Rebecca

“If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent. And it never faded, and it never got stale. And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.”

Why did it take me so long to pick this up?

Very addictive book, I read almost all of it one sitting (I had previously gone through only the first chapter). I was close to giving it 5 stars, but it wasn't quite there for me though. Overaall it was suspenseful story. Not as creepy/dark as I was expecting it to be, so I was a little disappointed there. Nevertheless, I still savored it.

I also enjoyed the characters despite the fact that they're all such terrible people, including Mrs. de Winter, the second, dear God, what-a-doormat. Fun to read about though. This is what I call unlikable characters done right.

I wish I had buddy read this. It's one on those books that provides plenty material for debates. The ending made me realize the parallels Jane Eyre which ignited in me the desire to read it again.

What a beautiful and riveting book.

This book starts off almost like an homage to the classic “ex-partner” emotional baggage that many of us have experienced before in our lives. The feeling when you've just gone serious with someone special, but everyone around them seems to only look at you just to compare you with their previous long-term partner. The feeling of never being able to live up to expectations and that you're not welcome in your new partner's life. It ambles along slowly and I took about 5 days to get up to the halfway mark.

Today, when I finally got up to about halfway and a major event happens (Mrs. Danver's bitchiness at the fancy dress ball), I had an inkling that things were coming to a head. And, boy, was I right. The second half of the book simply flew by and I refused to do anything else but sit and finish it. If the first half of the book read like a slow and abstract stroll through a patch of woods that you can't decide was more sorrowful, beautiful, or sinister, the second half of the book is when you realise you're not in Kansas anymore.

I've never read a book that feels as steeped in that feeling of being an imposter as Daphne DuMarier's Rebecca. Our heroine is a never-named middle-class young English woman, in her early 20s, who's earning her living as a traveling companion to an crude older woman. On a stop in Monaco, she meets Maxim deWinter, who her employer is all too happy to repeat gossip about and try to kiss up to: he's the owner of the famous and magnificent country estate of Manderly, and his beautiful, stylish wife Rebecca recently died tragically. The young lady and Maxim have a whirlwind courtship, and before she knows it, she's married and honeymooned and off to her new home and new life as the mistress of a great house.

But when they get to Manderly, things go quickly south. Being middle-class, she's barely been in a place like this, and hasn't the slightest idea how to make it her own. Her husband is suddenly distant and moody. Her only real friend is the spaniel dog that she takes her walks with. The head housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, all but openly sneers at her and constantly reminds her that she's not anything like the charming and passionate Rebecca. And it's not just Mrs. Danvers...even the locals she goes to visit tell her over and over again how exciting things were when Rebecca was around, how beautiful she was, how delightful. The shy, quiet second Mrs. deWinter begins to despair of ever being good enough for the role she's been handed, and is talked into putting on a costume ball (like the ones Rebecca used to have!) that changes everything.

If you've ever heard about super fast marriages Back In The Day and wondered if people even really knew each other when they go married, Rebecca answers that question with a resounding no. A major part of the drama comes from the fact that the young wife can't understand why Maxim married her and is afraid to share her fears and feelings of inadequacy because, well, she barely knows him. She tortures herself by imagining that he's constantly comparing her to Rebecca, and she's sure she comes up short. She can't even hide from the imposter syndrome that's consuming her...the very place she lives reminds her of the ways in which she feels inadequate. This book is often billed as a gothic romance, and while the former is accurate, the latter isn't really, in my opinion: there's a marriage at the center of it, but not really a romance per se.

Instead, I'd call this a psychological suspense novel. We know from the beginning that the deWinters no longer live at Manderly, that something bad happened there. How exactly this happens unwinds over the course of the book, with the inner lives of the characters and their relationships with each other being driving the action. And the story is well-told and well-paced, but it's still a classic rather than a modern-day thriller, so while it's certainly gripping it's not really a page-turner that'll keep you up all night. And for me, that's preferable anyways. I really enjoyed reading it and plan to add more duMaurier to my list of books to read. I'd recommend Rebecca to just about anybody, it's a tightly crafted and engaging story that'll appeal to anyone who's ever felt like they were playacting at being a grown-up.

Recensie van audioboek (via Storytel)

Alhoewel ik het verhaal goed geschreven vond, waarbij de spanning langzaam en dreigend wordt opgebouwd, had ik er op een of andere manier meer van verwacht.
Het verhaal op zich vond ik niet zo origineel, wat vermoedelijk te verwachten vielt, gezien het een klassieker is en dus gezien moet worden in zijn publicatietijd. Maar zelfs dan heb ik zo een beetje mijn twijfels bij de overdreven naïviteit van het hoofdpersonage... Of toch vooral het feit dat ze geen vragen stelde of haar mond eens niet open deed om voor zich op te komen.

Once I got through the first few chapters I couldn't put the book down. I was so curious about what had happened with Rebecca. I felt angry at Max even before I learned of his actions. I felt he was a total jerk to the narrator. I also struggled withe the narrator I didn't know if I should I have sympathy for her or roll my eyes at her shyness and inability to stand up for herself.

