Was it worth all the wait ? I thought I would read the best of du Maurier after I’ve finished all her other books. Each book I read was better than the other. Each transported me to a world where I wished to remain forever. Each story lingered somewhere in the back of the mind, some scenes coming back often, enabling me to relive the magic.
So I started Rebecca , understandably with great hopes. Could it be better than ‘The king’s general’? Could it be more suspenseful than ‘My cousin Rachel’ ? Could it be as nail-biting as ‘The Scapegoat’ ? Could it be as thrilling as ‘The House on the Strand’ ?
The most intriguing thing about the book was that the narrator didn't have a name ! You turn page after page expecting to find her name in the next but it never happens and even when the story ends, even as you feel that you just drank with her, her cup of sorrow, insecurity and fear , even as you just feel as though she were a part of you , the story is over and you need to close the book , worse - from then on you walk with this feeling of having bid adieu to someone very close.
The pace was kind of slack in the beginning. The suspense and twists in the end made up for it all. You are slightly edgy, almost on the hook when the end is near and when it is done, you utter a sigh of relief.
The moment the story starts you feel sorry, sorry for the young heroine, our narrator. You see her subjected to constant criticism and ranting of the haughty Mrs. Van Hooper. But since the narrator is recounting the past, you know that it wouldn’t last for long and the owner of Manderly will take her to Manderly. You are, at that moment, just waiting for the knight to make appearance. Soon they get acquainted with Mr. de Winter – that he is a middle aged widower doesn’t make a difference to our heroine, she falls in love with him. He is caring, he is wonderful and he owns Manderly – a place where she always wanted to go. Without heeding to Mrs Van hooper’s warnings, she gets married to Maxim – becomes Mrs.deWinter. After honeymoon they go to Manderly.
But the way things always turn out, her moment of glee is shortlived. At Manderly things are not as pleasant as she thought they would be. She is not accustomed to the grandeur of the house and immediately gets to feel that she is ill equipped to live in the house as the lady of the house. The situation is made worse by Mrs Danvers , the housekeeper who takes an instant dislike to her. Mrs. Danvers doesn’t spare a chance to make her feel that the house was beautifully managed by Rebecca and she was nothing in comparison. The heroine sees Rebecca in all small things and doesn’t seem to be able to escape from her influence. She gets paranoid. She even begins to feel that her husband preferred Rebecca more than her. At the height of her self-doubt, Mrs Danvers tries to make her commit to suicide. But right at the nick of time, they hear a big noise - that of a ship that crashed on the bank. When the crew tries to fetch things that had sunk into the sea, they find a boat under the sea and a dead body in it.
This is the twist that makes the story. From here on things are so swift that it holds you in a holding-your-breath kind of state . Maxim tells the heroine that the dead body is of Rebecca , that he had shot her, that shot her because he despised her, that Rebecca was far from being good in character, that she was completely evil. Instead of being shocked, you are relieved , as is the heroine. She keeps telling herself ‘maxim doesn’t love Rebecca. He never loved her!’
(to be continued..)
So I started Rebecca , understandably with great hopes. Could it be better than ‘The king’s general’? Could it be more suspenseful than ‘My cousin Rachel’ ? Could it be as nail-biting as ‘The Scapegoat’ ? Could it be as thrilling as ‘The House on the Strand’ ?
The most intriguing thing about the book was that the narrator didn't have a name ! You turn page after page expecting to find her name in the next but it never happens and even when the story ends, even as you feel that you just drank with her, her cup of sorrow, insecurity and fear , even as you just feel as though she were a part of you , the story is over and you need to close the book , worse - from then on you walk with this feeling of having bid adieu to someone very close.
The pace was kind of slack in the beginning. The suspense and twists in the end made up for it all. You are slightly edgy, almost on the hook when the end is near and when it is done, you utter a sigh of relief.
The moment the story starts you feel sorry, sorry for the young heroine, our narrator. You see her subjected to constant criticism and ranting of the haughty Mrs. Van Hooper. But since the narrator is recounting the past, you know that it wouldn’t last for long and the owner of Manderly will take her to Manderly. You are, at that moment, just waiting for the knight to make appearance. Soon they get acquainted with Mr. de Winter – that he is a middle aged widower doesn’t make a difference to our heroine, she falls in love with him. He is caring, he is wonderful and he owns Manderly – a place where she always wanted to go. Without heeding to Mrs Van hooper’s warnings, she gets married to Maxim – becomes Mrs.deWinter. After honeymoon they go to Manderly.
But the way things always turn out, her moment of glee is shortlived. At Manderly things are not as pleasant as she thought they would be. She is not accustomed to the grandeur of the house and immediately gets to feel that she is ill equipped to live in the house as the lady of the house. The situation is made worse by Mrs Danvers , the housekeeper who takes an instant dislike to her. Mrs. Danvers doesn’t spare a chance to make her feel that the house was beautifully managed by Rebecca and she was nothing in comparison. The heroine sees Rebecca in all small things and doesn’t seem to be able to escape from her influence. She gets paranoid. She even begins to feel that her husband preferred Rebecca more than her. At the height of her self-doubt, Mrs Danvers tries to make her commit to suicide. But right at the nick of time, they hear a big noise - that of a ship that crashed on the bank. When the crew tries to fetch things that had sunk into the sea, they find a boat under the sea and a dead body in it.
This is the twist that makes the story. From here on things are so swift that it holds you in a holding-your-breath kind of state . Maxim tells the heroine that the dead body is of Rebecca , that he had shot her, that shot her because he despised her, that Rebecca was far from being good in character, that she was completely evil. Instead of being shocked, you are relieved , as is the heroine. She keeps telling herself ‘maxim doesn’t love Rebecca. He never loved her!’
(to be continued..)
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