Rebecca in Around the World

Dec 22, 2009 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read2009, location-uk

I found this book in a cruise ship library when I was trapped at sea. I probably would have read it eventually otherwise because it ends up on a lot of lists, but gothic tales of mysterious dead wives and big bleak mansions aren't usually my thing. It was a quick read, and I am not sure I envy the second Mrs. de Winter for her impossible situation. ...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Rosana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, 2013, bookish-s13-challenge

I finished Rebecca a couple of days ago and had since been thinking of it as I intended to write a review in here. Then, this morning I opened a book at random - Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach – and there, under the entry for May 26 (I did open this at random), I found this quote from Rebecca:

This was a woman’s room, graceful, fragile, the room of someone who had chosen every particle of furniture with great care, so that each chair, each vase, each small I finished Rebecca a couple of days ago and had since been thinking of it as I intended to write a review in here. Then, this morning I opened a book at random - Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach – and there, under the entry for May 26 (I did open this at random), I found this quote from Rebecca:

This was a woman’s room, graceful, fragile, the room of someone who had chosen every particle of furniture with great care, so that each chair, each vase, each small infinitesimal thing should be in harmony with one another and with her own personality. It was as though she who had arranged this room has said: “This I will have, and this, and this,’ taking piece by piece from the treasures in Manderley each object that pleased her best, ignoring the second-rate, the mediocre, laying her hand with sure and certain instinct only upon the best.

I love when I experience such moments of literary serendipity. It was almost uncanny that I had found this specific quote, as I remember it well from when I heard it (oh yes, I listened to it in audio). The young Mrs. De Winter was describing the previous Mrs. De Winter’s morning room, and I remember thinking what great power of description Daphne Du Maurie had: while bringing this room to life she was also telling us so much about the deceased Rebecca.

The book is a long monologue by young Mrs. DeWinter, of whom we never learn her first name, only that it was unusual. But through her narration we are enveloped by the beauty of Manderley, a place that is as much a character in this book as the people in it, and we started to learn of all of the other characters. Here again Daphne Du Maurier surprised me. The characters are multi-dimensional, full of flaws, but through their shortcomings: Maxim’s pride, Mrs. Danver’s revengefulness and grief, and even Rebecca’s egocentricity ‘ they became more human in our eyes.

I should say that I had trouble finding sympathy for young Mrs. De Winter though. I realize she was young, naïve and in love, and that she was put into a completely dysfunctional situation yet I wanted to shake her a few times. Maybe my lack of kindness comes not from lack of familiarity with her situation, but because I do see myself in the mirror here. No, I never married a widower with an overbearing housekeeper, but I have been in situations where I was the new arrival, the new kid in the block, the junior employee in the office, the new member of the board, the new bride, the young mother, the new person joining an internet group… and I blundered. I hesitated because of fear or because I wanted to be accepted and I only made things worst.

This is getting long, but I have more to say about this book. I liked that it defies genre. It was a romance, but had such gothic elements to it, then it veered very close into mystery terrain. More than anything it was a very sharp commentary into class relation and British society of the period. I dare say that Du Maurier is as discriminating as Jane Austen in social commentary. The difference being that in Austen’s writing the social commentary is at the center of her stories, where Daphne Du Maurier puts it at the background, almost part of the scenery she describes so well.

I don’t know why it took me so long to read Daphne Du Maurier, but I am very glad I finally did.

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Sep 17, 2010 Marieke rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: united-kingdom, fiction, 2010, bright-young-things

I was very surprised by this book. That sounds a bit strange because i didn't even really know what to expect. But really, I was. The story was intense and I always knew that something was going to happen, but just what, i did not know until that something happened...and i was always surprised by it. I could confess that it is because i am an idiot, but i like to think it is because of du Maurier's genius...she wrote the book from the perspective of an unnamed female protagonist who somewhat hap I was very surprised by this book. That sounds a bit strange because i didn't even really know what to expect. But really, I was. The story was intense and I always knew that something was going to happen, but just what, i did not know until that something happened...and i was always surprised by it. I could confess that it is because i am an idiot, but i like to think it is because of du Maurier's genius...she wrote the book from the perspective of an unnamed female protagonist who somewhat haplessly found herself out of her depth. the story unfolded completely from her vantage. she was terrible at guessing what other people where thinking, what their motivations were, or how they perceived things, which severely handicapped the poor reader (at least this one). and she had to contend with a ghost. i would not want to be in her position dealing with a nasty mean ghost although i did at times have pangs of jealousy...how nice it would be to sit out under a chestnut tree with a dog and read a book at my leisure! alas, i am a 21st century gal who must work for a living and work requires me to sit in an office everyday.

the other thing i quite liked about this book was the atmosphere...very gloomy and reminiscent of gothic literature like Jane Eyre yet unmistakeably modern in an early 20th century way...people had electricity and cars! And this brings me to my one complaint/criticism, which may actually just be a problem with me and not the book. I tended to feel distracted by the gender roles and relations and caught myself critiquing the characters and scolding them for certain behaviors. and then scolding myself for not taking off my contemporary glasses so that i could just read it and appreciate the book for the time it was written in, a time where women obviously had a different role with different expectations to fulfill, especially those living in some sort of aristocratic class. but in the end, i was pleased to see the protagonist's confidence in herself increase and see her start to take control over her life rather than cowing to a ghost and the ghost's living accomplice.

I definitely want to read more from this author and period, most especially Myself When Young: The Shaping of a Writer because I've gotten the sense the du Maurier is a very interesting person. ...more

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Oct 11, 2009 Kati Stevens rated it liked it · review of another edition

Du Maurier was hardly the most economical of writers, and I feel like its dwarfed by its Bronte-ian ancestors, but it is certainly a good read. I must remember more of the movie than I thought I did because I knew SPOILER ALERT that the house burned down, but all the other plot twists I only remembered just before they were revealed. It's definitely something that I stayed up till 2:00 this morning finishing the damn thing. ...more

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Jan 27, 2017 Erin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

4.5 stars and absolutely delicious, a gothic masterpiece written in the prosaic style of Austen or Brontë. Rebecca is a slow burn, and the better for it: Chills shiver up your spine, but only occasionally. A gossamer veil of foreboding descends over Manderley. The visage of Mrs. Danvers peeks out from dark corners. It is an exquisite crescendo. This is my first du Maurier, but it will not be my last.

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Jul 21, 2017 Rachel rated it really liked it

I enjoyed rereading this after about 25 years and refreshing my memory of the plot. The characters have depth, and so does Manderley. Love books where the setting is its own character.

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