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rusalkaeienni 's review for:
Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca was one of those rare cases where I watched the film before I read the book. Because of this, I already knew many of the plot twists before starting the book. This noticeably diminished the book’s impact.
While there are often comparisons made between this book and Jane Eyre, I find that the main characters (or narrators) couldn’t be more different.
Jane is quiet but strong-willed. The narrator of Rebecca is quiet, uninteresting, and has little to no self-confidence, only gaining confidence in the later half of the book.
It is satisfying when you finally see Mrs. de Winter grow up and gain confidence in herself. When she took command of the mansion, giving orders and changing, I was so relieved that I didn’t have slog through anymore of her wallowing doubts and insecurities.
Sometimes, reading the book you just wanted to reach in and grab her by the shoulders and shake her saying, “Grow a backbone!” This may be a personal nitpick. I don’t mind meek, shy, or even delicate heroines, but insecure doormats I just can’t stand.
Moving on, my other criticism is the ending. It felt very abrupt, almost startlingly so. In that way, I think the movie was better, giving the audience more closure.
The book can also drag in spots, especially when the narrator describes things as mundane as daily routine in the manor. The mundane descriptions felt unnecessary at times. But I did enjoy Du Maurier’s descriptions of scenery in the book.
The book felt underwhelming and somewhat unimpressive. Don’t get me wrong, I find parts of the book genius. The way titular character Rebecca overshadows the nameless narrator is absolute genius. It amazes me how Du Maurier wrote it without ever mentioning the narrator's first name or even maiden name. It was subtle but there.
You have various examples of characters who haunt the narrative of their story for good or bad. Ai in Oshi no Ko and Himmel in Sousou no Frieren are both characters whose memory haunt their loved ones memory. They are modern examples of the character who ‘haunt’ the narrative that spring to mind.
But neither “haunt their respective stories” like Rebecca does in the narrative of Rebecca. She foreshadows the narrator of the story, the newly-wed Mrs. de Winter, and her name is even on the cover of the book. Reading the novel, you may not notice it at first, but Mrs. de Winter’s name is never revealed. Even the name ‘Mrs. de Winter’ is not her own, but a past moniker of Rebecca.
But other than that, the novel didn’t pull me in that much. I plan to read more of Daphne Du Maurier’s works in future to get a better grasp of her writing.
While there are often comparisons made between this book and Jane Eyre, I find that the main characters (or narrators) couldn’t be more different.
Jane is quiet but strong-willed. The narrator of Rebecca is quiet, uninteresting, and has little to no self-confidence, only gaining confidence in the later half of the book.
Sometimes, reading the book you just wanted to reach in and grab her by the shoulders and shake her saying, “Grow a backbone!” This may be a personal nitpick. I don’t mind meek, shy, or even delicate heroines, but insecure doormats I just can’t stand.
The book can also drag in spots, especially when the narrator describes things as mundane as daily routine in the manor. The mundane descriptions felt unnecessary at times. But I did enjoy Du Maurier’s descriptions of scenery in the book.
The book felt underwhelming and somewhat unimpressive. Don’t get me wrong, I find parts of the book genius. The way titular character Rebecca overshadows the nameless narrator is absolute genius. It amazes me how Du Maurier wrote it without ever mentioning the narrator's first name or even maiden name. It was subtle but there.
You have various examples of characters who haunt the narrative of their story for good or bad. Ai in Oshi no Ko and Himmel in Sousou no Frieren are both characters whose memory haunt their loved ones memory. They are modern examples of the character who ‘haunt’ the narrative that spring to mind.
But neither “haunt their respective stories” like Rebecca does in the narrative of Rebecca. She foreshadows the narrator of the story, the newly-wed Mrs. de Winter, and her name is even on the cover of the book. Reading the novel, you may not notice it at first, but Mrs. de Winter’s name is never revealed. Even the name ‘Mrs. de Winter’ is not her own, but a past moniker of Rebecca.
But other than that, the novel didn’t pull me in that much. I plan to read more of Daphne Du Maurier’s works in future to get a better grasp of her writing.