By Lilia Chahine | Staff Writer
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…
Following in the spirit of Halloween, I thought, what better book to review than Gothic suspense novel Rebecca by English author Daphne Du Maurier? Ghosts? Murder? Mystery? Check. If you love Halloween, or psychological thrillers, or both, you’ll definitely love this book.
This novel is set in the wilds of England in the early 1930s in a huge country house named Manderley. It follows a young heroine, also the book’s narrator, who becomes obsessed with her husband’s first wife Rebecca. One of my favorite elements of this book is the way the author insisted on not naming her lead heroine. Throughout the book she was only ever referred to as “the new Mrs. De Winter”, which not many people notice. I have come to a realization as to why that is: it’s because while we’re reading all we ever think about is Rebecca, and if not her, her ghost, as she becomes the center of the story.
The story begins in Monte Carlo where the young woman meets Maxim de Winter. He is the owner of Manderley and a widower whose wife, Rebecca, drowned last year. The pair quickly fall in love and get married abruptly. Upon arriving to Manderley, the heroine is taunted by the ghost of Rebecca (1). She feels her everywhere and stumbles upon her possessions. As the story moves forward, she spirals into a mess as she becomes even more obsessed with the beautiful first wife and insecure about her marriage. However, after a shocking plot twist, it becomes clear this was never the case. Not even close.
The beauty of this novel is in the depth of each of its characters. From Maxim De Winter and our nameless heroine, all the way to the creepy Mrs. Danvers, these characters stick with you. I first read Rebecca as a required reading for my tenth-grade English class and have recently re-read it. I realized that, in my mind, the characters had transformed into real people. I was confused because some events that I was expecting to happen never actually happened. My imagination had created a continuation of the story and of the characters’ lives.
I am not usually a fan of thrillers. My usual genre of choice is romance. However, I think part of why I really enjoyed reading this book was the unconventional love trope that takes place. It’s not your typical enemies-to-lovers or girl-next-door romance plot. It’s messy, complex, and maybe even a tad bit alarming. Rebecca is not a book that you’ll read, stack on your shelf, and forget about. The book still lingers in my mind to this day.
P.S. if you don’t like books, there’s a movie version of Rebecca out on Netflix!