Rebecca
Ratings494
Average rating4.1
“If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.”
Why did it take me so long to pick this up?
Very addictive book, I read almost all of it one sitting (I had previously gone through only the first chapter). I was close to giving it 5 stars, but it wasn't quite there for me though. Overaall it was suspenseful story. Not as creepy/dark as I was expecting it to be, so I was a little disappointed there. Nevertheless, I still savored it.
I also enjoyed the characters despite the fact that they're all such terrible people, including Mrs. de Winter, the second, dear God, what-a-doormat. Fun to read about though. This is what I call unlikable characters done right.
I wish I had buddy read this. It's one on those books that provides plenty material for debates. The ending made me realize the parallels Jane Eyre which ignited in me the desire to read it again.
There are very few novels that have been so widely read and loved as Daphne Du Maurier's “Rebecca”. The novel has been praised for its suspense, its Gothic atmosphere, and its timeless love story.
The novel is set in England in the early twentieth century. The story centers around the second Mrs. de Winter, a young woman who is haunted by the memory of her husband's first wife, Rebecca. Rebecca was a beautiful and charismatic woman, who died under mysterious circumstances. The second Mrs. de Winter is constantly compared to Rebecca, and she begins to feel as though she will never be able to live up to her predecessor.
As the novel progresses, the reader is slowly drawn into the web of intrigue and mystery that surrounds Rebecca's death. And, as the truth about what happened to Rebecca is revealed, the reader is left feeling both shocked and satisfied.
“Rebecca” is a classic novel that is sure to please readers of all ages. If you are looking for a suspenseful, atmospheric, and romantic read, then this is the book for you.
I remember really liking this book.
It was a slow start but the ending was well worth it.
Definitely need to read this one again
Wow tellement long. Pas de surprise. Je suis resté pour le discours de classe, la toxicité, les fleurs.
C'est Downton Abbey ou quoi?
Rebeca es un fantasma que quedó muy fuerte en la vida de maxime y no para buen recuerdo, si no como el recuerdo de alguien horrible, malintencionada, mimada, llena de maldad y sobre todo prepotencia que hacia de la vida de maxime algo pesado y lleno de falcedad, un día por fin maxime es libre y decide empezar una nueva relación. Ahora esto es muy resumido, en sí el libro no me gustó nada, el final se pone más o menos interesante, maxime tampoco es una pera en dulce, la verdad es que si estaba mal pero no tan mal como la criada y niñera de rebeca qué tenía una obsesión nada sana con rebeca, la historia se me hizo un tanto lenta y sin partes de enganche, tediosa realmente.
I always heard this was a must-read book and I can see why. This book is phenomenal at setting an atmosphere and it doesn’t let up. There is a constant presence of the former wife Rebecca felt throughout the book.
The reason this isn’t a five start for me is simply because of how many hints the author gives away. The suspension is slightly lost when you understand more then the main character. It’s both good and bad that the main character is naïve, but since the readers are not it’s hard to suspend your understanding of what has happened. Since there is this gap, you simply have to wait for the main character to catch up and we end up going though some unnecessary scenes.
The writing and overall story are great. I honestly could not put this book down until I finished it.
Always a sense of fear when I read one of these classics, like I will be mocked if I don't like it, understand it, or fathom the significance of the red flowers in the blue vase on page 342.
FRETT NOT!! I loved it. Everything that is great and glorious about Rebecca has been said by greater people than I, However I am slightly stressed as to the fate of Frank & Jasper and I will think about that a lot.
Simply brilliant.
Sin duda este libro fue como las novelas de “tn”de su época. Sinceramente, yo esperaba otro desenlace pero supero mis expectativas. Es muy bueno y una gran opción, creo yo, para comenzar a leer clásicos o salir se un bloqueo lector.
An unlikely meeting, coupled with an unlikely attraction, makes this gothic romance a very likeable reading experience.
A young lady gets swept away to live with Maxim de Winter at his enormous ancestral home named Manderley. Maxim's previous wife, Rebecca, passed away, and the new shy, inexperienced, yet loving wife tries her best to fill Rebecca's shoes. But what happens when she tries to learn more about the family's past?
