Scan barcode
meganrina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism, Incest, and Terminal illness
katie_elise'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: Suicide and Murder
amzthebookdevourer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer and Gun violence
Minor: Ableism, Incest, Infertility, Suicide, Dementia, and Cultural appropriation
gvstyris'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? Yes
4.25
I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, and continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness and reserve, and in their blindness and folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth.
Very unsure about how to rate this book. Rebecca has been on my mental TBR for years, primarily because of its enduring influence on other media I love (Gone Girl, even various Taylor Swift songs hahah), so my expectations were probably unfairly high.
And, in many ways, they were met. I loved the Gothic setting and eerie tone, as well as the slow build of tension -- although I totally get where it'll bug other readers, given how long it takes to reach any action. Manderley is almost a character in-and-of-itself, which was super compelling, and du Maurier's prose really is gorgeous. I also really admired the shift in the narrator's voice throughout the novel as she lost her youthful naivety and grew into her role of 'Mrs de Winter.'
I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, whatever the poets may say.
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Incest and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Suicide, and Terminal illness
milanaradic'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
4.25
Moderate: Suicide and Murder
emily_ford16's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
Moderate: Cancer
stories's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
theangelssing's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
jayjayjers's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Incest and Terminal illness
chellareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Du Maurier's writing is superb. The narrative structure and pacing is also impeccable. And why isn't the last line as famous as the first line of this novel? What an ending.
Her writing is so vivid and at times cinematic. I could see every glance and gesture. And she's very good a page turner chapter endings. A delight to read.
This novel is doing so much. It has elements of Bluebeard and Red Riding Hood, but also intentionally mirrors Jane Eyre.
It has lots of dreams and dreamy sequences, but most of it is social realism. Her dialogue captures to social nuances of the English upper-class. Their snobbery and social rules, which both protect and trap them.
Manderley is the embodiment of the social structures they are trapped in. It puts demands on their lives, as they pass endless days there under rigid routine.
The book also examines the lives of women within this structure. How two women choose to navigate marriage and society and neither really win. But nobody wins in this gloomy tale. Rebecca comes closest, as the anti-heroine from beyond the grave.
A gripping read. I will have to read this again because there is so much to glean.
Highly recommend.
Moderate: Suicide