Rebecca

Rebecca was a surprising read and not the type of story I'm usually drawn to. At this time I've been reading a lot of horror and looking for something with more substance; classics with a pedigree. Rebecca is not a scary supernatural story. There are no literal ghosts or hauntings that take place in the book. The story is hard to pin down, since it contains aspects of a gothic English manor romance, mystery, thriller and ultimate tragedy. No, though the haunting is not literal, the dominant presence of the dead first wife of Maxim de Winter, Rebecca, lingers and saturates everything within and without the Manderley estate. Told from a future period looking back, Maxim's, at the time of their marriage, unnamed new wife, and narrator of the story, is half the age of the forty-two-year-old widower. Rescued from the life as a paid companion to a disgusting, social-climbing, American matron in a Monte Carlo whirlwind romance, the young Mrs. de Winter is the complete opposite of Rebecca. She finds that trying to fill the shoes of the deceased Rebecca as lady of the manor is an intimidating task and her new secretive husband is often cold and aloof and not the husband and lover she had hoped for. And then there is the head servant, Mrs. Danvers, like the grim reaper, dressed in black, with a skull-like face who had been an intimate friend and companion to Rebecca growing up. She will be a frightening enemy to the mousy and impressionable new Mrs. De Winter. It is through the young Mrs. De Winter's constant internal, daydreamed scenarios that a haunting portrait of Rebecca is fleshed out. But such imaginative wool gathering can never be relied upon to paint a truly accurate picture of such an overpowering figure gone and never met. And, even in death, the young bride will find that Rebecca can reach out from the grave to stir up trouble for the newlywed couple.

This was a wonderful reading! Rebecca had a very slow start but once we get to Manderley the story picks up and I was completely hooked. I loved the way the story was structured, the flawed characters and the emotions it caused.

The book has a beautiful prose and has some of the most odious characters ever written. I just didn't want to stop reading on the last third of the book and, although I was expecting some of the twists, I was surprised with others.

This is another perfect example of why some books became classics.

Mrs. Danvers is sinister.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A book that I loved, an absolute must read, and now a favorite of mine. It's a book that will live on my shelves forever and I would re-read in the future. I would pick up anything else by this author without question. This book is now one of my all-time favorites.

This was hands down one of the best books I've ever read. It was so beautifully written. The “shocker” slid right into the story. There was no need to have to go out the way and build up to it. The story did that naturally.

Normally I don't like books where characters don't have a name but for some reason that didn't bother me too much with this book.

I know Maxim said Mrs. de Winter had a beautiful and unusual name. I just ended up calling her Delphine. Delphine de Winter.

We also never learn her age but it is mentioned more than once that Mrs. de Winter is much younger than Maxim. He was forty-two so I guessed that she was in her early to mid twenties.

My only regret when it comes to reading this book is that I didn't do it sooner.

For some reason, I never wrote a review for this book when I first read it in 2016... not uncommon at this point in my life but I've been regarding it as one of my all-time favorite books since then. Nothing has changed the second time around. I opted to listen to the audiobook this time. Initially, I just wanted a comfort read to help me fall asleep. That didn't work so much. I was only reminded how much I love this story. There's so much I identify with and the suspense is unmatched. 

What gets me most with the book is the narration. We never learn the second Mrs. de Winter's name, and yet, it's so intimate with her every thought and emotion surrounding each event. We watch from grow from a shy and timid companion to a strong and unabashed wife of a tormented widow. Then of course there's Mrs. Danvers who is perhaps my favorite antagonist of all-time — book, stage, or screen. Her presence is as haunting as Rebecca's memory, and yet there is something so human about her that you can't help but sympathize. 

Between the original film and the two subsequent mini-series (as well as a musical), I have almost every bit of this story memorized and still the twists hold up. The tension continues to build up to the very end. Listening to it on audiobook made it a new experience with an old friend. 

