Scan barcode
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
atamano's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Classism
Moderate: Dementia, Grief, Infidelity, Body shaming, Sexism, Murder, Ableism, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
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
poirot's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Classism, Death, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Cancer
poubelleboi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Gun violence, Fatphobia, Death, Ableism, Suicide, Murder, Mental illness, and Infidelity
Minor: Cancer and Infertility
z_thatsit'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
4.5
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Cancer
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Body shaming
mme_carton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Incest, Violence, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Infertility, and Death of parent
iksme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Cancer, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Body horror, and Classism
Minor: Infidelity, Infertility, Incest, and Pregnancy
avisnoctua's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury
sheryl_reads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
I’ve given it 1.5 stars because I did finish it. But it’s so longwinded and ponderous I barely made it to the end. Luckily, the story picked up in the last 100 pages, but getting there was a chore.
The main character is so frustrating and annoying. I spent most of the book wishing that she’d stand up for herself. What is written as shyness is taken to an extreme of social awkwardness, to the point where I wondered how she ever managed to survive to adulthood. The situation she finds herself in is awkward, however hiding from servants in her own house and having trouble just functioning (and when I say function, this is posh English people functioning - so having tea and scones and finding ways to amuse yourself all day cos you don’t actually work) seemed too extreme.
Mr De Winter is horrible - his treatment of the main character (we don’t get to know her name) is psychological abuse. I’m avoiding spoilers in this review, but the end comes as no surprise.
The first 300 pages read like a really boring episode of Downton Abbey. There’s lots of lengthy descriptions of how our narrator fills her days - mainly being debilitatingly shy and self conscious. The last 100 pages or so are an improvement, but all the description are just soooooo long and unnecessary. I thought the shipwreck section would never end!
I had high hopes for this, since it’s a classic and a lot of people love it. But I couldn’t wait to escape Manderley. And I’d be there with Mrs Danvers at the end!
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Minor: Body shaming and Grief