(no subject)
So I finished reading Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier, recently. And oh, it was amazing. I would recommend it to anyone(okay. Anyone female) Absolutely riveting and lovely. Not wholly a ghost story and not wholly a love story, but a bit of both. It reminded me a lot of Jane Eyre, actually(it's the whole overlooked, plain, poor young woman who suddenly attracts attentions of wealthy man-thing). It wasn't the best writing I've ever read- which is why Daphne du Maurier is considered more of the popular writer of her day than a "classic" writer, but this book is considered a classic and I can see why after reading it. Her style is lovely and while it took me about a chapter to get into it, after that I was just sucked into it -great romance and suspense. And it wasn't as creepy as I was expecting either - it's advertized as a Gothic horror-type book and in some ways it may be, but it was more atmosphere than horror. And it has one of the most charismatic opening lines I"ve ever read - "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again." Basic story: a young woman is acting as an assistant to a snobby, wealthy older woman, and one day while they are staying at a hotel they meet a wealthy widower named Max de Winter, whom she falls in love with and marries. He takes her back to his estate at Manderley, where she arrives to find that the place is haunted by the memory of her husband's former wife, Rebecca. She senses a mystery and begins to investigate...Apparently the two words most often used to describe this book are "haunting" and "magical" and I would say both fit it perfectly.