Rebecca
1938 • 376 pages
Ratings64
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings64
Average rating4.2
With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten—a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife—the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.
Reviews with the most likes.
As someone named Rebecca, people always asked me “like the book” all the time and all I knew about the book was (a) it is old, (b) Rebecca was dead from the beginning (c) the narrator was unnamed and (d) it was gothic
For a book pushing 100, it holds up decently well. The unnamed protagonist, the looming atmosphere of Rebecca both are deeply evocative literary choices. The pacing is decent, although the protagonist's flights of fancy (social anxiety?) got a little old. I liked having a narrator who was as unfamiliar with high society at the time as the modern reader was.
I am so torn about this book. It is exceptionally well-written, which is I'm sure what makes it a classic and keeps people reading it. But the narrator was such a frustrating character to me. As I read the book, I kept telling people, I'm really enjoying reading this book, but I don't like it! I don't know if I've ever read another book that I would say that about. There is no book without the main character's obsession with Rebecca and Rebecca's influence over her husband and all the people in their lives. And yet that obsession, self-doubt, and misinterpretation of everything going on was so frustrating to read. Ugh! I don't know what to think of this.
The first chapter was a toss-away, a dream whose purpose was simply to describe the house and grounds of Manderley. I always dislike dreams in books because they feel like lazy writing; the author is trying to wedge information into the story without actually figuring out how to work that info in naturally. So the first (brief) chapter was read in supreme irritation, and the second (brief) chapter hurried through since our story doesn't start there, either. The third chapter - that is when things get rolling. And holy cow do they roll, taking us on a journey between low-level dread and white-hot tension. A true thriller in the highest sense of the word, creating the exact right mood for the end of October.
Highly recommend.
4.5 - Wonderful writing that sears into the mind. I loved the characters and settings, but found the meekness of the unnamed narrator pushing belief at times. Aaron kept laughing when he noticed my nose in the book while walking around or trying to do some chore. I have qualms with the quote ‘romance', as well as some racism/abelism, but it's a fun novel to turn on its head and examine. The Netflix adaptation falls extremely flat to the novel, so I'll be watching the Hitchcock version soon.
