I read Rebecca for the sole reason that my sister forced me to. Both of us have similar tastes (well, almost similar) in books and I was very surprised when she told me to read Rebecca. I had a vague opinion that it was a completely romantic novel and I hate such books. But I did pick up the book and read it. And the first few pages made me feel that I would waste a few precious hours of my life reading a really boring book. But soon, I found myself enjoying the book extremely. It wasn’t at all as mushy as I thought it would be. In fact it was better than most suspense thrillers I have read.
It is written in the first person and the narrator is a young girl, 21 years of age. The book begins with the narrator remembering all that had happened to her since she met Maxim deWinter. She worked as a companion to a middle aged woman and while in France met Maxin deWinter who had lost her first wife, Rebecca, and Maxim ’’can’t get over his wife’s death’’. But slowly he begins to like the narrator and the narrator falls in love with him and they marry. Maxim then takes his new wife to Manderley. At Manderley, the new Mrs deWinter isn’t at ease for a single moment. She finds everyone she meets from the butler to the maids, her sister-in-law and everyone else comparing her with the beautiful, efficient, classy Rebecca who although dead, is not quite forgotten. Rebecca’s suite is sealed, her clother maintained, her servant - the creepy Mrs Danvers still employed. Mrs deWinter allows her to run the house and boss her as she thinks she is not capable to do it. Her only friends in and around Manderley are Jasper - a dog, Frank Crawley - her husband’s employee and Beatrice - her sister-in-law. Even her husband, she begins to realize, wasn’t in love with her, but with Rebecca. Shy by nature, she begins to really withdraw into a shell and after a disastrous fancy dress party when she is tricked by Mrs Danvers to wear the same clothes which were worn by Rebecca and seeing the reactions of her husband, she begins to realize that their marriage isn’t a success. But from there the story takes an entirely unexpected turn about which I wont go into here.
The narattor feels that Rebecca was alive in Maxim’s heart, she thought that she still reigned over Manderly. She finds herself fighting the impression left by Rebecca and feels herself to be losing. And all through, the reader will find himself/herself hating Rebecca for her hold and pitying the narrator. Rebecca does indeed seem to be winning. But as her confidence grows she begins unravelling the mysteries of Rebecca, her life and death and in the process discovers Ben, a mad old man paranoid about being sent to the assylum, Rebecca’s old cottage where she spent nights alone.
The book was completely gripping and I’m sure I’ll never forget how much I enjoyed the book.. The magical effect it creates will never die. It will live forever.