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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.0
Finished reading: September 29th 2023
"I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end."
WARNING: unpopular opinion ahead!!
I've been meaning to read Rebecca for years now, and after I saw one of my favorite books of 2023 The Hacienda being compared to this classic I decided to not wait any longer and finally pick it up. I had high hopes for this story, as I do love a good gothic thriller... But in the end I guess it wasn't ment to be. I know that the fact that I've been struggling with a reading slump might have been part of the problem, but I can't look past the fact that it took me eleven! days to finish reading a book that would usually only take me a day or two. I was warned of the slow start, and I definitely agree with that warning. I'm not sure if I would have continued reading if it hadn't known about the slow start, because the beginning is rather dull and tedious. Things do improve when the couple arrives at Manderley, and there are some clever twists and developments along the way. Sadly, I found the second Mrs. de Winter to be such a frustrating character to deal with though; having to spend so much time inside her head only made it more difficult to fight that slump and pick up my copy of Rebecca. The fact that she is basically a human doormat and lets everybody walk all over her became SO annoying, and she never fully redeemed herself for me. I did appreciate the descriptions of Manderley and the general gothic feel of the plot, but it wasn't enough to properly enjoy this story. I still might try a reread at some point to see just how big of a role the reading slump played when it comes to my reaction to this classic...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
aude's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer, Incest, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Animal cruelty, Suicide, Death of parent, and Cultural appropriation
kathryn_saulinas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide
iammmartina_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Alcohol
daepyonimst's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Cancer and Suicide
daniellarae's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Beautifully written but not that much actually happens. The book focuses mainly on relationship dynamics and society of the time period which is interesting to interpret and dissect. Beatrice Lacy was the only enjoyable character for me, but Frank was a sweetheart.
I was a bit disappointed at the lack of ghostly presence and atmosphere that I was expecting. I thought it would be creepier. The twist was also quite predictable.
A classic nonetheless.
(My content warning tags may contain some minor spoilers)
I was a bit disappointed at the lack of ghostly presence and atmosphere that I was expecting. I thought it would be creepier. The twist was also quite predictable.
A classic nonetheless.
(My content warning tags may contain some minor spoilers)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder, and Cultural appropriation
archiveofrasa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
the very cool thing (to Literature nerds at least) about classics is that they're much more obscure with depth and complexity, which ultimately results in a far more interesting read.
I thoroughly enjoyed annotating my copy like I was back in my English class, only I was actually appreciating and reading what I was analysing. du Maurier's use of dialogue is by far my favourite aspect of this book as they brought up tension so quickly and intensely. her characters are also what carried the story for me, with how nuanced and smartly she wove the character interactions and feelings into every scene. It was so easy to immerse myself into the story as if I was there and not reading a book, but seeing it play out before me.
people have said they hate specific characters and while I personally don't like any of them, I don't particularly hate them either because of how complex they are. the only character I can think to like the least is Maxim but even then we're not entirely sure how unreliable he is compared to everyone else. I do agree with how sinister Mrs Danvers is but even she's unreliable and clouded with grief and her actions do match the time period this is set in. there are things she does that are terrible, but also parts where I feel her mind turning, her feelings breaking the surface. every character felt so real, it's incredible how du Maurier captures them in this story. even with Rebecca and the narrator, their phantom relationship was crafted so well I doubt I'll forget it anytime soon.
I thoroughly enjoyed annotating my copy like I was back in my English class, only I was actually appreciating and reading what I was analysing. du Maurier's use of dialogue is by far my favourite aspect of this book as they brought up tension so quickly and intensely. her characters are also what carried the story for me, with how nuanced and smartly she wove the character interactions and feelings into every scene. It was so easy to immerse myself into the story as if I was there and not reading a book, but seeing it play out before me.
people have said they hate specific characters and while I personally don't like any of them, I don't particularly hate them either because of how complex they are. the only character I can think to like the least is Maxim but even then we're not entirely sure how unreliable he is compared to everyone else. I do agree with how sinister Mrs Danvers is but even she's unreliable and clouded with grief and her actions do match the time period this is set in. there are things she does that are terrible, but also parts where I feel her mind turning, her feelings breaking the surface. every character felt so real, it's incredible how du Maurier captures them in this story. even with Rebecca and the narrator, their phantom relationship was crafted so well I doubt I'll forget it anytime soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism and Incest
as with a lot of classics, though, there is the discrepancy I feel about race in this story. There is a bit of cultural appropriation of Arabs and a few classic phrases that feel really weird coming out of a white character's mouth. I want to mention this because I still enjoyed the book, but to do so I had to ignore those aspects. not everyone has the luxury to do so. even if it's from an old time doesn't make it okay. we can critically like things.bone_empress's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Classism
Minor: Incest and Cultural appropriation
Ableism: there's an adult character that may have a developmental disability. People talk down to him and use disparaging words to describe him, and he is portrayed as being unintelligent. It's also heavily implied that he may have also been emotionally abused in the past and threatened with being institutionalized. The character is not present for most of the book. Bullying and emotional abuse: one character is intentionally hurtful to the narrator, playing upon the narrator's fears and insecurities. The narrator's husband stonewalls her sometimes and the narrator is impacted negatively. Cultural appropriation: Characters dress up in appropriated attire at an event. One is in brown face. Incest: a secondary character had a consensual relationship with a non-immediate family member in the past. Not described in detail. Suicide: a character is theorized to have successfully ended their life and the method is generally described but does not give violent details. Suicidal thoughts (very mild spoiler, no names):batcaves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
marie_99's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder