Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

40 reviews

javafenn's review against another edition

mysterious 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? Yes

2.0

This book came highly recommended and maybe I’m just not smart enough for it because I hated it. It wasn’t really creepy like people have said and the characters were the most obnoxious people I’ve ever read about. When finally got to the end I was just mad. It was stupid. All of that mystery and no ghost?!?! No really mystery just a murder that was a murder and then people trying to throw others under the buss and the lady of the book just not named and not haunted?! Hated it. It was way too long for how it ended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Misogyny, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic relationship

violetaalseide's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gaslighting and Murder

Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, Gun violence, Cancer, Alcoholism, and Fire/Fire injury

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

exclipse's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Rewrote my brain chemistry. I thought all of the characters were lovable and relatable in their own way but that's probably a sign of mental illness!!! 10/10 because it's the only book to contain my queen Beatrice Lacy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Infertility, Racism, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Ableism, Incest, Infidelity, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Forced institutionalization, War, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

daryn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Misogyny

Minor: Cancer and Fire/Fire injury

wonderbeastlett's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is a mysterious book about a marriage that does not feel right and the protagonist tries to not live in the shadow of a former wife. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Murder

laurenzokro's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-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

5.0

Of all the literary classics I've read, this is definitely one of the best and that I think will stay with me for some time. I was really stunned by du Maurier's ability to exhibit such grandness and novelty in the world of Manderley. Nothing about the book's setting or character-building felt mundane or one-note, despite most of the book taking place in the same location (Manderley) with the same core characters, which really reflects the power of Rebecca's haunting and everlasting presence in everyone's lives. Knocked down the ranking a little bit because I do find it to be overly repetitive and obvious at times - particularly the narrator's constant imagining of scenarios in her head borne of her own self-consciousness - but I don't think that takes away from the book's dramatic impact. The arc of the story is incredibly well-constructed, and I honestly can't get over how good that ending is.

The sense of foreboding as Maxim drives back to Manderley made you assume the worst, particularly now that you knew what he was capable of, showing a turn of events that made them lose not only the life that they were hoping for a peaceful return to, but also the source of their recent strifes (Rebecca's continued presence in the house, Mrs. Danvers). Furthermore, everything coming together in the end - and Rebecca's ability to get the literal "last laugh" by going out the way she always intended - leaves such an impression on the reader, particularly given that despite all that, Maxim and the narrator are left with nothing but ash and no clear resolution to their story after all.

Actually writing that out is making me bump my rating back up to 5 stars. It is just truly remarkable and a real masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

elizabeth_1111's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Infidelity, Cancer, Murder, Incest, Death, and Classism

Minor: Gaslighting

blacksphinx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Racism, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Gun violence, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Classism, Incest, and Infidelity

Minor: Terminal illness, Cancer, Medical content, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, and Infertility

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

3.0

 Finished reading: September 29th 2023

"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... 

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Content Warnings

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