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ravenpuff's review against another edition
- 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
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 against another edition
3.0
"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...
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
bone_empress's review against another edition
- 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
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):clairew97's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
magellen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Oh poor sweet HELLA adhd Mrs. DeWinter - it is so deeply amusing to read this book, with her being "embarrassed for them because they didn't have the sense to" and her intense rejection sensitivity disorder and all her wild conjectures and anxiety.
This is such a fantastic book in the gothic catalogue and a classic of twisty overlapping story. Its ableist and racist in places in line with shitty white moneyed people of the era.
Young wife, husband twice her age, giant estate and a malicious housekeeper. Lots of secrets. Lots of miscommunication haha
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, and Murder
ambermarshall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It starts off slowly but so richly described that it drew me right in, and then in the second half it gripped me tightly and pulled me along. So much is revealed that casts earlier parts in a new light, and I found myself flipping back and forth and rereading earlier passages. The mystery and suspense were excellent, and romance took a back seat (it was all rather chaste as far as romance goes). It ends rather abruptly but I read a little more of the beginning again (which takes place after the events of the book) and it can act as a sort of epilogue as well as prologue, and you get a different reading from it after reading the entire novel.
I do wonder if the beginning might serve better at the end, since it takes away a little bit of the suspense to know that MC and Maxim are away and safe after everything, though I did wonder if maybe they were on the lam.
Overall, I'm hugely impressed. A masterpiece indeed.
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, and Cultural appropriation
mme_carton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Infertility, and Death of parent
klfgasaway's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Incest, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Cultural appropriation
bethsicle's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
will_sandy's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Bullying, Death, and Grief