Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The movie was really good so I assumed the book would be even better. Untrue, none of the characters were even remotely likeable, especially the narrator.
6/10.
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The movie was really good so I assumed the book would be even better. Untrue, none of the characters were even remotely likeable, especially the narrator.
6/10.
Do, or do not. There is no try. - Yoda
I don't know if this is true or not, but someone once told me that Rebecca was the same as Jane Eyre, if you liked the latter you'll like the first.
I'm the patron saint of the denial,
With an angel face and a taste for suicidal.
Yes, they are both very much the same. But I liked Rebecca better because it seemed more suspenseful to me.Originally Posted by Nossa
I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew.
I've read the book and really want to see the movie - was the movie as great as I hear it was?
I thought 'Rebecca' had the best opening of any book I had ever read, however, there was a gradual taper throughout the book, and I don't think it maintained that strength or finished nearly as strongly as it began.
Something interesting that might give more insight to the characters though: du Maurier wrote this primarily as a study in human jealousy. I agree, none of the characters were likable, but the dynamics between them definitely kept me reading.
The narrator was irritating in a number of ways (very victimizing and put no effort into improving her social relations), but I loved her as an observationalist.
I still remember the first sentence (or perhaps I think I do, hey, correct me please if my memory has failed me!):
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.
It nudged me to keep on reading the book along with the rest of the opening.
I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew.
It's been a few years since I read Rebecca but I have to say I thought it was a great read. I started reading it and basically couldn't put it down until I was finished. Like Pensive I remember the first line clearly - I think it is a brilliant first line, maybe one of the most famous. It sets up a sense of mystery and intrigue and sets the tone for the rest of the book. I don't think I've seen the film though - the books are always better.
One kind word can warm three winter months.
The main problem I thought was that the ending was all at the beginning, so after the important revelation in the middle of the book, the reader pretty much knows how everything will turn out. I loved the story up to this point, particularly the beautiful descriptions of Manderly, and the mysterious, brooding sense of Rebecca's presence. I like the way the book is named after a character who never appears, while the main character has no name, which increases our sense of her feelings of inferiority compared to Rebecca.
With regards to Jane Eyre - if you swop the order of events around in one you get the other - i.e.
Jane Eyre:
1. Girl goes to live in man's ancestral home.
2. Girl meets man and falls in love.
3. Secret revealed about man's wife.
4. Ancestral home burns down.
5. Wife dies.
6. Girl marries man.
Where as in Rebecca the events happen in this order: 5, 2, 6, 1, 3, 4.
I didn't dislike the narrator - she just seemed to lack confidence. I don't really understand what you mean by victimizing.
Rebecca is great book. It was inspired with Jane Eyre, but personally I think it's much better.
Jane Eyre is just a romantic love story, often naive and rather shallow... I loved it when I was 13, but I found it really boring when I re-read it again at university.
Rebecca, on the other hand, has much better style, it's not so "girlish", and the story is developed much better. I had to re-read it for school, too - and I liked it as much as I liked it when I was in the 7th grade... even better, in fact.
I fully agree with Antiquarian. Honestly, I couldn't say which one is better, but Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, and Jane Eyre, their source of inspiration, are treasures of Literature. The film was a decent attempt to create and communicate the spirit, the feeling of the book, and I think that it was satisfying enough.
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe that they are free.
-Goethe
what a wonderful book. the characters were good from start to finish the bad guys and the good guys. Mrs Danvers is so mean but well written and it's interesting how you never find out the main characters name and how a dead person can be in such a big role.
it's a slow process to begin with and is filled with interesting characters but the second part of the book is so exciting and good and a fantastic surprising ending that kinda leaves you hanging...
read it if you haven't, comment if you have
I hope death is joyful, and I hope I'll never return -Frida Khalo
If I seem insensitive to what you are going through, understand it's the way I am- Mr. Spock
Personally, I think that the unique and supreme delight lies in the certainty of doing 'evil'–and men and women know from birth that all pleasure lies in evil. - Baudelaire
Quite an enjoyable read for me.
It's not bad. I skipped my NBA game for it, but ended up voting for "no reason to skip meals". Too whiny.
I must see the movie. Hitchcock is always good.
Is it essential that we emphasise with, or even like, any of the characters for a novel to work? Come to that, does a novel even need a plot to function successfully?
I read it ages ago, and remember liking it. I don't see anything more than a superficial resemblence to Jane Eyre, though.
Exit, pursued by a bear.
Exactly. You don't need likeable characters for a novel to work- as long as they are interesting and you can empathise with them, which I think you can.
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