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Rebecca

Daphne du Maurier

Start date: June 1, 2017

Finish date: June 30, 2017

Why we're reading this: June 2017 Classic - Love Story
[close] June 2017 Classic - Love Story

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Jun 17, 2017 Viv JM rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, fiction-classic, rt-challenge-jun-17, gothic, read-in-2017, z-2017-author-female, 1001-books-project, audio, author-female, read-harder-challenge-2017

"Rebecca" is one of those books I've been meaning to read for years and yet never got around to. "Wuthering Heights" was another such book and I read that last year and loathed it, so I was somewhat nervous about tackling this! I needn't have been because I absolutely LOVED it :-)

The writing is superb. I loved the setting at Manderley Hall (a character in its own right) and the way we slowly grow to learn more about Rebecca, raising suspicion that she might not have been all that her reputation ...more

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Jun 04, 2017 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio

I enjoyed this so much more this time than last. The audio was the best medium, I think.

10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2020 Brad rated it really liked it

Shelves: 100-epic-reads-of-a-lifetime

Mrs. de Winter shan't have done it that way!

I liked Rebecca, and I can't imagine how intrigued I would be if I had read it in 1938. Today, though, I'm a bit jaded with the weakness of the narrator, and the snarling darkness of Mrs. Danvers. I think Maxim was flushed out just enough to be a tortured, romantic hero.

There was an abruptness in the story too that I didn't really care for. The weather acted as a symbol for the narrator's changing feelings so I suppose that it was intentional. I also Mrs. de Winter shan't have done it that way!

I liked Rebecca, and I can't imagine how intrigued I would be if I had read it in 1938. Today, though, I'm a bit jaded with the weakness of the narrator, and the snarling darkness of Mrs. Danvers. I think Maxim was flushed out just enough to be a tortured, romantic hero.

There was an abruptness in the story too that I didn't really care for. The weather acted as a symbol for the narrator's changing feelings so I suppose that it was intentional. I also forget that I am in my 40s now so getting into the head of a naive twenty-something bride is a bit of a challenge.

The story captivated me, and even though it started out slow, it ended in a frantic, suspenseful way.

SPOILERS BELOW

Mrs. Danvers may have been a bit too evil to be believable. I mean with the whole speech about hating the narrator and asking her to kill herself, then opening the window for her to jump. WTF? I really don't understand what she had to gain? The narrator was a sniveling, frightened child who would do anything Mrs. Danvers asked. If she truly wanted Manderley to be Rebecca's Manderley than the frightened bride would have been better used as an asset than as an enemy. Danvers obviously knew that Rebecca didn't care a bit about who Maxim loved. Hating his knew wife didn't seem to ring true to me. C'mon Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca was an evil bitch, and even though you worshipped her, she still was an evil bitch. The only reason you hated the narrator was because she was being called Mrs. de Winter and that was Rebecca's title. You're as insane as she was.

Rebecca is also almost too evil. What kind of woman tricks a man into marrying her, and then reveals her true super slutty ways in less than a week? It seems pretty obvious that she was a sociopath and used sex as a weapon of punishment. I don't understand why she altered Manderley so much and made it such a success if she pretty much hated everyone. Was it just her favorite game to play? Also, I do 100% believe that she baited Maxim into shooting her so that she wouldn't have to undergo the months of torture that lay ahead of her.

The narrator or the second Mrs. de Winter was such a snowflake when she thought that Maxim loved Rebecca. I know that times were different, but simply saying early on, "I shall be satisfied dear Maxim if you love me a mere fraction of the love that you felt for Rebecca." Then at least he could have told her that he didn't like Rebecca and in fact, he hated her. However, self-consciousness was probably her defining characteristic. It was a little nice to see her grow a backbone when she realized that Rebecca couldn't torture her.

My Revisions
This was a soapy enough story that I almost wish that Rebecca had a child that she hid from Maxim that would be bestowed on him at the end of the novel with his name on the birth certificate, but always knowing that the child wasn't his.

Also, I wish that Mrs. Danvers had thrown herself out the window rather than running away. I mean, what is life without Rebecca? ...more

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Sep 17, 2013 Kaycie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 1001_read

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

No, seriously, last night I dreamt I went to Manderley. I spent yesterday reading the last 1/4 of the book because I could not put it down without knowing what happened, and I spent the night dreaming I was in Manderley. The book was that real. And that gripping.

I loved everything about this book. I've already said it was real...the characters were real and wonderful, the scenery was breathtaking, the suspense was terrifying. It was also beautiful. ...more

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