Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Daphne du Maurier

GENRE: Gothic Literary Fiction, Classic.

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: Well worth the hype. An excellent character study. Great for literary fiction and classic readers.

Skipping my usual ‘Story Synopsis’ section as most of you might have already read this classic, and if you haven’t, the Goodreads blurb is good enough.

It is said that things happen only when they are meant to happen. I didn’t have ‘Rebecca’ on my reading agenda, though I have been an avid reader of the classics. It wasn’t on my school reading list (for obvious reasons), and no one around me was an avid-enough reader to suggest this title as a must-read. However, about 6 years ago, Amazon showed me this book in its recs section, and I found it interesting enough to buy a paperback, which had been lying on my bookshelf unread until now.

Two things pushed this book to the top of my reading list. One of my ARCs (The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor) has Rebecca (the book, not the character) in a primary role, and the BOTM of my Facebook group (The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams) also has a section titled ‘Rebecca’ in its table of contents. I always prefer reading the source material before picking any kind of spin-off to avoid getting inadvertent spoilers. The universe was thus signalling to me that it was finally time for the paperback to be opened. 😄

Bookish Yays:

😍 Manderley: an estate that is interesting enough to be a character on its own strength. Loved the use of the setting. In Gothic novels, the location must be as important as the plot, and ‘Rebecca’ certainly handles this responsibility well.

😍 The atmosphere: The sense of melancholy inside the narrator and the uncertain ambience inside the house create a great vibe throughout the book. The portrayal is well-handled without becoming mopey or unreliable.

😍 The unnamed narrator: A young woman who marries impulsively for love and security, and finds both coming into question soon after her wedding. It is a delight to see her grow in confidence over her time at Manderley. Nothing like a main character who evolves along with the plot! Also, such an interesting decision to keep her nameless throughout, as if the author also doesn’t want to give her any individual identity. Her only identity is as the other half of her husband, the second Mrs. De Winters, the new lady of Manderley, and the woman haunted (not literally) by the ghost of her husband’s first wife Rebecca.

😍 Rebecca: When I first heard the title of the book, I assumed Rebecca to be the main character. And in a sense, she is, even though she has been dead for almost a year when the main part of this novel begins. Yet, as befits an eponymous character, Rebecca stays with us throughout the book. Though she's not even alive, Rebecca keeps us intrigued to know more about her. A strange journey where we get to understand a character well despite not meeting her directly on page, and even stranger when we realise the actual shades of her personality.

😍 Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper: For the first time, I read a historical work where the housekeeper makes a substantial difference to the proceedings through her psychological manipulation of her young new mistress. I loved the depiction of Danvers’ almost diabolical nature, which seemed to match her physical appearance as described by the narrator. A part of me wonders if she harboured secret romantic feelings for the beautiful Rebecca.

😍 Maxim de Winters: Such an interesting character! The poor fellow will probably be ignored in most reviews as he is way overshadowed by the above three women, but I found his reserved yet complex personality as interesting as his impulsive decision of marrying a young woman half his age and almost exactly the opposite of his first wife, be it in looks or personality. The fact that the novel doesn’t go the typical way after the multiple reveals in the final quarter further added to the intrigue of the owner of Manderley.

😍 The author hated this book being tagged as a romance and I can certainly see why. There’s nothing romantic in the book, not even the almost-insta relationship between Maxim and his new wife. But I hope du Maurier would not have objected to my calling it a book of passion. All the main characters and a few of the secondary characters as well are motivated by passion, whether for someone or for something. A literary fiction works so well with complex characters that challenge our preconceptions about what drives them.

😍 The pacing is quite decent, with an equal stress on plot and description. There are no unnecessary side tracks or distractions.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

😐 Now that I read the whole book, I am not that impressed by the opening line as so many readers seem to be. It was purposeful in highlighting the hold that Manderley still has over the narrator, but I have read more impactful first sentences, with Dicken’s ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, Camus’s ‘The Stranger’, Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’, and Zusak’s ‘The Book Thief’ having my favourite introductory lines.

😐 There are some predictable moments in the plot, but I'll not dock off points from this work as the predictability comes from the subsequent Gothic novels that have used the same tropes multiple times. However, a fair bit of the content seems to have shades of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, partly in terms of plot and partly in terms of execution. Not sure if this was intentional or coincidental.

😐 The ending left me wanting more. It was quite good, but also abrupt, and left many questions dangling.

Bookish Nays:

😒 As the main story comes in flashback set many years prior to the novel’s present time, it is odd to see such extended dialogues being written, especially for scenes when our narrator isn’t even present and yet knows the entire back-and-forth conversation. The past story stands well on its own but not so much as a flashback.

All in all, this book satisfied me exactly as per my expectations. The titular Rebecca haunts the characters in the book just as she haunts us readers throughout the story by stirring the fires of our intrigue.

Definitely recommended to those who enjoy reading classics, as they are better prepared for character-driven storytelling. This book was first published in 1938, so don’t expect an extended descriptive style akin to that of Brontë or Dickens. It will offer a smooth reading experience even to classic newbies.

PSA: Read the first two chapters again after you complete the book. You will picture the whole scene with wiser eyes.

This classic has one official sequel (‘Rebecca's Tale’, published in 2001 by Sally Beauman and officially approved by the du Maurier estate) and one unofficial sequel (‘Mrs de Winter’, published in 1993 by Susan Hill). However, I am not a fan of sequels written by any author other than the original so I shall give both of these a skip.