This novel I really enjoyed because it felt very romantic with all those beautiful and lovely descriptions but it also made me sad, uncomfortable, distressed and very conflicted. I loved it!! A mystery novel as well, although I thought those parts were lacking something and the pace suddenly picked up in those parts and I didn't enjoy it as much as well as the protagonist being a bit annoying.

Chapter 1: the writing is so beautiful I'm already so intrigued why Manderley is no more, and why they are living in a small bedroom hotel instead?!

Chapter 4: omg this book is already so good! I love that we know from the start that later in their lives, they are going be okay, enjoying peace and safety, and having a nice daily routine. Their time at Manderley is going to be so tumultuous, I can sense it so easily!! Also, Du Maurier must have loved botany, her descriptions of nature, woods and flowers are so vivid!

Chapter 6: what a turn of events, they got married. There is something romantic about this sudden proposal and adventure, but also a dark presage in the form of her dreams, of the tangerine, and of Mrs. Van Hopper's words. I know they are now older and happy in a hotel, but still

1. I ADORE her writing. It's so beautiful and detailed and it makes it so easy to walk with them in Manderley and understand where everything is. Also, great character development!

I just finished chapter 13: is it becoming a murder mystery? Ben remembers when Rebecca told him not to tell anyone that she sailed that day. And who is this mysterious visitor/intruder, Mr. Favell, who knows very well Mrs. Danvers and called Mr. Winter ‘Max'. What are they hiding? Why did he came so often. Also, he gives me the creeps . There is something also about the body found 2 months later, which could still apparently be recognized. The scent of the flowers, the heaviness of the atmosphere in the house... Also, we can tell that a breakdown is about to happen in Maxim... So much tension contained.... I wish the main character didn't have to feel so stressed out all the time. She feels so free and liberated when she is on her own in nature. She just wants a simple life, where she doesn't have to entertain people and is not always ‘measured' to such high standards. She is sweet and kind, I hope later when they travel again it's going to really be better.

I finished it! Omg I finished it! What was even this last 10%!
It felt like new crucial things were happening on every single page on the last 3-4 chapters that I had to be so careful to not read what was on the other page. Well, sometimes I would look to give myself some tiny spoilers, and I would get even more intrigued to see how things would unfold. Omg this story! 5 stars, soooo easily. Except for the middle that was a little bit slow, I didn't dislike a single page of this book. I mean, the middle was good too. I understand why it's a classic! I need to go to sleep and rest on it and write more tomorrow. Wow!

Read and reviewed: 2022-05-20

I absolutely loved this book and it's now on my top 5. It's such a compelling enthralling story with great depths and meanings that I wonder why I'd never read it before. It started at its ending and in a very cyclical way, it ends at the start. The themes, the floral motifs, the picturesque landscapes, the characters, their names, identities, the elements, EVERYTHING is so incredibly well put. It put into perspective how much we miss/ignore in our lives, things that if were to be seen from a third-person perspective, would alarm us. I loved that I could empathise with the narrator yet upon taking a step back, I could also see the bigger picture, the actual truth. I found it to be a work of brilliancy in the way some may take the plot at its face value and enjoy it, while others who delve deeper can identify its complexities and understand better.

I wish I could've taken this in school and had studied it in depth. But then again, I may not have enjoyed it as much as it would've seemed tedious then. I also wish to reread it sometime in the future.

A definite recommendation.

Well, that was unexpected!

I opened up this book yesterday, almost reluctantly, thinking how it will probably take me forever to finish it. And then proceeded to spend the following 24 hours doing nothing but reading it and thinking about what I read.
I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this. Angst, melancholy, suspense. It made me emotional and thoughtful.
What an experience it has been!

Finished this one on March 30 as well and loved! This is a very good gothic novel. I really loved the story, the writing style, characters were all well written. I didn't like Rebecca though, because personalities like her disgust me. But everything else was great and reading it was quite cosy and pleasant!

Jak to jest, że bohaterowie tej powieści byli ogromnie irytujący, a ich historia mimo wszystko tak bardzo mnie wciągnęła? Czy to kwestia pięknego języka? Czy jednak świetnie rozpisane psychologiczne studium charakterów? A może tajemnicza rezydencja i inne elementy powieści gotyckiej? Tak czy siak – bardzo mi się „Rebeka” podobała!

