Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (spoilers)

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bookmadgirlie
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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (spoilers)

Post by bookmadgirlie »

I read this book a few weeks ago for the first time, and I watched the film last weekend, and I absolutely love the book. It is the perfect combination of Gothic elements, and romance, and horror. I fell in love with it. Anyone else?
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Fran
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Post by Fran »

One of my all-time favourite books .... have you read Jamaica Inn?
We fade away, but vivid in our eyes
A world is born again that never dies.
- My Home by Clive James
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bookmadgirlie
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Post by bookmadgirlie »

No, I haven't actually, but it is next on my list for reading this year.
In Rebecca, do you like the second Mrs de Winter, or how Rebecca is portrayed?
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Starcat42
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Post by Starcat42 »

Hi
I read Rebecca about a year ago and for me it was a fantastic profound story.
The nameless narrator and her change during the story were described in a very artful way.
First she was only darling, and then she became Mrs. Dewinter but had no christen name at all and hence no personality. As a shadow she came to Manderley where the ghost of Rebecca was still ruling through her representative Mrs. Danvers. Only when the second wife of Maxim DeWinter learnt that he never loved his first wife the narrator became stronger but remained nameless. The ghost of Rebecca brunt in the flames of the old manor house but left all people in her sphere shattered.
For me the novel was a masterpiece my next book will be Jamaica In I hope I won’t be disappointed.
Bye starcat42
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Justine44
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Post by Justine44 »

I really have enjoyed all of the works I have read from her. My Cousin Rachel is also worth reading. Her short story The Birds is what inspired Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds movie.
Anais Nin-And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Jase - RV for us stands for Redneck Vacation.
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RuqeeD
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Post by RuqeeD »

Justine44 wrote:I really have enjoyed all of the works I have read from her. My Cousin Rachel is also worth reading. Her short story The Birds is what inspired Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds movie.
I enjoyed that story, it freaked me out and I didn't think a bunch of birds would freak me out! :lol:
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Justine44
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Post by Justine44 »

RuqeeD wrote:
Justine44 wrote:I really have enjoyed all of the works I have read from her. My Cousin Rachel is also worth reading. Her short story The Birds is what inspired Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds movie.
I enjoyed that story, it freaked me out and I didn't think a bunch of birds would freak me out! :lol:

Yes, I see birds a whole different way too,lol
Anais Nin-And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Jase - RV for us stands for Redneck Vacation.
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sassy67
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Post by sassy67 »

Absolutely love the book, read it first as a teenager and have reread a couple of times. I love the way it is written, the pace and the use of narrator. I find what is not said as important as what is said, the sense of drama heightened by our own imaginings and interpretation
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MandiKenendy
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Post by MandiKenendy »

I absolutely love Rebecca. Read it in my late teens and fell in love with it, then did it at a book club in my twenties and loved it again. I love the mystery. I read a book written by another author, set as a sequel to it called "Rebecca's Tale," and for a sequel written by another author, it was actually very good. It was set in the future but it also focused on the story of Rebecca from Rebecca's POV. I recommend it as an interesting take on the story for anyone who really liked Rebecca.
You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body. - C.S. Lewis
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sheenasmith0715
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Post by sheenasmith0715 »

For me, Rebecca is a book that is never quite as good after the first time reading it. The first time I read it, I was consistently astounded by how much I loved it - and I could only read it in small sections at a time as I needed some time to process each bit. I have yet to read anything else by du Maurier, but after reading some of your suggestions, I'll add some to my list. (I had no idea about her story The Birds! That's my favorite Hitchcock movie!)
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Saybelle
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Post by Saybelle »

I loved this book, also. Read it twice. Been years now. Still leaves a great impression on my memory today.
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Yamunaji
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Post by Yamunaji »

Rebecca was brilliant! I started reading it when I was 15, but for some reason I couldn't get "into" it. I then started it again in my 20s and absolutely loved it.

Has anyone visited du Maurier's previous home Menabilly in Cornwall, which is supposed to be the inspiration behind Manderley?
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Zannie
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Post by Zannie »

I loved how the narration was written. The way the first Mrs De Winter plays such a huge role even though she is dead. The opening dream sequence got me hooked from the first sentence.
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Margot1978
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Post by Margot1978 »

I really like this book. I read it when I was a teenager. This is a great novel of mystery and passion combined with secrets of betrayals and dead loves.
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Jenn+books
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Post by Jenn+books »

I love this book too! I read it first as a teenager, and then again fairly recently, as an adult, and it was completely different the second time. One thing I remember that bothered me as a teenager was that the second Mrs. de Winter didn't have a name. But now I think this aspect is one of the most interesting things about the book. I think she doesn't have a name because she really doesn't have her own identity in the novel. Max meets and marries her without really knowing or caring who she is. She moves into his house, which is still wholly inhabited by Rebecca. There is simply no room or need in the house, or in the novel (which is called, "Rebecca," after all!), for the new Mrs. de Winter to have her own identity. We the readers come to know her and sympathize with her, even though the other characters in the novel barely know her and she barely knows herself. Aside from the great suspense and freak-out aspects of this novel, I love the novel for its unique take on the identity-less main character.
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