Rebecca in Readalongs with Ange

Mar 07, 2010 Tanya (aka ListObsessedReader) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-read, 1001, around-the-world-in-80-books

November 2010 Original Review
This has been sitting on my bedside table probably for the past year and I'm so glad I finally picked it up!

I powered through this in under 24 hours and loved every minute. I thought I knew the basic jist of the storyline, however plot twists soon took me to a place I was not expecting! Basically I found it unputdownable.

Some quotes that made me laugh:
"I'm not the sort of person men marry"
and one that illustrates how much the English language has changed:
"Giles will ...more

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Jun 07, 2009 Ashleigh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, 2012, 2014

EDIT 2013: My main reason for rereading this - other than me just adoring the book - is I wanted something to do while commuting daily. So, as it's one of the only audiobooks I possess I decided it was time to enjoy it all over again. I reiterate what I said last year when I listened to it - Alex Kingston brings this alive, truly. Her voice just compliments the tone of the novel so perfectly - mysterious, sensual and passionate all at once.

To give a brief synopsis; Rebecca is the story of a youn EDIT 2013: My main reason for rereading this - other than me just adoring the book - is I wanted something to do while commuting daily. So, as it's one of the only audiobooks I possess I decided it was time to enjoy it all over again. I reiterate what I said last year when I listened to it - Alex Kingston brings this alive, truly. Her voice just compliments the tone of the novel so perfectly - mysterious, sensual and passionate all at once.

To give a brief synopsis; Rebecca is the story of a young woman - who we never find out the name of - who marries wealthy Maxim de Winter, mostly to escape her life as a companion to a rich American woman. She moves with her new husband to his estate, Manderley, where she learns about her husband's previous wife, Rebecca; while she died over a year ago, the house is still full of her presence. Mrs Danvers - the housekeeper - is still 100% faithful to Rebecca. Throughout the story, Mrs de Winter begins to ask questions about Rebecca and her past with her husband; attempting to understand how she managed to enthral everyone she met. However, as the story progresses, Mrs. de Winter discovers that not everyone at Manderley has been completely honest with her, and Rebecca herself is what lays at the heart of the web of secrets.

Since I first read this book, I preferred it over Jane Eyre. While it has some similarities to Bronte's work, du Maurier keeps the twists coming until the last minute which makes it a much more engaging read. I also prefer Mrs de Winter to Jane as a main character; she's clumsy, not confident but there's a hidden strength inside her - she seems a lot more real than Jane does to me now.

I will reiterate my love of this book annually, and I just want everyone to read it and love it as I do.

EDIT 2012: This is one of my all time favourite books, it never fails to disappoint me. So when I heard Alex Kingston was doing the audiobook I had to get my hands on it, it wasn't a disappointment. From that famous opening line of "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" I knew it was the single most perfect combination I'd ever let my ears hear. Often I only use an audiobook to supplement my usual reading (read: my own laziness) and not listen to it in it's entirety, the 'audiobook' challenge spurred me on to enjoy this in full (not that I wouldn't want to with Alex Kingston's delightful voice) but it actually gave me reason to listen to it sooner rather than later. Alex reads this book with such auditory delight. I think she has a perfect voice for the tone of the book, dark, mysterious yet very passionate and she captures the depth of it perfectly.

Quite possibly one of the single most amazingly spellbinding book I've ever read. From that oh-so-famous opening line of 'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...' I was simply absorbed within it. It was just beautiful to read, everything about it was just beautiful. The dark atmosphere created within this idyllic lifestyle that the narrator seems to create. Everything about this book captured me, the sheer description and intricacies in du Maurier's writing made everything written so real to me - everything I read I could picture. I could smell the garden, hear the waves. One word describes this - amazing.

This book never left me hanging for long 鈥� just as I thought I knew what was going on, that I could quite easily guess the ending, something happened what shook me right back to cluelessness. The writing itself was captivating; the story just pulled me in. It had just the right mix of intrigue, mystery and romance and though I鈥檝e only just finished it I just want to pick it up and loose myself in it once again.

Mrs de Winter, a young, insecure bride felt herself a 鈥榩et鈥� for her husband, tells the story of how she was swept off of her feet by rich and aristocratic Maxim de Winter in Monte Carlo then taken back to his home where everywhere she turns there are memories of his first wife, Rebecca. Rebecca is described as this 鈥榩erfect鈥� woman; perfect wife, perfect mistress, perfect hostess and though dead throughout the book she was clearly the most developed character; even though the narrator never knew her she knew 鈥榚惫别谤测迟丑颈苍驳鈥� about her; the way she walked, talked, dressed, wrote all through Mrs de Winter鈥檚 obsession over her late predecessor. Mrs de Winter is said to have 鈥榝elt like a child鈥� and rather insignificant in the shadow of Rebecca; hence the obsession she had for her.

I found all the characters likeable in some way, even through their clear flaws they had been well built upon and very real to read. The clarity of Du Maurier鈥檚 writing is just beautiful to read 鈥� she can paint a picture like no other author has in my mind before, I did wonder for a while if maybe she was simply too clear, leaving very little to the imagination. But really, I felt like I was Mrs de Winter 鈥� I was that young bride, that I was the person being haunted by a mere memory...

Simply spellbinding. ...more

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May 28, 2015 Caitlin rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

4 stars because even though I HATED the narrator as a person (and was sort of hoping that she would die tragically and someone else would suddenly take over the narrative), I can't say that the writing wasn't good or that the story wasn't compelling. Definitely really liked it. Definitely think it would have been better if the narrator had died by my hands. ...more

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Aug 22, 2015 Rebecca Jane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-poetry

3.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the story and the writing, but the themes, ideas, symbolism and connections were a bit hard for me to grasp. I ended up having to read the afterword.

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