Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

70 reviews

danajoy's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Murder

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury

fieval_loves_books's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Avoid spoilers before reading. But it might’ve fun to watch the Hitchcock film following the reading of the book to help capture the imagery.  

Before reading it’s interesting to look into D.d. Biography (good video on YouTube) which provides context for the book and the writers frame of mind

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder

Minor: Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury

gleigh96's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting

Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Racism

katie0528's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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The unnamed heroine finds herself swept off her feet after meeting Maxim de Winter while working in Monte Carlo. Maxim proposed marriage after a matter of weeks, and the new Mrs. de Winter finds herself in her husband's estate of Manderly, with an emotionally distant husband, a housekeeper who literally keeps Maxim's old wife, Rebecca's, things untouched, and neighbors and staff who constantly comment upon how "Rebecca would do this." The main character spends most of the book as a literal doormat, trying and failing miserably to fit into the place Rebecca left behind. And the harder she tries, the more things seem to fall apart around her. It seems Manderly has plenty of secrets, and the death of Rebecca appears to be the key to unlocking them all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Gaslighting

Moderate: Ableism, Infidelity, Racism, Classism

Minor: Murder, Fire/Fire injury

realempathy7's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Blood, Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content

himpersonal's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Written in 1938, and it still holds up. Felt a little like I was reading a movie Hitchcock might have made. Then I looked it up and found it was his first US film. Must put it on my to-watch list!

Mrs. Danvers was far scarier than Favell ever could be. Her devotion to Rebecca was way too intense.

Loved the narrator's transformation from innocence and immaturity into a woman who knew how to fill out her adult shoes. However, I was a little creeped out when she said she wanted her husband to be her father and brother too. I'm going to assume that meant something else back then. I think understand what du Maurier might have been trying to say, and I suppose it also emphasizes the narrator's inexperience with the world, especially given she lost both her parents in her teens.

 Could be a fun book to teach for a film class, given it's been made a couple of times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Classism

babeeyaga's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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While reading this novel, I was constantly thinking about the story of Bluebeard. Specifically, in my mind, this novel seems to ask, what if Bluebeard’s newest wife past his test? What if she learned about his bloody chamber and still loved him? 

Going into this story, I expected a story of a young heroine living in the home and shadow of the wife that came before her. And yeah, I kinda did get that. But while many compare this book to Jane Eyre, Du Maurier portrayal of marriage, class and gender remind me of Shirley Jackson’s domestic horror. By the end of the book, I felt like almost every character — including the sweet, naive protagonist — was on some level sinister. There is no clear villian, victim or victor. There is absolutely no escape for anyone in this story. 

I honestly am not sure how much I really love or like this novel, but I know that I am going think about this book for a long, long time afterwards. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Incest, Fire/Fire injury

implied/potential death of dog after house is caught on fire

simily23's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer, Sexism, Blood

bearystarry's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I thought this was going to be different than it was, but I was very engaged the whole time. The ending was very surprising to me and I definitely should have paid more attention to the content warnings... but overall... I'm not sure if "enjoyed" is the correct word but I'll use it anyway; I enjoyed this read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Classism

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

heykellybutler's review against another edition

4.5

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I can’t believe it took me so long to read a book that turned out to be so entirely my shit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Forced institutionalization

Minor: Animal cruelty, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation