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Rebecca (平装)
by Daphne Du Maurier
| Category:
Teens, Fiction, Classic, Mystery, Gothic |
| Market price: ¥ 108.00
MSL price:
¥ 98.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A true classic of suspense, most famous and well-loved gothic novel of the 20th century. Du Maurier created an unforgettable atmosphere of decaying beauty, frightening spirits and horror mixed with love and death. |
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AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 13 items |
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Gwyn Gwyrdd (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-28 00:00>
The story begins with one of my favorite opening paragraphs (second only to A Tale of Two Cities): "Last night, I dreamed I went to Manderly again....." From there we are swept into a seaside story of paranoia and excrutiating love. Rebecca is a classic mystery story set in a lone English Manor by the sea and filled with dark secrets. It is a tale of rivalry. A new, young, painfully shy wife, is brought into a legendary estate, and forced to share her marriage with the presence of her husband's beautiful and tragically departed wife - Rebecca. I read this book for the first time when I was twelve years old. I thought Mrs. Danvers, the obsessed (maybe possessed is a better word) housekeeper was the devil (still do). I remember lying in bed in the dark of night, hearing only the ticking of a clock in the hallway and feeling that Rebecca was watching me too. I was insanely in love with Maxim, and desperate for his approval of our heroine. I used to try and guess what her "beautiful and unusual name" could possibly be, since Du Maurier never tells us but consistently refers to it, admitting later that she could simply never think of one.
Du Maurier, one of the great masters of suspense, uses the art of manipulation in its' finest form here - leading your mind and thoughts where she wants them to go. You feel what she wants you to feel and are shocked when she wants you to be shocked. You smell the salty sea. You hear the dark ocean waves lapping on the shore like long, cold fingers. And most of all, you share the terror of the unyielding presence of Rebecca.
A jolly good read.
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Aleks (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-28 00:00>
Rebecca, the book that gave Daphne du Maurier immortality, has all the features of the novel of its time. Balancing on the thin, invisible line between plain romance and deep psychological analysis, it is engrossing, for me to the point of sacrificing sleep.
The plot itself is constructed quite simply and classically, starting with the young girl - companion to the wealthy lady, falling in love and marrying the rich widower, Maxim de Winter. The young bride is the narrator of the novel and she finds itself initially incapable of understanding her husband's past (especially as she gets no direct answers) and of bearing the burden of living in Manderley, the mansion haunted by the powerful presence of his first wife, Rebecca.
In fact, the naivety and childishness of the narrator sometimes irritated me massively, she was extremely self-conscious and eager to please, so much that she could not see the obvious...Very good character, I bet this was the author's plan. But finally she undergoes the complete transformation, albeit in very dramatic circumstances, discovers the truth (a horrible secret... more than one in fact) and can be happy with her husband (this is not a spoiler, as the novel starts at this pint and is written in retrospective). Ultimately, this is a story of lack of communication which is the basis for misunderstanding, suspicions, false loyalty and the whole spectrum of emotions with which this novel if bursting.
"Rebecca" is a great classic, full of suspence, with great characters (Miss Danvers!). It is definitely worth reading even as the only book by du Maurier, to get acquainted with her style, and it is a very good novel for a long, winter evening, virtually moving the reader to the British countryside at the beginning of the twentieth century. Although the novel certainly aged, it did so gracefully, retaining all its charm.
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Carol (MSL quote) , USA
<2007-02-28 00:00>
There are very few novels that are followed by equally splendid movie versions. Rebecca is one of those few. Written in the first person, "I" (she is never given another name) marries wealthy widower Max De Winter. When she accompanies him to his estate, Manderly, she comes to suspect that he and everyone who surrounds him is still besotted with his beautiful, dead wife, Rebecca. The housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, almost drives her crazy with always comparing her to that eternal paragon of beauty and delight. The novel seems to be set in the 1920s or 1930s in England. It was released as a movie in 1940 by Alfred Hitchcock and won many Oscars. Laurence Olivier played Max and Joan Fontaine played "I". Both the novel and the movie present marvelous elements of romance and mystery in a time period that is not used frequently enough for fiction. There is one difference between the novel and the film. Because of the rigid code of censorship existing then in Hollywood, Max is not as morally ambiguous in the film as he ultimately is in the novel. It makes no difference to me because I love both versions equally. I am not surprised that both have proven to be enduring classics. If you are feeling burned out by too many modern bad novels and even worse movies, try these two classics which have easily withstood the test of time.
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1 2 Total 2 pages 13 items |
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