Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Rebecca - Abridged by Daphne du Maurier

78 reviews

cyberhavok's review against another edition

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

4.25


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ratnix's review against another edition

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

4.5

 
I absolutely loved the question posed throughout the book: "Has Rebecca won?"

Rebecca has won. In fact, she had already won before even her murder took place, even before the nameless heroine meets Max, even before the narrative begins.

Mrs. Danvers is a scion of Rebecca, she is there to continue her influence on Manderley and even she has lost to Rebecca, though she does not see it; her full allegiance to Rebecca has subjected her to a kind of monstrification fuelled by her hate for both the heroine and Max.

Rebecca not only haunts the narrative, she takes full control of it by creating and enhancing the heroine's insecurities, plaguing her with nightmares of Manderley even after the events of the book have taken place [as the first line of the book suggests] and of Rebecca herself, by unintentionally turning Mrs. Danvers into a loyal servant willing to drive the nameless heroine into committing suicide, by haunting Max's reality.

Rebecca's rage at Max's convenient escape from being imprisoned for his crime is seen in the fire of the mansion. You can almost hear her scream Manderley will go down just like I did, but I will always be there

So, yes. Rebecca has won.

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amzthebookdevourer's review against another edition

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challenging 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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I found the first half of the book to be excruciatingly slow at points, with excessive detail. However, I'm so glad I stuck with it as the second half was phenomenal! Secrets were revealed, tension was masterfully built, and the twists and turns were so unexpected. 

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molly_au's review against another edition

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

3.5


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stories's review against another edition

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

4.5

Very capital R Romantic, filled with symbolism and literary allusion. 

Would be fascinating to study, and even fascinating to reread: the abrupt ending certainly had me jumping immediately back to the opening. 

Plenty of ambiguity, as well as foreshadowing, and endless musing on hypothetical scenarios. Gorgeous descriptive language. Lots of mystery, and drawn out reveals of information. Written for the journey of coming to understand, not just arrival at the destination.  

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kirstencholewa's review against another edition

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

2.0

I struggled to get invested in this book and didn’t feel it picked up until around 60% of the way through. 

It may have been the audio format, but was difficult at times to know when the narrator was imagining scenarios or if it was actually happening. 

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readingduckling's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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? No

4.0

A very hard read. The reason I read it was that this book was apparently the inspiration for Taylor Swifts "Tolerate it". 
I will definitely read it again, maybe the rating will be better then, but for now I think 4 stars are fitting. 

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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0


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zulmiro's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25


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flaweddimension's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

Rebecca is a magnificently tense portrait of a character who never appears. The new Mrs. de Winter, who never gets a first name or much of anything the lady of the house should have, comes to the estate of her older, somewhat moody husband, and finds that the first Mrs. de Winter is very much a (disembodied) resident. The new Mrs. de Winter's shy diffidence can barely hope to dislodge the power that Rebecca de Winter exerted over the staff, led by the chilling Mrs. Danvers, and the house as a whole. And, yes, Maxim de Winter himself. The acceleration from the midpoint is absolutely top-notch. Chapter 1 is all atmosphere; Chapter 2 is worth a revisit immediately after the story ends. The snake bites its tail. The past is never really gone.

That is Rebecca's terrible legacy.

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