Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

24 reviews

graceheartsbooks's review against another edition

4.5

Rebecca is one of my mom’s favorite books and I finally got persuaded to read it. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to love it as it started out slow but as I kept going, I started to really enjoy it. At first it appears as a story about a woman being haunted by the shadow of her husband’s previous wife but underneath the surface this book is much more than that. It’s a book about abuse, power dynamics, gender roles, obsession and (in my opinion) how we speak about the dead. Also Daphne Du Maurier’s prose are beautiful and really makes you feel the tension and isolation of a scene/during the novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Infidelity and Suicide attempt

Minor: Cancer, Incest, and Infertility

readingduckling's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A very hard read. The reason I read it was that this book was apparently the inspiration for Taylor Swifts "Tolerate it". 
I will definitely read it again, maybe the rating will be better then, but for now I think 4 stars are fitting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

stavoosh's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.25

My face when I finished this book... priceless. 

We follow an unnamed narrator who serves as a young companion to a bitter old woman and falls in love with the mysterious Manderley estate owner, Maxim de Winter. From the beginning, she compares her "gaucherie" to his late wife, Rebecca's, sophistication. The story unfolds as the narrator tries to find her place in Manderley and has trouble taking on the role of a wife and lady of the house because of her inexperience and their large age gap.

Daphne du Maurier is a talented writer. The setting of Manderley seems to come right off the page and the motifs/symbolism interwoven throughout the setting is worth the read. I know that she actually based the setting on an estate she rented, which is obvious with how the descriptions seem cinematic.

The introduction to Manderley through a dream played like a movie in my head.

The obsession with Rebecca and becoming this woman that is bigger than life- a manic pixie dream girl, if you will- was also handled really well.

Although the book begins with the aftermath of the story, reaching the end after a long journey almost reinforces the surprise. I can completely understand how this is a gothic classic. I think heavy critique of this book fails to consider that it was published in 1938 and therefore, it has thrilling aspects that are creepy but not as freaky as they would've been had it been written today. I did find it boring at times and lacking the seed of mystery that usually carries you through a thriller. If I hadn't known this book had a creepy factor to it, the gothic aspect would've completely gone over my head until the <i>window incident</i>. The story definitely picked up the pace towards the last third and had me coming up with crazy theories

(and tbh some of my theories would've been better than what actually happened... but again, 1938!!!)

. Last thought- I would not categorize this as a romance... their relationship is nothing to fawn over. It added to the thriller vibes more than anything.

Would definitely recommend, especially to people who prefer subtle thrillers that aren't too explicit and are more creepy than scary. Also the writing is study-worthy!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Suicide attempt

kurumipanda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Classism, and Sexism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, Terminal illness, Cultural appropriation, Cancer, Incest, Animal cruelty, and Biphobia

mylou's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Death, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

yellow_minotaur's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Death

Moderate: Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Cancer

Minor: Incest

strawb3rrysugar's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book definitely starts slowly. Events won't start picking up until halfway through the book. However, the payoff is worth it. Du Maurier takes the time to establish Rebecca's presence in Manderley and in the narrative, haunting the narrator and all other characters. Definitely a good book to start with if you want to get into gothic literature but aren't sure where to start. It was pretty easy to follow, save one or two google searches.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Murder, and Misogyny

Minor: Ableism

Mrs. Danvers tries to get the narrator to kill herself in one chapter. A disabled character named Ben is described in many derogatory ways, and says he's afraid of being sent to an asylum.

When Rebecca's real body and boat are discovered, there's some brief description of her body having dissolved from being in the water for so long. Not terribly graphic, but a little disturbing.

This book never approaches being overly graphic, but how the overall storyline pans out might be upsetting to some who have experienced domestic abuse.

mishasbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Cancer, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Violence, War, Gun violence, Incest, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

anniestonebarger's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Infidelity

brynhayes's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Death, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Gun violence