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A review by literarychronicles
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
5.0
“Rebecca” is the story of a young woman, who’s not Rebecca, and whose name we'll never find out. It is a classic tale which entwines mystery, suspense, romance, deception & guilt.
While working as the companion to a rich American woman on holiday in Monte Carlo, our narrator, a naïve young woman in her early 20s, becomes acquainted with a wealthy & aloof Englishman, Maximilian (Maxim) de Winter, a 42 year old widower. Within two weeks of meeting him, she falls in love with him & agrees to marry him. After a short honeymoon, she accompanies him to his mansion in Cornwall, the beautiful Manderley. There she learns about the ex-wife, Rebecca, the life she led and her death. Although Rebecca had died almost a year ago, the house is still full of her presence. The memory of the dead wife is kept alive by the dismal housekeeper, Mrs Danvers. At Manderly, even Maxim is a changed man. The story describes the narrator’s struggle at Manderly with Mrs. Danvers and Rebecca’s ghost and her struggle to free Maxim from his dark past.
For me, the novel was truly a delight. It is expertly crafted and beautifully written. The first thing which caught my attention was the beautiful language used by the author. She has written vivid and lengthy descriptions of her natural surroundings and the life at Manderly, the reader would feel that he’s there with the narrator enjoying the same environment. You can almost smell the cakes served for tea through the pages of the book.
I found the narrator similar to me in some aspects, although I have never been a timid character like her. The unnamed narrator is an introvert and I have concluded that I am also one. She has the skill to micro-analyse everything around her, people, buildings, trees etc. In fact, one feels that that’s all she’s doing. She is always roaming in the imaginary world, dreaming about one thing or the other. She has the ability to create & recreate events in her imagination. She is not seeing what there is, but might be and what might have been. As I read on, I was able to feel as one with the narrator due to this introverted nature of her.
All in all, Rebecca is a novel that I truly enjoyed. The mystery & suspense in it won’t let a reader put down the book before finishing.
While working as the companion to a rich American woman on holiday in Monte Carlo, our narrator, a naïve young woman in her early 20s, becomes acquainted with a wealthy & aloof Englishman, Maximilian (Maxim) de Winter, a 42 year old widower. Within two weeks of meeting him, she falls in love with him & agrees to marry him. After a short honeymoon, she accompanies him to his mansion in Cornwall, the beautiful Manderley. There she learns about the ex-wife, Rebecca, the life she led and her death. Although Rebecca had died almost a year ago, the house is still full of her presence. The memory of the dead wife is kept alive by the dismal housekeeper, Mrs Danvers. At Manderly, even Maxim is a changed man. The story describes the narrator’s struggle at Manderly with Mrs. Danvers and Rebecca’s ghost and her struggle to free Maxim from his dark past.
For me, the novel was truly a delight. It is expertly crafted and beautifully written. The first thing which caught my attention was the beautiful language used by the author. She has written vivid and lengthy descriptions of her natural surroundings and the life at Manderly, the reader would feel that he’s there with the narrator enjoying the same environment. You can almost smell the cakes served for tea through the pages of the book.
I found the narrator similar to me in some aspects, although I have never been a timid character like her. The unnamed narrator is an introvert and I have concluded that I am also one. She has the skill to micro-analyse everything around her, people, buildings, trees etc. In fact, one feels that that’s all she’s doing. She is always roaming in the imaginary world, dreaming about one thing or the other. She has the ability to create & recreate events in her imagination. She is not seeing what there is, but might be and what might have been. As I read on, I was able to feel as one with the narrator due to this introverted nature of her.
All in all, Rebecca is a novel that I truly enjoyed. The mystery & suspense in it won’t let a reader put down the book before finishing.