Reviews with content warning for Racism - Rebecca

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

42 reviews

rhi_reading's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.5

While this classic novel does have some elements that haven’t aged well, the overarching theme of the story has undoubtedly stood the test of time.
Frequently undersold as a ‘gothic romance’, du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ is a masterclass in character work, suspense, and atmosphere. The titular character never appears or speaks a word throughout the novel but is so incredibly well written through the accounts of all the supporting characters that she stands out more than any of them.

The contrast of the headstrong and fiery Rebecca with the diminutive and awkward nameless narrator is one of the highlights of the book and a sharp take on the classic Madonna-Whore complex. Du Maurier manipulates her readers until the very end in to sympathising and hating the characters she wants us to despite their actions and motives, and asking us to consider what these feelings say about our own morality - after all, the truth doesn’t mean anything against a well crafted story.

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maeverose's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.75

TL;DR: I have mixed feelings. I like the overall story, the atmosphere, I really enjoyed the first third/half, then it got way too slow, repetitive and boring. This review will be very negative despite my overall feelings. I didn’t hate the book at all I just have more to say about the negatives.

This is the most atmospheric book I’ve ever read, but imo it’s to a fault. I like slow atmospheric books, and I really liked the writing in the beginning, but the long drawn out descriptions started to take away from the scene we were in and it got frustrating. It was obvious at times when it was being used to add suspense, drawing out the scene making you wait for a reveal or conversation to happen. Some people might like that, I found it irritating. Narrator’s daydreams were funny and relatable at first, but again, got to be too excessive and were inserted at times that felt unnecessary or inappropriate. I found myself internally screaming at her to go talk to someone rather than sulk and daydream. The book overall is very slow, not much of the plot happens until the last 20%.

This book is so repetitive. Narrator has a lot of similar conversations and social interactions throughout the book. She has similar daydreams (too many daydreams), repeating thoughts, etc. Another annoying thing is something will happen or be said, and then the characters will talk about or explain the thing that we just saw happen. Sometimes multiple different characters will explain the same thing, so we end up reading about that same event or statement two or more times before we move on.. not to mention all the unnecessary
‘ “Yes,” I said. ’s

I hate Maxim. Of course this book isn’t a romance novel, and it was written over 80 years ago so the misogyny is not at all unexpected, but being as they remain a couple by the end it’s irritating to me. He’s so patronizing and misogynistic towards Narrator from the beginning and it only gets worse later on. Frank had much better chemistry with Narrator, I didn’t feel like Maxim actually liked her at all, we hardly even saw them together. And the fact that he was so much older than her but also liked that she was young and innocent grossed me out.

This book is very ableist, specifically towards people with intellectual disabilities.

On a less critical note (though still negative because it’s depressing), I was surprised how much I related to Narrator with her social difficulties. I think the intention was that she was young and wasn’t used to all the social obligations of being a more well known person, but to me it read very similar to social anxiety or maybe even autism/adhd. She also had pretty intense insecurities and didn’t think very highly of herself (rejection sensitivity?), which honestly made me a bit sad while reading because I related to so much of it.

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rachelp's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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lunxchloe's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

My first 5* read of 2023! And surprisingly so. I did not expect much because "classics" aren't usually my thing. But the many positive opinions about this novel made me pick it up.

I have seldomly read a book this captivating. The start is really slow and I kept thinking to myself "why is nothing happening but I cannot stop reading?". The main character's stream of consciousness writing made the experience immersive. In some ways, I could sympathize with her naivite and her struggles to try and fit into this world that clearly has no place for her. But it's this exact writing that evokes this feeling of wanting to know what's going on. You share her feeling that things seem off, she doesn't fit it, but you're never quite able to grasp the WHY of that, because neither does she - until you're already two thirds finished.

You definitely have to keep in mind the time where this was written to put some statements into perspective.

This novel had me speechless and gasping multiple times. I definitely plan on rereading this sometime. I feel like the narrator's way of portraying what is happening around her is a clever way to cover the many layers and nuances of the actual story. I am excited to uncover even more once I can look beyond that. A strong recommendation for anyone that loves mystery and gothic atmosphere.

5/5*

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