Reviews with content warning for Infertility - Rebecca

The main character is working as a companion to an insufferable older woman, when he meets Maxim de Winter, a recently widowed, wealthy man. They soon get married and return to his estate, Manderley, where she soon discovers that the former Mrs de Winter might be dead but not forgotten.

The first half of the novel slowly builds atmospheric tension: the great Manderley by the seaside is a gloomy place. The tension rises to a breaking point, where events start to unravel, and the fog starts to lift. The first half of the book felt slow, and the second half felt perilous. And after I had finished, I had to return to read the first few chapters again.

It is an atmospheric book with morally grey characters and an ending that is abrupt (for the lack of a better word). I think you need to be in a certain mood to read this book, and the types of things I previously listed.

Spoilers ahead!

There are a few things I found interesting. First of all, we don't know the main character's name at all. Rebecca was the previous Mrs de Winter, so in a way her Shadow is so strong that it suffocates the main character's entire identity. Then there's Rebecca's character and how the way she's represented in the book changes as the story progresses. There are a few hints of this earlier in the story. And lastly, there's Maxim de Winter. How should we feel about him and his actions?

Content Warnings

poirot's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

poubelleboi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

ruby_11's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

pkc's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book was a legato across the continent and into the English countryside, wrapped in intrigue and mystery. The eponymous Rebecca looms large

without ever making an appearance in physical form

as the second Mrs de Winter navigates her life with the aloof Maxim de Winter of Manderley following a brief romance in the hills and beaches of Monte Carlo. This book has an incredibly layered cast of characters, including the narrator, Maxim, the truly DEVILISH Mrs Danvers, among many others. The plot has twists, turns and more psycho drama than you can imagine. I literally deducted half a star because of pace towards the end, but other than that, it was twisty turny perfection!

Content Warnings

sarah_zaffiro's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

poisonenvy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

While I read this book back in December, I withheld my review in support of the HarperCollins Union strike, which lasted for over two months. In light of their recently ratifying their contract, I'll post my review now:

Our main character, who's known only as Mrs. de Winters (the second Mrs. de Winters, as it is) meets her much-older husband, Maxim, while on vacation, and married him after only a few weeks of knowing him. Maxim is recently widowed, and when the narrator goes back to his estate, Mandersley, she finds that it's not quite what she expected, especially once she finds that she can't escape the shadow cast by his late wife, the charming, beautiful, and beloved Rebecca.

If there's one thing that Daphne Du Maurier does well, it's that she's masterful at setting atmospheric tension. This book is slow, but it's told in such a way that it keeps you at the edge of your seat. There was an entire chapter where nothing much happened, but that I could barely bring myself to read it because of how much second-hand embarrassment/cringing I was feeling.

Overall, this book is crafted beautifully. The narrator has a vivid imagination, one of the most vivid I've read in fiction and which I related far too much to as anxiety daydreams. I thought the choice to exclude her "beautiful and unique" name from the narrative was brilliantly done -- she's only Mrs. de Winters, unable to be separated from her husband, unable to stand on her own two feet.

I read this with my bookclub, and had a great time with them trying to navigate through the twist and the turns of the story. This was honestly excellent.

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