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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
always is a bit of shock when reading a book where the narrator is so like yourself. like…that’s me. that’s the way i think. how did daphne du maurier write a book from my POV in 1938
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”
Rebecca was my first step into classics and honestly, I was nervous at first. But from the very first pages, it pulled me in completely. The story is eerie and hauntingly beautiful so atmospheric and immersive that I could almost feel the cold sea air and hear the crashing waves. Every sentence felt heavy with emotion and unspoken tension and Manderley? It wasn’t just a setting, it was a living, breathing character full of secrets. Rebecca herself felt like a ghost, lingering everywhere, casting a shadow that never fully disappears, even though she was never really there.
Rebecca was my first step into classics and honestly, I was nervous at first. But from the very first pages, it pulled me in completely. The story is eerie and hauntingly beautiful so atmospheric and immersive that I could almost feel the cold sea air and hear the crashing waves. Every sentence felt heavy with emotion and unspoken tension and Manderley? It wasn’t just a setting, it was a living, breathing character full of secrets. Rebecca herself felt like a ghost, lingering everywhere, casting a shadow that never fully disappears, even though she was never really there.
—an imagined dialogue discussing Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier—
“What were you talking about?” Rebecca linked her arms with mine.
“Baby names.”
“You know, my mom named me after the book.”
“Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier? Oh dear. Why on earth—“
“She dropped it halfway through, unfortunately, under the impression that the plot was too predictable.”
“Was it the white dress that turned out to be Rebecca’s that blew her off? Tell me about it. It was worth continuing reading, though. The next plot twist is a shocker.”
“She did eventually finish it, which only worsened her postnatal depression. By then it was too late to change my name on the birth certificate. Nor do I want any other name. I like the crisp sound of the double ‘cc’s, kind of like biting into an apple.”
“And the tall and sloping ‘R’, I suppose.” She laughs in response.
“She had good intentions though. I suppose she wanted to give the impression that I am all around perfect…the ideal woman…to the point that it was immortalised, factual, set in stone.”
“Should have gone with Helen instead. Always a safe bet.”
“Perfect enough to start an entire war? Please. Rebecca was much more harmless. Plus, she did win at the very end: strikes down Manderley and torments the two protagonists with guilt and paranoia for the rest of their lives…I’d say that’s a 1-nil to Rebecca. But despite it all, I was rooting for the guilty. Though I always had a theory that Rebecca was indeed the perfect woman as almost everyone had believed…Maxim, and the unnamed narrator, was just too much deluded in their jealousy to realise it.”
“Like Charles and Diana?…I don’t think Du Maurier intended it that way…I mean with Ben and Frank and Beatrice all opposing—“
She shrugged. “Can’t argue against Death of the Author. To hell with Daphne!”
———
My review: taylor swift’s song ‘tolerate it’ made me read this book. god bless blondie for this recommendation but I opened the book thinking that there would be a Charles-and-Diana dynamic between the protagonists and I would deeply resonate with the female narrator since most of my pathetic crushes were unreciprocated. But I would say that the song is not 100% accurate in explaining the narrator and Maxim’s relationship. the unreliable narrator only mistakes that he just tolerates her and loves Rebecca - but the truth is revealed later.
the dialogue is beautifully written and the plot sucks you in and the narrative tension keeps you on edge. I admit with embarrassment that I have a short attention span and this was the first and only book I could not put down. I finished it at 2am last night and read half of it in one sitting. it lost a star because I felt that the narrator’s obsession with Maxim was barely justified given that there was not much revealed from their italy honeymoon. Nor is Rebecca’s evil nature explained — what did she say to Maxim in the car?
but still, very worth reading. absolutely gripping.
“What were you talking about?” Rebecca linked her arms with mine.
“Baby names.”
“You know, my mom named me after the book.”
“Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier? Oh dear. Why on earth—“
“She dropped it halfway through, unfortunately, under the impression that the plot was too predictable.”
“Was it the white dress that turned out to be Rebecca’s that blew her off? Tell me about it. It was worth continuing reading, though. The next plot twist is a shocker.”
“She did eventually finish it, which only worsened her postnatal depression. By then it was too late to change my name on the birth certificate. Nor do I want any other name. I like the crisp sound of the double ‘cc’s, kind of like biting into an apple.”
“And the tall and sloping ‘R’, I suppose.” She laughs in response.
“She had good intentions though. I suppose she wanted to give the impression that I am all around perfect…the ideal woman…to the point that it was immortalised, factual, set in stone.”
“Should have gone with Helen instead. Always a safe bet.”
“Perfect enough to start an entire war? Please. Rebecca was much more harmless. Plus, she did win at the very end: strikes down Manderley and torments the two protagonists with guilt and paranoia for the rest of their lives…I’d say that’s a 1-nil to Rebecca. But despite it all, I was rooting for the guilty. Though I always had a theory that Rebecca was indeed the perfect woman as almost everyone had believed…Maxim, and the unnamed narrator, was just too much deluded in their jealousy to realise it.”
“Like Charles and Diana?…I don’t think Du Maurier intended it that way…I mean with Ben and Frank and Beatrice all opposing—“
She shrugged. “Can’t argue against Death of the Author. To hell with Daphne!”
———
My review: taylor swift’s song ‘tolerate it’ made me read this book. god bless blondie for this recommendation but I opened the book thinking that there would be a Charles-and-Diana dynamic between the protagonists and I would deeply resonate with the female narrator since most of my pathetic crushes were unreciprocated. But I would say that the song is not 100% accurate in explaining the narrator and Maxim’s relationship. the unreliable narrator only mistakes that he just tolerates her and loves Rebecca - but the truth is revealed later.
the dialogue is beautifully written and the plot sucks you in and the narrative tension keeps you on edge. I admit with embarrassment that I have a short attention span and this was the first and only book I could not put down. I finished it at 2am last night and read half of it in one sitting. it lost a star because I felt that the narrator’s obsession with Maxim was barely justified given that there was not much revealed from their italy honeymoon. Nor is Rebecca’s evil nature explained — what did she say to Maxim in the car?
but still, very worth reading. absolutely gripping.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Review: Overall, I love this book and I was in awe of the writing, so beautiful and intricate. This is also the first book that made me truly dread what was going to happen next and truly I was blown by the unexpected of the plot because the first 10 - 15 chapters are so focused on the narrator, I thought that it would really be about Rebecca's looming over her with Mrs. Danvers making her suffer, but the looming, though correct, isn't entirely as I had expected and not only happens to the narrator, that Rebecca is such an interesting, wicked, and slightly evil figure who cared about no one but maybe Mrs. Danvers, she loved no one and the only who truly knew her was herself. She crafted this image, wearing masks for different people to the point that not even those who thought to be closest to her really knew her, that I think she got her wish that even in death she is remembered and haunting everyone, even those who have never met her before. She haunts them even to the end, that whatever revelation that is said doesn't even comfort Maxim and the narrator. Amazing book, I'm glad I read this and I kinda felt silly for having delayed reading the book so much because of some kind of fear. Genuinely, I am fascinated by all the characters as they are so layered and human, that no one (the main characters) in this story is as they seem. A wonderful book for character study I feel. Truly haunting and gothic to its core in the way that I had never read before. Like this is the book to really read if you want that haunting feeling to it as it permeates the story to the end.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
3.5. I would have loved this book as the writing is a masterpiece but it was just soo annoying and depressing in the sense that the main character is an annoying child and once she stops being annoying, there comes another character that gets on my nerves. What a bummer as I love her writing and the scene she sets. So overdramatic though.