|| IF Book Club : The Next Chapter || - Page 80

@will do. The short story was just a beginning it will continue from that.

so you meansome of these short stories dont have an ending? are they left midway?😲

i wish theres a novel on saint too

My opinion on Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I went into reading this book trying not to keep very high expectations as you tend to build up a book in your head and it doesn’t turn out to be what you expected it to be. Also, it being a classic made me a bit vary. If there was no book club, I probably would not have chosen this book and read it at a much later stage.

The beginning was slow and the language was a little different and took some time getting used to. The ongoing description of flowers got to me at times, but I can’t deny that it really helped in visualising Manderley clearly. The characters and Manderley were given enough context that it was easy to put yourself in the new Mrs. de Winter’s shoes and feel her apprehensions and insecurities. Each character was well written and as the reader one’s feelings towards them were aligned with how the new Mrs. de Winter’s felt towards them.
I don’t think I have read a more compelling first person narrative in a while that made me feel the exact same way that the character was feeling.

Rebecca as the omnipresent character added so much to the story and was so well written as this mysterious woman who everyone was taken in by. The truth about her, though not very original, was interesting because of the writing.
I like how the writer didn’t give a first name to the new Mrs. de Winters, making her almost insignificant in front of the larger than life Rebecca.

Till the first 150 pages or so I wondered why people had referred to the book as a thriller. I got my answer a little more than halfway through the book. I don’t think I felt so eager to read a classic the way I felt while reading Rebecca. It kept me hooked from around the halfway mark till the end.

I can’t emphasise enough on how good the writing was. I don’t know how alive or intriguing this plot and characters would have been if it was written by any other author. Daphne du Maurier deserves all the accolades she got for this book.

I think this book was my favourite from all the book club books so far. I gave it 4.5 stars.

I thought I’ll reveal the two books for February a day in advance.

The first BOTM for February is -

Genre: contemporary romance, new adult, music

Link: https://library.lol/fiction/12A8052A3410C5E7A883F4928C7C3DDC

The second BOTM is -

Genre: contemporary romance, new adult, travel

Link: https://m.vk.com/wall-141903358_2062

(Scroll a bit and find the link of the book under the name of Daisy Torres)

My thoughts on Rebecaa

I didn't like Rebecca as much as I wanted to. I do believe that if I read it few years back, I would have loved it. And I also get why it is a classic. It was a powerful story considering the era of publication. Today when I read it, i dont find anything out of the box. It feels like an ekta kapoor serial to be honest. Even the twist was quite expecting. Mrs Denver had very kindly stated in one of her meltdowns that her dear Mrs de winter was a women of loose character. I wanted to to shocked but sadly i wasn't. I knew it was coming. I only liked the characterof Frank crawley...... and Jasper too. The main leads were annoying at their best.

Following phrases like

'You are my father and my brother and my son. All those things.'

'I wanted to be his wife, his mother. '

'And I should make violent love to you behind a palm tree.'(violent, not passionate.... How charming)

Him addressing her as poor lamb repeatedly.,

...... turned me off big time.

The nameless heroine webs her imagination in every third page to do what? Just lengthen the pages of the book.

Mrs Denver, if I am not mistaken had mental illness. She was a bit too obsessed with Rebecca. I wonder why.

The only good thing about the book was its descriptive writing. We went to manderley with our new Mrs de winter. We lived her fear and insecurities. I liked the ending. It seemed fitting.

I am giving this book 2.5 stars.

I won't be reading May be someday because I have already read it years. Also, It's not my favourite Coollen Hoover book. Although, I am quite excited for the second one. Seems interesting.

Originally posted by: Unique.Sheep

so you meansome of these short stories dont have an ending? are they left midway?😲

i wish theres a novel on saint too

Some are just beginnings while others are proper short stories.

I totally forgot it's review day!

There really isn't anything for me to say that Anam and Shanam haven't already said. The characters were fantastic, as was the narration. The scenes were elaborately described, letting me feel everything that Mrs. de Winter felt or went through.

I'm not sure Rebecca's true nature was supposed to be a mystery to the end because the crumbles left throughout the book weren't the sort that actual mystery books have; they were pretty direct. For eg. John's mention of the moonlight picnics by the beach and his while saying it; in the same conversation, he said that kindness, sincerity, and modesty mean more to men than wit and beauty, clearly implying that Rebecca was beautiful and witty but not kind or sincere or modest. Then as Shanam said, Mrs. Danvers just plain out told everything to Mrs. de Winter.

Also, I do agree with Shanam about how annoying Maxim was sometimes, especially with his pet names for his wife, but I also think that was purposeful. It was written that way to make us feel annoyed that he treated his wife as a child, just like she herself felt.

@Shanam: I think I sort of understand why you didn't like it so much. You must have read so many romance novels that nothing seems new anymore, not in this book that was written decades ago. I remember feeling the same when reading that murder scene towards the end. I just couldn't stop remembering the murder scene from Where the Crawdads Sing. They felt too similar with the boat and the rain and fog and overall atmosphere. Even the motives were similar.

Overall, I loved the book, and even with the slow start, it was worth it to read the book, and I really liked the ending and the abrupt way in which it ended, making you want to know more.

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