I finally read Rebecca! I put it on my tbr two years ago, but I could never get my hands on a copy. But I finally found one and decided it was time to give it a read. So let’s get to my long awaited review.
When our orphaned main character meets Maxim de Winter she thinks all of her dreams have come true. But when the honeymoon ends, and they return to Manderley she learns that she will always live in the shadow of his late wife, Rebecca.
My Thoughts on Rebecca
The cover of my copy of Rebecca calls it a romantic suspense. Let me start by saying if you want a whirlwind romance this isn’t your book. The romance was lackluster in my opinion. But if you’re looking for a gothic suspense novel set on a sprawling seaside estate you won’t be disappointed.
The atmosphere of Rebecca is astounding. It’s oppressive and creepy, while still being scenic and beautiful. For the first half of the book there is a subtle tension that could almost be chalked up as the overactive imagination of our narrator. But as time drags on the tension builds to an almost suffocating climax. The author put it best by saying the storm surrounding Manderley just won’t break. Now this line was referring to the weather, but it was a great metaphor for the entire plot.
Finally, the big reveal happened, and everything came crashing down. And while the tension in the first plot point broke it sets the characters up for an entirely new conflict. Rebecca kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.
Oh, and a side note that I found interesting is that the main character was never referred to by her first name. I think that was such a clever way of showing how insignificant the new Mrs. de Winter felt compared to Rebecca.
My Rating: 5/5
