Julius is not a nice person by any stretch of the imagination and does some awful things but I was strangely drawn to this story of his life, one of never-ending success from a material point of view but never making true friends or maintaining 'proper' relationships, particularly with his wife and teenage daughter Gabriel. This was an astounding piece of work with some really deep and meaningful observations, particularly bearing in mind that the author was only 26 when she wrote it. 10/10 for me for this one.
This is my second Du Maurier book. It is so vastly different from the first in subject matter and the characters are also very different, however the books are similar in that there is the rapid development and strong personalities of the characters that make it easy to get into the book right away. Some of the things that happen in the story are quite shocking and at the same time not shocking at all considering who is doing them.I think this book will have me thinking for a long time, and I imagine that although her books are often classified as suspense, most of her stories will probably tend to do that.I remember telling someone that I thought Hitchcock should have had her write a movie script for him only to find out that one of her stories, 'Birds' was made into a Hitchcock movie. So there you go.She is one of the few authors that I will need to read all of.
Wow. Just finished my second Du Maurier, written when she was only 24, tracing the life of an extreme egotist from the day of his birth on page one to his death at age 72 in the last line of the last page. A man who lives for life, dominates every scene, gathers possessions until he's the richest man in England, has no friends, loves nothing, uses and destroys everyone close to him, and dies broken and alone. Only very occasionally does he have a slight glimmer of regret that he is an inhuman monster. Sounds like a 300 page cliche, but in Du Maurier's hands, it is riveting. Astonishing that someone so young could imagine so much that had to be beyond her experience, paint such vivid pictures, and create such unforgettable characters.
—Jon
Du Maurier is shockingly brilliant at getting into the heads of people who are full of anger, hate and destruction. The eponymous Julius is a driven man, ambitious and hungry for successes, but he is also brutal, and he leaves death and misery in his wake.It’s in many ways a clever book, full of insight and with powerful descriptions. It’s also demoralising, distressing and deeply uncomfortable. You probably know if you can accept that trade off. I read it and valued it, but I won’t read it again, I think. Perhaps there are things I have more insight into than I did before, but I find myself wondering whether I am better off for that.
—Nimue Brown
JULIUS.Arrogant. Selfish. Egotistical. Ambitious. Ruthless.Can any person have all these trait and still be able to live with himself ?Read JULIUS. You will be surprised with his guiding philosophy, “Nothing for Something”. This is Daphne Du Maurier’s third book, published a year after her marriage. Who do you think was her inspiration ? Was it someone real or imaginary? Or traits picked from different people she met? This is one mystery, I would like an answer to.Did I like the book and the character of Julius? Not really. Unlike Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, there is no suspense in JULIUS.
—Meera M
