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lauramcc7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide, Incest, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship
samanthaleereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Murder, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Suicide
ravenpuff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Classism, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying
Minor: Racism, Suicide, Cancer, Gun violence, and Infidelity
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.0
"I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end."
WARNING: unpopular opinion ahead!!
I've been meaning to read Rebecca for years now, and after I saw one of my favorite books of 2023 The Hacienda being compared to this classic I decided to not wait any longer and finally pick it up. I had high hopes for this story, as I do love a good gothic thriller... But in the end I guess it wasn't ment to be. I know that the fact that I've been struggling with a reading slump might have been part of the problem, but I can't look past the fact that it took me eleven! days to finish reading a book that would usually only take me a day or two. I was warned of the slow start, and I definitely agree with that warning. I'm not sure if I would have continued reading if it hadn't known about the slow start, because the beginning is rather dull and tedious. Things do improve when the couple arrives at Manderley, and there are some clever twists and developments along the way. Sadly, I found the second Mrs. de Winter to be such a frustrating character to deal with though; having to spend so much time inside her head only made it more difficult to fight that slump and pick up my copy of Rebecca. The fact that she is basically a human doormat and lets everybody walk all over her became SO annoying, and she never fully redeemed herself for me. I did appreciate the descriptions of Manderley and the general gothic feel of the plot, but it wasn't enough to properly enjoy this story. I still might try a reread at some point to see just how big of a role the reading slump played when it comes to my reaction to this classic...
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Animal death, Violence, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
aude's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Classism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Ableism, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Incest, Cancer, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Animal cruelty, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, and Death of parent
whatkathrynreads_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide
iammmartina_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Infidelity
Minor: Suicide, Infertility, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts
daepyonimst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Suicide and Cancer
daniellarae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was a bit disappointed at the lack of ghostly presence and atmosphere that I was expecting. I thought it would be creepier. The twist was also quite predictable.
A classic nonetheless.
(My content warning tags may contain some minor spoilers)
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Incest, Terminal illness, Murder, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Suicide
archiveofrasa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I thoroughly enjoyed annotating my copy like I was back in my English class, only I was actually appreciating and reading what I was analysing. du Maurier's use of dialogue is by far my favourite aspect of this book as they brought up tension so quickly and intensely. her characters are also what carried the story for me, with how nuanced and smartly she wove the character interactions and feelings into every scene. It was so easy to immerse myself into the story as if I was there and not reading a book, but seeing it play out before me.
people have said they hate specific characters and while I personally don't like any of them, I don't particularly hate them either because of how complex they are. the only character I can think to like the least is Maxim but even then we're not entirely sure how unreliable he is compared to everyone else. I do agree with how sinister Mrs Danvers is but even she's unreliable and clouded with grief and her actions do match the time period this is set in. there are things she does that are terrible, but also parts where I feel her mind turning, her feelings breaking the surface. every character felt so real, it's incredible how du Maurier captures them in this story. even with Rebecca and the narrator, their phantom relationship was crafted so well I doubt I'll forget it anytime soon.
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, and Infidelity
Minor: Incest and Ableism
as with a lot of classics, though, there is the discrepancy I feel about race in this story. There is a bit of cultural appropriation of Arabs and a few classic phrases that feel really weird coming out of a white character's mouth. I want to mention this because I still enjoyed the book, but to do so I had to ignore those aspects. not everyone has the luxury to do so. even if it's from an old time doesn't make it okay. we can critically like things.