Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

40 reviews

sarah_zaffiro's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness and Infidelity

Minor: Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Cancer

poisonenvy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

While I read this book back in December, I withheld my review in support of the HarperCollins Union strike, which lasted for over two months. In light of their recently ratifying their contract, I'll post my review now: 

 

Our main character, who's known only as Mrs. de Winters (the second Mrs. de Winters, as it is) meets her much-older husband, Maxim, while on vacation, and married him after only a few weeks of knowing him. Maxim is recently widowed, and when the narrator goes back to his estate, Mandersley, she finds that it's not quite what she expected, especially once she finds that she can't escape the shadow cast by his late wife, the charming, beautiful, and beloved Rebecca. 

If there's one thing that Daphne Du Maurier does well, it's that she's masterful at setting atmospheric tension. This book is slow, but it's told in such a way that it keeps you at the edge of your seat. There was an entire chapter where nothing much happened, but that I could barely bring myself to read it because of how much second-hand embarrassment/cringing I was feeling. 

Overall, this book is crafted beautifully. The narrator has a vivid imagination, one of the most vivid I've read in fiction and which I related far too much to as anxiety daydreams. I thought the choice to exclude her "beautiful and unique" name from the narrative was brilliantly done -- she's only Mrs. de Winters, unable to be separated from her husband, unable to stand on her own two feet. 

I read this with my bookclub, and had a great time with them trying to navigate through the twist and the turns of the story. This was honestly excellent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder, Ableism, and Incest

Minor: Infertility

clairew97's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Incest, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Infidelity, Infertility, Cancer, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Terminal illness

laurataylor's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cancer, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Infertility

adrienneturner's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

Many things in this book didn't age well--the love story just left me asking "why?" and the portrayal of an intellectually disabled character just reads as insulting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Murder, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infertility, Cancer, Infidelity, and Suicide

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Murder, Gun violence, Classism, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Mental illness, Incest, Alcoholism, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts

mme_carton's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

yarnofariadne's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infertility and Cancer

loxeletters's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Grief, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Death, Alcohol, and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Incest, Medical content, and Pregnancy

bethsicle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Death and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, and Grief

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Classism, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Animal death, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical content, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and Toxic relationship