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10 years later...

Hmm, not that wild about it now.

1) The romance took a huge plunge for me. Rebecca is where it's at, she is the most interesting character, Amy Dunne of 1930s. The narrator is a wet blanket, and Max - an aging criminal. BTW, Rochester>Max de Winter, and a lesser criminal. Plus Jane Eyre had some back bone.

2) I forgot how much of this book was devoted to the inquiry into Rebecca's death = not really interested.

3) Could have done without the blackface and calling a handicapped man an "idiot" a million times.

4) However, the first half of the novel filled the Downton Abbey-sized hole in my heart.

5) Beautiful, atmospheric writing.

Now off to watch new Netflix adaptation.

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Books like Rebecca remind me from time to time what quality literature really is. Sometimes I forget, buried under stacks of entertaining but often poorly written popular fiction.

At first, Rebecca is very reminiscent of another favorite book of mine - Jane Eyre. The main character is a young, innocent, poor girl who falls in love with a rich older man. The happiness is so near, but the shadow of the man's first wife stands in the way of it. A family secret, a haunted mansion, a deranged servant, and a fire are also major players in the story.

I've said it before, I personally don't mind borrowed themes, but only if done right. A talented writer can reinterpret and reinvent an old story, add new layers to it, and Daphne du Maurier does just that. The book is beautifully written, it is haunting, it is suspenseful.

I also think it takes a gifted writer to make readers get attached to a character as insecure, jealous, and timid as the second Mrs. de Winter. Daphne du Maurier succeeds once more. The main character is very compelling and her fears are palpable. I found myself sharing the heroines insecurities (after all, why shouldn't she question her husband's feelings toward her if he treats her like a child, a pet and doesn't make an effort to let her know where he stands in regard to his first wife?), being scared of and intimidated by Mrs. Danvers, and taunted by the memories of the first (possibly superior) wife.

Rebecca is simply a great book all around, deservedly a masterpiece of English literature and from now on - a new favorite love story of mine, to be treasured and reread.