“I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.”
I enjoyed this book so much more than I initially thought. I had heard good things, but I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t realize how much the plot would pick up towards the end.
Rebecca begins as a very atmospheric, gothic novel. It’s slow, but not boring. Manderley seems like a beautiful home, but there’s a hint of something sinister and unsettling.
I don’t want to give too much away – I didn’t know much about the story before reading it and I think it’s best to go in knowing as little as possible.
[spoilers ahead!]
I had two theories about Rebecca’s demise. At first I thought it was pretty obvious that Maxim had killed her. Once we learn her true nature, I thought that maybe she had faked her death and was still lurking around the house (with the help of Mrs. Danvers).
I do think the plot started to fall apart at the end when we learn that Rebecca had cancer, and that was viewed as a motive for her “suicide.”
Every character in this book is flawed. Rebecca is just a terrible person. Maxim is a condescending jerk with a bad temper (…and that whole murder thing, too). Mrs. Danvers is just wretched. And while I do feel bad for our narrator, her blind devotion to Maxim is terrifying. Upon learning that he killed Rebecca, instead of being horrified she’s RELIEVED that her husband never really loved Rebecca and she no longer feels that she has to compete with a dead woman.
Read with Aimee 