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Book Review
Nov. 15th, 2024 01:08 pmRebecca
by Daphne du Maurier
This classic gothic novel is told from the perspective of an unnamed young woman. While vacationing in Monte Carlo with her employer, the narrator meets and falls in love with an older, mysterious widower, Maxim de Winter. They marry and he takes her back to his Cornish estate Manderley. There, she discovers that her husband's late wife, Rebecca, still has a hold over the mansion and its staff, especially the sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. Eventually, Rebecca's and Manderley's secrets come to light and everything comes to a head.
Rebecca is a very atmospheric novel with a more modern take on the gothic. The narrator is rather naive and passive - my only quibble with the book was how little backbone she shows and how little initiative she has in dealing with her situation. In her defense, everyone seems to expect her to just slide into the role of Mrs. de Winter and carry on where Rebecca left off, but no one ever gives her any real information or explanation regarding the house, her predecessor, or much of anything. The plot moves rather slowly for the first two thirds of the book, but it works well because it leaves plenty of room to build up an atmosphere of shadowy foreboding simmering under the dull routine of a country estate. du Maurier is really good at using descriptions of the natural world around Manderley to reflect the undercurrents of the characters and the plot.
by Daphne du Maurier
This classic gothic novel is told from the perspective of an unnamed young woman. While vacationing in Monte Carlo with her employer, the narrator meets and falls in love with an older, mysterious widower, Maxim de Winter. They marry and he takes her back to his Cornish estate Manderley. There, she discovers that her husband's late wife, Rebecca, still has a hold over the mansion and its staff, especially the sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. Eventually, Rebecca's and Manderley's secrets come to light and everything comes to a head.
Rebecca is a very atmospheric novel with a more modern take on the gothic. The narrator is rather naive and passive - my only quibble with the book was how little backbone she shows and how little initiative she has in dealing with her situation. In her defense, everyone seems to expect her to just slide into the role of Mrs. de Winter and carry on where Rebecca left off, but no one ever gives her any real information or explanation regarding the house, her predecessor, or much of anything. The plot moves rather slowly for the first two thirds of the book, but it works well because it leaves plenty of room to build up an atmosphere of shadowy foreboding simmering under the dull routine of a country estate. du Maurier is really good at using descriptions of the natural world around Manderley to reflect the undercurrents of the characters and the plot.
