So there will be spoilers in this review just so you know.Synopsis from Goodreads: Working as a lady's companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Her future looks bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Max de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory of his dead wife Rebecca is forever kept alive by the forbidding housekeeper, Mrs Danvers.
I'd seen the old black and white film version (with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine) before so I knew the storyline and I also know how it differed in one kind of essential way.... I think though if I might interject here that it was an improvement on the story overall.
But back to the book. I think it's so interesting how you never know the narrator's name. I didn't even realize that until halfway through the book. The suspense is powerful in this book. The author slowly and cleverly unfolds the story leaving you wondering what exactly is going on the whole time. And the reveal! Wow! Now as I said I did know the storyline so I'm sure it would have been even better if I hadn't known it but it was still awesome!
Sure there's a bit of a moral dilemma at the end that I'm not too fond of but that's why I prefer the movie. All in all you should definitely read this book and then I'd recommend the aforementioned movie. I think there might be other versions out there but I haven't seen them so I can't vouch for them.
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I haven't watched the movie but I did read the book years ago after hearing so much about it and greatly enjoyed it! I love how we don't know the name of the narrator; I didn't even realise it as well until somewhere halfway. But it's okay because the story was so engrossing. Glad you liked the book, Lois, wishing you all the best for 2016!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThis is one of my top 10 favorite books of all time. I really like the Hitchcock movie version too, though I think I slightly prefer the '70s TV version that has Jeremy Brett as Maxim -- never been released to DVD, but I watched it all on YouTube a couple years ago.
ReplyDeleteJeremy Brett? Sounds intriguing! I like him as Sherlock Holmes a lot.
DeleteMe too! And he's in his prime here, too. You can still watch it on YouTube here, which is how I saw it. It's chopped into a bunch of small chunks, which is a little annoying, but at least you can see it!
DeleteI actually reviewed it here for the Period Drama Challenge last time around.
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