Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

37 reviews

strawb3rrysugar's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book definitely starts slowly. Events won't start picking up until halfway through the book. However, the payoff is worth it. Du Maurier takes the time to establish Rebecca's presence in Manderley and in the narrative, haunting the narrator and all other characters. Definitely a good book to start with if you want to get into gothic literature but aren't sure where to start. It was pretty easy to follow, save one or two google searches.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Murder

Minor: Ableism

Mrs. Danvers tries to get the narrator to kill herself in one chapter. A disabled character named Ben is described in many derogatory ways, and says he's afraid of being sent to an asylum.

When Rebecca's real body and boat are discovered, there's some brief description of her body having dissolved from being in the water for so long. Not terribly graphic, but a little disturbing.

This book never approaches being overly graphic, but how the overall storyline pans out might be upsetting to some who have experienced domestic abuse.

meh697's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

mone1313's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, and Murder

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

samanthaleereads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide

ravenpuff's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, and Suicide

yvo_about_books's review

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... 

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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

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)

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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

e_r_q's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I feel her everywhere. You do too, don't you?"

Rebecca is a captivating, mysterious and dark gothic romance. In many ways, it is also a highly unconventional ghost story. Despite being a slow-burn, it is undeniably an incredibly engrossing novel; I just can't get it out of my head.

It is consistently unpredictable, and the various twists and turns it took genuinely managed to shock me. Everything builds to an unforgettably tense climax.

I absolutely loved Daphne du Maurier's masterful characterisation. The unamed protagonist is probably one of my favourite narrators of all time; I really liked her uncertainty and insecurity, and I loved how she constantly drifted into elaborate day-dreams. I also really liked how every character, to an extent, is extremely unreliable, lending a degree of ambiguity to the events of the novel.

I am also in love with du Maurier's gorgeously gothic and strikingly atmospheric writing; she manages to make the setting of Manderley feel like a character in itself.

Unfortunately, it is very much a product of its time, with some dated and abhorrent racist and abelist moments.

But overall, Rebecca is an iconic tale of obsession, love, gender, trust, power and the haunting force of the past. There's a reason it's a classic.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Misogyny and Racism

sadiaa's review against another edition

4.75

Wish it didn't end the way it did 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Death, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Murder, and Alcohol