The slim little book was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock’s ’Vertigo,’ the film about one man’s obsession with a woman who is not what she seems. It was fascinating to read this as the seed for the film; like Daphne DuMaurier’s short story that inspired ‘The Birds,’ Hitchcock hewed very closely to the source material. Unfortunately, that means that the first 1/3 of the book is a little dull, as Flaviere, the would-be detective, follows Madeleine around Paris at the request of his friend—and her husband—Cevigne, who is concerned about her erratic behavior The book really only picks up when Flaviere rescues her from drowning, and he quickly decides he is in love with her, whatever her mental state. The movie follows the story closes, but the book begins on the eve of the German invasion of France in WWII, which intensifies the sense of impending doom to their relationship. No need for humiliating the filmic best friend Midge in the book, since we do not need a fourth character to provide insight into Flaviere’s interior life—I was happy that doormat Midge was entirely the director’s creation. Not subject to film censors, the book also has a bit of a surprising ending for those familiar with the film. All in all, worth a comparison to Hitchcock’s film, once you slog through the beginning.