redheadorganist's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, and Infidelity
Minor: Medical content and Animal cruelty
marissasa's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
This gothic classic had all the unsettling, ghostly vibes that I expected. The way that everything was setup and written, from the hauntingly beautiful descriptions of Manderley to the growing unease and madness of our unnamed main character and narrator, kept me engrossed and invested in this story from start to end. Despite being slow-paced and largely character-focused, I somehow enjoyed the super detailed descriptions and imagery paired with the racing inner thoughts of the second Mrs. de Winter. It was fascinating to me that the big reveal came around the middle of the book and not the end, as we got to watch everything we thought we knew about different characters and events unfold into the truth throughout the remainder of the story. I enjoyed that not everything was clearly laid out and that certain aspects of the central conflict, especially regarding character's relationships to each other and the extents of their knowledge of the truth, were kept vague for the mystery of it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
pkc's review against another edition
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? No
4.5
This book was a legato across the continent and into the English countryside, wrapped in intrigue and mystery. The eponymous Rebecca looms large as the second Mrs de Winter navigates her life with the aloof Maxim de Winter of Manderley following a brief romance in the hills and beaches of Monte Carlo. This book has an incredibly layered cast of characters, including the narrator, Maxim, the truly DEVILISH Mrs Danvers, among many others. The plot has twists, turns and more psycho drama than you can imagine. I literally deducted half a star because of pace towards the end, but other than that, it was twisty turny perfection!
Spoiler
without ever making an appearance in physical form
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Incest, Infidelity, Infertility, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
lizgom's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
I must admit I had an idea of what I was going to be reading because someone did Verity by Colleen Hoover was the Wish version of this book and of course I had to rush into listening to this book. I was thrilled listening to this book. I didn't exactly love the characters but honestly the storytelling was so good I kind of forgot about everything I didn't like about them. The story itself was interesting, I found myself constantly thinking about the red flags each character had.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Cancer, and Infidelity
Minor: Terminal illness and Incest
c_serpent's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Have you ever finished a book with an ending that made your jaw drop, and then immediately turn back to the first few chapters to reread them so that you can simply understand? Understand the place and time the story finds the characters in, understand what had happened?
If so, you have read this book.
If you have not, then you should.
Total score: 5/5 stars
If so, you have read this book.
If you have not, then you should.
Total score: 5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Incest, Cancer, and Classism
There is some harmful language about a character with mental disabilities, which is standard of the time. There is a large age gap between the main character and her husband (21 years). There is incest in the book, but it does not occur between the main character and her husband.z_thatsit's review against another edition
dark
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Cancer
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Body shaming
acogna's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Cancer
cady_sass's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
2.0
*mentally prepares self to be cancelled*
Did we all read the same book? It takes reading literally 70% of the book before anything interesting happens at all, and once it gets going it’s fully underwhelming. It’s soooooo long and for what purpose? Wikipedia managed to summarize the entirety of the major plot points in 7 paragraphs and, frankly, that’s more than enough. Just because something was written nearly 100 years ago with arguably beautiful prose does not make it inherently good or a classic. The writing is excellent and for that you get 2 stars, but let’s not glorify a novel that lacked proper editing and meandering plot for 300+ pages. Also, what is the purpose of never naming the main character? Let the woman have a name! Okay, rant over. Sorry not sorry
Did we all read the same book? It takes reading literally 70% of the book before anything interesting happens at all, and once it gets going it’s fully underwhelming. It’s soooooo long and for what purpose? Wikipedia managed to summarize the entirety of the major plot points in 7 paragraphs and, frankly, that’s more than enough. Just because something was written nearly 100 years ago with arguably beautiful prose does not make it inherently good or a classic. The writing is excellent and for that you get 2 stars, but let’s not glorify a novel that lacked proper editing and meandering plot for 300+ pages. Also, what is the purpose of never naming the main character? Let the woman have a name! Okay, rant over. Sorry not sorry
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Murder, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Injury/injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
poisonenvy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
While I read this book back in December, I withheld my review in support of the HarperCollins Union strike, which lasted for over two months. In light of their recently ratifying their contract, I'll post my review now:
Our main character, who's known only as Mrs. de Winters (the second Mrs. de Winters, as it is) meets her much-older husband, Maxim, while on vacation, and married him after only a few weeks of knowing him. Maxim is recently widowed, and when the narrator goes back to his estate, Mandersley, she finds that it's not quite what she expected, especially once she finds that she can't escape the shadow cast by his late wife, the charming, beautiful, and beloved Rebecca.
If there's one thing that Daphne Du Maurier does well, it's that she's masterful at setting atmospheric tension. This book is slow, but it's told in such a way that it keeps you at the edge of your seat. There was an entire chapter where nothing much happened, but that I could barely bring myself to read it because of how much second-hand embarrassment/cringing I was feeling.
Overall, this book is crafted beautifully. The narrator has a vivid imagination, one of the most vivid I've read in fiction and which I related far too much to as anxiety daydreams. I thought the choice to exclude her "beautiful and unique" name from the narrative was brilliantly done -- she's only Mrs. de Winters, unable to be separated from her husband, unable to stand on her own two feet.
I read this with my bookclub, and had a great time with them trying to navigate through the twist and the turns of the story. This was honestly excellent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Murder, Ableism, and Incest
Minor: Infertility
sennaje's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Murder