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A review by lileesee
Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman
4.0
A solid 4.5 stars for this one!
Rebecca's Tale explores the events and crimes that are established from Daphne de Maurier's fantastic classic, 'Rebecca' - and for what it's worth, I think it does a pretty good job of doing that.
I enjoyed seeing what Sally Beauman envisioned as the aftermath of the 'Rebecca' and the way certain characters developed from the events. Though I would say it's a good idea to distance yourself from the idea of seeing this a book sequel to the classic. It is very much a new imagining of what happens next, and you shouldn't really be worried too much about the interpretation and accuracy of some aspects. If you're good to look past whatever your own thoughts and interpretation of du Maurier's novel is, then you're good to delve in Sally Beauman's. So then once that's aside, you can truly appreciate Rebecca's Tale as story on its own.
The plot was intriguing and had twist and turns I didn't expect, though I did find it slow at some parts. The beginning especially, dragged a little for me, as - for obvious reasons - a fair amount of exposition had to laid down before we really got into the meat of the story. But once I was there, (a good hundred pages in,) I thought it unfolded in unexpected and intelligent ways.
The four perspectives worked well, and were distinctive, however it did make me unable to latch onto specific characters in quite the way I'd like to in a book such as this. Just as I was becoming fond of one character, it would be time to move onto the next. But overall, each of them had depth and flaws that were resolved nicely in the end.
The writing was solid and, as I mentioned before, was distinctive when it came to each characters voice.
So in conclusion, I think this novel would be great for anyone who is openminded when it comes to interpretations, and wants explore what might have taken place twenty years after the events of 'Rebecca'.
A real enjoyable read!
Rebecca's Tale explores the events and crimes that are established from Daphne de Maurier's fantastic classic, 'Rebecca' - and for what it's worth, I think it does a pretty good job of doing that.
I enjoyed seeing what Sally Beauman envisioned as the aftermath of the 'Rebecca' and the way certain characters developed from the events. Though I would say it's a good idea to distance yourself from the idea of seeing this a book sequel to the classic. It is very much a new imagining of what happens next, and you shouldn't really be worried too much about the interpretation and accuracy of some aspects. If you're good to look past whatever your own thoughts and interpretation of du Maurier's novel is, then you're good to delve in Sally Beauman's. So then once that's aside, you can truly appreciate Rebecca's Tale as story on its own.
The plot was intriguing and had twist and turns I didn't expect, though I did find it slow at some parts. The beginning especially, dragged a little for me, as - for obvious reasons - a fair amount of exposition had to laid down before we really got into the meat of the story. But once I was there, (a good hundred pages in,) I thought it unfolded in unexpected and intelligent ways.
The four perspectives worked well, and were distinctive, however it did make me unable to latch onto specific characters in quite the way I'd like to in a book such as this. Just as I was becoming fond of one character, it would be time to move onto the next. But overall, each of them had depth and flaws that were resolved nicely in the end.
The writing was solid and, as I mentioned before, was distinctive when it came to each characters voice.
So in conclusion, I think this novel would be great for anyone who is openminded when it comes to interpretations, and wants explore what might have taken place twenty years after the events of 'Rebecca'.
A real enjoyable read!