To say that this book is my favourite horror novel, would be an understatement.
I have always been very intimidated by classics, and this is the first classic I have ever read so naturally, I was hesitant. But then I read the first line and before I knew it, I was reading the last line. This classic literally left me breathless. The fact that I didn't know what I was getting myself into, just added on to it. I expected the horror to be supernatural, but it quickly became a thriller.
The foreshadowing, the descriptions, the inner monologue all was just so wonderful. This one paragraph where the author related this children's game, “The Old Witch” to explain her feelings and horror, left me in absolute awe. Maybe it was because I used to play that game a lot or maybe it was due to the brilliance of her mind to connect it with the book. The way the author wrote, left me with goosebumps. I did not want the novel to end. And now that it has ended, I don't know what to do with myself.

Finished this one on March 30 as well and loved! This is a very good gothic novel. I really loved the story, the writing style, characters were all well written. I didn't like Rebecca though, because personalities like her disgust me. But everything else was great and reading it was quite cosy and pleasant!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A book that I loved, an absolute must read, and now a favorite of mine. It's a book that will live on my shelves forever and I would re-read in the future. I would pick up anything else by this author without question. This book is now one of my all-time favorites.

This was hands down one of the best books I've ever read. It was so beautifully written. The “shocker” slid right into the story. There was no need to have to go out the way and build up to it. The story did that naturally.

Normally I don't like books where characters don't have a name but for some reason that didn't bother me too much with this book.

I know Maxim said Mrs. de Winter had a beautiful and unusual name. I just ended up calling her Delphine. Delphine de Winter.

We also never learn her age but it is mentioned more than once that Mrs. de Winter is much younger than Maxim. He was forty-two so I guessed that she was in her early to mid twenties.

My only regret when it comes to reading this book is that I didn't do it sooner.

2 star.
It was disappointing. I know this is a classic, and I went into the book with moderate expectations. The setup was quite interesting, as we got to know about Rebecca (the first wife) through the eyes and ears of the 2nd wife. In the beginning, the suspense about Rebecca and the characters of the house keeps you interested enough. But slowly, you feel there is no aim for the story, and we will be going through the daily activities of the house with minimal or no plot progression for nearly 40–50% of the book. Only in the last 120–130 pages does the plot get interesting. Still, at the end of the book, there is a non-satisfying feeling.

What a phenomenal story! I adore all the themes and characters within. I loved the intrigue, suspense, passion, romance, gothic horror and mystery that is saturated within the text. The book is brimming with complex characters and a beautifully executed suspenseful thriller plot line. Characters such as Frank, Mrs Danvers, the unnamed heroine, Maxim and of course Rebecca are deeply layered and possess such conflicting humanity that makes the story so intoxicating and striking. I loved the nod to bronte literature within the pages of Rebecca and Du Mauriers writing style was so compelling and enjoyable that I hungrily devoured the story from the first page to the last. I loved the ambiguity of the ending and the ambiguity of maxim and his second wives future. I just adored this book and it is a brand new favourite classic of mine. I cannot wait to re-read this book alongside the Bronte classics and I also cannot wait to devour all of Du Mauriers other works very soon. A must read for fans of classic gothic horror and those in search of a suspenseful treat of a book!

This novel I really enjoyed because it felt very romantic with all those beautiful and lovely descriptions but it also made me sad, uncomfortable, distressed and very conflicted. I loved it!! A mystery novel as well, although I thought those parts were lacking something and the pace suddenly picked up in those parts and I didn't enjoy it as much as well as the protagonist being a bit annoying.

I absolutely loved this book and it's now on my top 5. It's such a compelling enthralling story with great depths and meanings that I wonder why I'd never read it before. It started at its ending and in a very cyclical way, it ends at the start. The themes, the floral motifs, the picturesque landscapes, the characters, their names, identities, the elements, EVERYTHING is so incredibly well put. It put into perspective how much we miss/ignore in our lives, things that if were to be seen from a third-person perspective, would alarm us. I loved that I could empathise with the narrator yet upon taking a step back, I could also see the bigger picture, the actual truth. I found it to be a work of brilliancy in the way some may take the plot at its face value and enjoy it, while others who delve deeper can identify its complexities and understand better.

I wish I could've taken this in school and had studied it in depth. But then again, I may not have enjoyed it as much as it would've seemed tedious then. I also wish to reread it sometime in the future.

A definite recommendation.

Well, that was unexpected!

I opened up this book yesterday, almost reluctantly, thinking how it will probably take me forever to finish it. And then proceeded to spend the following 24 hours doing nothing but reading it and thinking about what I read.
I don't know what I expected but it wasn't this. Angst, melancholy, suspense. It made me emotional and thoughtful.
What an experience it has been!

The writing is lovely and vivid and creepy, but I did not enjoy the story. I don't understand the hype.

The main character is annoying, childish, and daydreams all the time. She doesn't have a name. She doesn't really show much growth outside of really leaning in to her puppy love idolization of Maxim. The book is written from her perspective, so I think that's why I couldn't love it like so many others do.