19.4k reviews for:

Rebecca

Daphne du Maurier

4.23 AVERAGE


Finished on 17/11/2019.
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated

so there were moments i loved and there were also moments i skipped over because babes was describing the scent of flowers for 3 pages.

i do think all the lyrical description was purposeful though, the book uses the setting and atmosphere to contribute to the mystery of it all, buuuut it just kind of slowed the story down for me. gimme the tea !!

also, maxim de winter can get it. everyone shut up.

Rebecca winds, twists; one doesn’t notice the green-fingered vines wrapped around your throat until suddenly, you realize that to breathe is to read is to see… and in the deadly quiet of night, the road seems much darker, and you must reach the end, sprinting, lungs slightly torn and wet at the edges like pages of a worn novel. Four stars.
dark mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

couldn’t sleep so i finished. this was so messy. also stream the greatest song of all time https://youtu.be/ukxEKY_7MOc?si=x2NaFM9sq-6MScj_
dark emotional mysterious reflective tense

Gloriously detailed prose, amazing atmosphere and page-turning suspense.
mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

This book was well-written and beautifully paced. At the heart of this story are two women Rebecca, and the unnamed protagonist. 

The fmc was an unreliable narrator, someone so young and unlike the people of Manderley. She was very insecure of this and would interpret everything as if she was not good enough and that people were always comparing her to Rebecca. Throughout this book we don't get a sense of who she actually is. Like a puppy following Mrs Van Hopper, she ended up doing the same with Maxim. I love the fact that we don't really know her name (she's always either referred to as Mrs de Winter or wife), and in a way it doesn't really matter what her name is - she herself doesn't know who she really is and doesn't know how to identify herself; always being somebody else's companion and only ever the opposite of Rebecca.

Nobody really knew who Rebecca was, everyone had their own version of her. I can see how she must have been lonely despite all the extravagance, the popularity, her friends and her lovers. We never really knew what their marriage was actually like - to friends and family, they were the perfect couple yet according to him, they lived separate lives and he hated her. There were also traces of her being cruel e.g.
threatening Ben, brutally handling the horse, and her mocking and laughing at everybody according to Mrs. Danvers.


Some part of me feels like Manderley represented Maxim's heart, how the fmc was accepted to Manderley meant acceptance to all parts of his life, his sister, his friends, his agent and his staff. In a cruel and twisted way, Rebecca won at the end
he took her life and she took Manderley, his heart and prized possession.
We also don't get much information about Maxim other than his moods, I believe this is intentional as the story isn't really about him.

This book if anything is a cautionary tale about marriage, how it can be stifling for the women while the men can live however they please with no rules. This book also talks about class and how the rich are far removed from normal everyday life - literally and figuratively locked away in their own worlds, having extravagant parties and being well-connected.

Truly enjoyed this book, it is a masterpiece.
dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated