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Surrey, United Kingdom

Sunday, 18 July 2010

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I am ashamed to admit that I have never read any du Maurier, and apart from the opening line I knew nothing about Rebecca. So, having finally finished Wolf Hall I decided that what I needed was the kind of book that I could really get swept away by and everything that I had heard about Rebecca made me think it would be perfect.

And it was.

The atmosphere, the palpable sense of dread and uncertainty throughout the story and the pace of the plot make it a true page-turner.  What I found most interesting was the almost supernatural sense that du Maurier creates.  As I said, I knew nothing about the story and I was kept guessing right the way through.  I thought that Mrs Danvers could be Rebecca, or that all the other characters were ghosts.  The twists and turns in the plot don't feel like twists and turns - they all make sense and are perfectly possible.  Somehow the fact that none of it was supernatural made the whole thing seem more sinister.

2 comments:

  1. I am so pleased to read that this was all you thought it would be. I think it is a splendid book and yes, truly sinister. I read and reviewed it with my book group a few months ago. Great to read your review, thanks for sharing, Hannah

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  2. Thanks for commenting - I am just back into blogging after nearly two months of being laptop-less!

    My only regret with Rebecca is that I didn't discover it sooner! Have you read any other du Maurier? My fear is that they just won't match up...

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