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A review by kathleendayle
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Someone get this girl a Lexapro prescription! … at least, that’s what I wanted for her for the first two-thirds of this book. I identified with her in the worst of my own anxiety and people-pleasing. She was not a particularly inspiring character.

But things turn around in about chapter 19, where the story starts getting good. You realize that her shrinking-violet-ness not entirely her fault; like so many women, she’s conditioned by her time and the awful people around her. Her anxiety is a natural response to a world that values young women so little. 

And then I couldn’t put it down. She starts to gain a bit of agency over  her life and the house staff, finally, as the story unfolds and the suspenseful ending is revealed. Keep reading; it redeems itself in the end!
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