The answer to that question leads the reader down a rabbit hole filled with mystery, jealousy, scandal, and trepidation. Daphne du Maurier attacks all the senses and ratchets the tension of this ‘fish-out-water' story in many interesting ways.
One of the more sadistic angles is the psychological turmoil inflicted by the infamous Mrs. Danvers. I actually quite liked her character from start to finish. Hopefully I am not alone on this.
The ending was a tad anticlimactic but overall very nerve-inducing and fantastical
Never, and I mean NEVER underestimate a gothic literature girlie. It doesn't matter whether it's the tight-laced, freaky-ass Brontë Sisters or our incredible writer herself, Daphne Du Maurier. Don't underestimate the bitch.
I didn't think this was quite as suspenseful and tense as it was billed to be, but that ending! What!?
As someone named Rebecca, people always asked me “like the book” all the time and all I knew about the book was (a) it is old, (b) Rebecca was dead from the beginning (c) the narrator was unnamed and (d) it was gothic
For a book pushing 100, it holds up decently well. The unnamed protagonist, the looming atmosphere of Rebecca both are deeply evocative literary choices. The pacing is decent, although the protagonist's flights of fancy (social anxiety?) got a little old. I liked having a narrator who was as unfamiliar with high society at the time as the modern reader was.
2 star.
It was disappointing. I know this is a classic, and I went into the book with moderate expectations. The setup was quite interesting, as we got to know about Rebecca (the first wife) through the eyes and ears of the 2nd wife. In the beginning, the suspense about Rebecca and the characters of the house keeps you interested enough. But slowly, you feel there is no aim for the story, and we will be going through the daily activities of the house with minimal or no plot progression for nearly 40–50% of the book. Only in the last 120–130 pages does the plot get interesting. Still, at the end of the book, there is a non-satisfying feeling.
Was trying to figure out why my spredsheet had 1 more book than my goodreads and this is why, For some reason I didn't Post about or review this book!!
I absolutly loved this book, i actually only read it because there is a taylor swift song based on this book (Tolerate it) and yep that song sums up the romance in this book perfectly.
I cant remember much about this book but there are definatly things that still stand out, even tho I read it over 3 months ago
Iz nekog nepoznatog razloga imala sam potpuno drugačiju predstavu o radnji ovog romana, tek posle čitanja shvatam koliko sam pogrešno mislila.
The unnamed main character is prone to lengthy reveries that are invariably misguided and clich??d. The book is slow. The women all defer to the men in their lives. A man gets away with murdering his wife. An overwhelming majority of the characters are loathsome. But it's not simple. The book is complex, the reader feels the plot shrouded in fog until the very end, never knowing for certain what's coming next. I loved it.
PS. I'd never call this a romance.
Maybe it doesn't have the same social clout as Sense and Sensibility or even Jane Eyre (which DuMaurier is clearly inspired by) but Rebecca still holds high esteem for many a bookish nerd. “Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again...” is as recognized as “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” and “Call me Ishmael.” And that first chapter is as delicious a gothic introduction as one could possibly want.
Our protagonist is a child prone to wild day-dreaming discursions. Her flights of fanciful imaginings meander for pages at a time, more often than not imagining herself dull and plain, living in the long shadow of the beautiful and charming Rebecca. It is at once swooning then sinister.
At first I was sure this was a novel about the impermeability of memory. How we find the de Winters aging in a dull and listless present day which prompts our protagonist into the past to find some remembered colours, that she is willfully remembering herself the romanticizing child. Perhaps there is elements of that given how the story takes a third act turn that renders everyone in a dark, unflattering light.
Things do take a turn and it's delicious to see this play out amongst the characters in the story, but only at a bookish remove. Otherwise it's just a story of ridiculous rich people problems.
To say that this book is my favourite horror novel, would be an understatement.
I have always been very intimidated by classics, and this is the first classic I have ever read so naturally, I was hesitant. But then I read the first line and before I knew it, I was reading the last line. This classic literally left me breathless. The fact that I didn't know what I was getting myself into, just added on to it. I expected the horror to be supernatural, but it quickly became a thriller.
The foreshadowing, the descriptions, the inner monologue all was just so wonderful. This one paragraph where the author related this children's game, “The Old Witch” to explain her feelings and horror, left me in absolute awe. Maybe it was because I used to play that game a lot or maybe it was due to the brilliance of her mind to connect it with the book. The way the author wrote, left me with goosebumps. I did not want the novel to end. And now that it has ended, I don't know what to do with myself.
I never learn... Classics and I are incompatible and yet I still hope to come to terms with at least some of them. “[b:Rebecca 17899948 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948.SX50.jpg 46663]” by [a:Daphne du Maurier 2001717 Daphne du Maurier https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422444467p2/2001717.jpg] was another attempt at just that - and one that failed.The unnamed heroine and narrator meets Maxim de Winter, a widower, agrees to his marriage proposal after a few weeks, and moves with him into his ancestral home Manderley where nothing much happens for a long time. The shadow of Maxim's first wife, the eponymous Rebecca, looms large over their marriage, and the new Mrs. de Winter finds herself constantly compared to her predecessor and struggling to fit in with the household staff and society.Maxim is also very thoughtless and inconsiderate towards the protagonist, especially in the early stages of their marriage. He doesn't fully open up to the new Mrs. de Winter about his feelings and emotions which leads to misunderstandings and a lack of communication between them. A lot of that stems from what our heroine calls her “shyness” which is more of a question of her being young, inexperienced, and lacking in self-confidence. She has grown up in a very different social milieu from the aristocratic world of Maxim de Winter.However, her lack of self-assurance and her fear of making mistakes often lead her to second-guess herself and defer to others, which initially gave me the impression that she was not very smart and I did not find her very likeable.Returning to Maxim, who is also often preoccupied with his own concerns and doesn't always consider how his actions and words might affect his new wife. For example, he takes her to Manderley, his family estate, without preparing her for the expectations and traditions of the household staff and the local society. He also doesn't defend her when she is criticised or belittled by others which in turn puts him into a rather unsympathetic light to me.Adding to that is the fact that Maxim treats his wife like a child (and actually calls her that...) or pet which she perceives pretty well:»That's what I do to Jasper,' I thought. ‘I'm being like Jasper now, leaning against him. He pats me now and again, when he remembers, and I'm pleased, I get closer to him for a moment. He likes me in the way I like Jasper.'«(Jasper being one of their dogs.)A lot of what made me feel rather coolly for the new Mrs. de Winter was based on her constant melodramatic and annoying self-pity (in contrast to self-compassion!):»As I sipped my cold tea I thought with a tired bitter feeling of despair that I would be content to live in one corner of Manderley and Maxim in the other so long as the outside world should never know. If he had no more tenderness for me, never kissed me again, did not speak to me except on matters of necessity, I believed I could bear it if I were certain that nobody knew of this but our two selves. If we could bribe servants not to tell, play our part before relations, before Beatrice, and then when we were alone sit apart in our separate rooms, leading our separate lives.”«What I really did like was the prose - its elegance, beauty, and artistry. Daphne du Maurier's writing style is characterised by richly descriptive language, vivid imagery, and a keen attention to detail that creates a sense of atmosphere and mood. Her prose almost flows like music, like a symphony, with a rhythm and flow that can be both soothing and haunting, creating a powerful atmosphere.The novel's language and style also reflect the time period in which it was written, with a focus on formality, decorum, and the conventions of English society. This adds to the novel's sense of historical authenticity and contributes to its enduring appeal as a classic of English literature. It really felt like being there, witnessing it all oneself.»She would tear off sheet after sheet of that smooth white paper, using it extravagantly, because of the long strokes she made when she wrote, and at the end of each of her personal letters she put her signature, ‘Rebecca', that tall sloping R dwarfing its fellows.«And, yet, that pretty much nothing continued to happen for more than two thirds of the novel frustrated me. Especially since after a certain discovery things started to happen very quickly. Pretty much at breakneck speed we're rushed through the final third of the novel with hardly any time to get “acclimated” to the new tempo. Things started to feel rushed until we came to the sudden and unexpected ending.Two out of five stars! The End.Well, not quite, actually: If you're into mostly character-driven Gothic novels and always wished you lived in early-twentieth century England as an aristocrat, this novel might be for you. For me, it's back to more modern endeavours. Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam