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A review by hannahsbookshelf
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
I didn't know what to expect as I purposely didn't read much about this book before reading and I think that was the right decision for me. It gave me "naïve girl marries rich older man who lives in a beautiful house with large grounds" vibes similar to Austen, etc, but there is more intrigue and mystery and revelations, that I absolutely ate up.
Rebecca is an enigma even though she is all anyone at Manderley talks about, and we gather tidbits of information as we read along and the mystery surrounding her death is fully revealed by the conclusion of the novel.
A clever decision from du Maurier was that the book is named after a deceased character, and yet our protagonist, the narrator of this tale, is never named. She is only ever referred to as Mrs de Winter or "my wife" etc, ironic as the deceased Mrs du Winter's name is so prevalently used, and her predecessors first name is never even revealed despite it being written from her perspective, prehaps to solidify the theme of feeling inadequate when she compares herself to Rebecca but is it all in her head...?
Rebecca is an enigma even though she is all anyone at Manderley talks about, and we gather tidbits of information as we read along and the mystery surrounding her death is fully revealed by the conclusion of the novel.
A clever decision from du Maurier was that the book is named after a deceased character, and yet our protagonist, the narrator of this tale, is never named. She is only ever referred to as Mrs de Winter or "my wife" etc, ironic as the deceased Mrs du Winter's name is so prevalently used, and her predecessors first name is never even revealed despite it being written from her perspective, prehaps to solidify the theme of feeling inadequate when she compares herself to Rebecca but is it all in her head...?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Murder
Minor: Cancer