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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is amazing. I wish I could stay in this book forever.
Compelling and eerie, with a tough nineteenth-century heroine, if not quite as spine-chilling as [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386605169s/17899948.jpg|46663].
Jamaica Inn (1936) is an early novel by Daphne du Maurier, the famed writer of Rebecca. I’ve read books by du Maurier before, The Birds and Other Stories and Don’t Look Now and Other Stories, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed but I had yet to read a novel by her. Jamaica Inn reads like a Brontë novel. Our protagonist, Mary, loses her mother and is sent away to live with her aunt in Jamaica Inn, a Cornish inn. However, strange things are going on in Jamaica Inn. There hasn’t been a guest in months, stage coaches gallop passed, and many locals fear even talking about the place. It’s quite hard to believe that this novel wasn’t written in the 19th century. Du Maurier writes with such authority and authenticity that, in many scenes, it out Brontës the Brontës. I’m glad I read this before Rebecca because I’ve heard literally so many amazing things about that novel that I fear every other du Maurier novel that I read after it will be unfairly compared. Thankfully my edition of Jamaica Inn is actually part of a bind-up which also includes Rebecca, Frenchman’s Creek, and My Cousin Rachel which is basically block of literary cocaine. Lucky me.
I've had Jamaica Inn on my TBR for years, ever since reading Rebecca (multiple times) and loving My Cousin Rachel just as much. And right out of the gate the atmosphere she sets in Cornwall at the Jamaica Inn is pretty spectacular. But for some reason I could not connect with this plot, which did not feel like her other psychological thrillers. I expected much more about a creepy, British Inn but instead this is about a group of "wreckers" (who run ships aground so they can steal the cargo), and felt like I was watching a Hollywood movie - a bad one. Nothing about this felt like a duMaurier novel, (or at least the ones I know) with the exception of the first hour or so. The narration is excellent, I had no issue with that. The story itself just didn't hold a candle to the other two, which I hold among the greatest thriller/mysteries I've ever read. So the bar was set high, but this didn't come close.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Now this author could write:
'And then I'll feel the thirst come on me and I'll soak. Soak for hours. It's power, and glory, and women, and the Kingdom of God, all rolled into one. I feel a king then, Mary. I feel I've got the strings of the world between my two fingers. It's heaven and hell. '
Daphne du Maurier has style. The woman has a way with words that is as enchanting as her story concepts themselves. She had a bravery in writing realistic characters who are flawed, shining gems. I was first wowed with the classic [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386605169s/17899948.jpg|46663], and then she wowed me again with [b:The Birds and Other Stories|18869985|The Birds and Other Stories|Daphne du Maurier|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386610699s/18869985.jpg|49087].
Jamaica Inn was penned earlier in her career, so it shows she was just learning how to climb the creative ropes the right way. It's not her best work but it's definitely readable because, hello!, it's Daphne du Maurier.
Mary was unique in that she didn't mind so much with having to consort with lesser-liked types, those who are criminals or viewed poorly by the local village. She's headstrong and daring, but also unique in that she's not the classic goth heroine who is overcome with compassion, fainting spells, hysteria, and insanely overdone innocence. She may not always be the wisest with her actions, but she's spirited in motive and refreshing with her courage and outlook.
The story is goth blended in with disorganized crime. While Gothics of the day usually held back most mystery on the evil deeds going on until later for a big reveal, this one shows them pretty early, having the character deal with them the best she can for the sake of a vulnerable aunt. There is a twist at the end on a villain, of course, but nothing too tightly woven. The book is lackluster because of this. We go through her life at the inn, face the horrors and discover the crimes, but there's not enough tension there to make it overly exciting.
“No, Mary had no illusions about romance. Falling in love was a pretty name for it, that was all.”
The relationship was another weird thing. It made little sense to me that she was so attracted to the brother, but then again it shows that she circled around to live the same life as the aunt she so harshly judges. He's a classic anti-hero though, so that's cool enough by concept. I didn't understand all the chemistry between them but I think it falls down to a few things - one, that the men's family tree lured in women of her line, like her aunt who had fallen for the uncle when they were younger. Second, that they both had some bond with how they were similar - she liked the adventurous and mildly daring, didn't mind a little lawbreaking, was rather wild and free in a way that would draw him in. That's probably why the uncle liked her a little too.
The ending was hardly romantic, it was a little bit of an abrupt afterthought, but if he didn't come back at all it would have bugged me.
Overall, the book needed a little more story rather than some of the padding to keep it fresh. It's worth reading for more of du Maurier's fantastic writing ability, her unusual characters who stand out like sore thumbs in a sea of normalcy, and for a darker themed gothic novel that dared to take chances with unusual violence.