I was under the misapprehension that Rebecca was a classic ghost story. It wasn't. It's a classic, but not a ghost story, at least not in a literal sense. I did enjoy it though, for the most part. The writing was good, and a little different than I'm used to with long, drawn-out sentences. I enjoyed how the narrator had no name while Rebecca's name carried so much significance. I particularly liked the second half of the book, which moves much faster than the first half. The characters were completely unlikeable, though, and hard to relate to. That led to some frustration but not so much that it lowered my rating. I liked the ending... and I read how the author ended up taking her epilogue and making it her first chapter which really works in this book. Looking forward to the movie.

2.5 stars rounded down.
Full review to come.

3.5 stars
A lot of the book was slow but started getting more interesting at the end. I didn't love the male lead but the ending was a bit shocking.

El principio es pesado y la protagonista se la pasa todo el libro pensando en que pasaría si tomara tal o más cual decisión; peeerooo todo el drama está divino

Why did they wait so long to give us the juice, the action. Could've been shorter.

I'm not really sure if it was the audiobook narration or what but I did not like this book at all. I kept waiting for something major to happen and it never occurred. Maybe I went into it with specific expectations that weren't met? Idk...

Идеальный красивый готический роман, вот только очень уж короткий.
Я только успела проникнуться атмосферой старинного английского поместья, и понять главных героев, приподнять завесу над тайной Мандерли, как все закончилось. Но все же это были прекрасные два дня чтения.
Особую таинственность придает безымянность главной героини, рассказчицы, а также почти полное отсутствие описания героев - мы знаем только их имена, а подробно описан только образ самого поместья, которое, безусловно, играет в этом романе одну из важнейших ролей.

You won't enjoy the first 2/3 of this book as much if you know the plot, so just AVOID SPOILERS AT ALL COSTS

4.5 - Wonderful writing that sears into the mind. I loved the characters and settings, but found the meekness of the unnamed narrator pushing belief at times. Aaron kept laughing when he noticed my nose in the book while walking around or trying to do some chore. I have qualms with the quote ‘romance', as well as some racism/abelism, but it's a fun novel to turn on its head and examine. The Netflix adaptation falls extremely flat to the novel, so I'll be watching the Hitchcock version soon.

du Marier's ability to build suspense is masterful, and by the end my eyes were comically wide thanks to that iconic plot twist. Atmospheric, thrilling, and worth re-reading. The type of book you stay up until dawn reading.

Recensie van audioboek (via Storytel)

Alhoewel ik het verhaal goed geschreven vond, waarbij de spanning langzaam en dreigend wordt opgebouwd, had ik er op een of andere manier meer van verwacht.
Het verhaal op zich vond ik niet zo origineel, wat vermoedelijk te verwachten vielt, gezien het een klassieker is en dus gezien moet worden in zijn publicatietijd. Maar zelfs dan heb ik zo een beetje mijn twijfels bij de overdreven naïviteit van het hoofdpersonage... Of toch vooral het feit dat ze geen vragen stelde of haar mond eens niet open deed om voor zich op te komen.

Once I got through the first few chapters I couldn't put the book down. I was so curious about what had happened with Rebecca. I felt angry at Max even before I learned of his actions. I felt he was a total jerk to the narrator. I also struggled withe the narrator I didn't know if I should I have sympathy for her or roll my eyes at her shyness and inability to stand up for herself.

Oh this was so good. I completely understand why it's a classic, and wish I hadn't waited so long to read it. It's such a roller coaster of a story; I thought it was going to go a hundred different ways before the end. So well done.

Let's make it short.

I hated the main heroine for her hysterics. She is a great example of how some small detail blows to gigantic problems in the woman's head.

If that love story was supposed to be romantic and self-sacrificing - sorry, can't see it from the XXI century.

The book was supposed to be a mystery, however, the only mystery I'm left with is why I have finished this book at all.