I adored this book and genuinely couldn’t put it down – it caused a few late nights of midnight reading, which doesn’t often happen for me with grown-up books.  If you want to read a serious book, but aren’t a fan of Dickens-esqe classics, I would completely recommend Rebecca.  It comes across at first a bit of predictable chick-lit but really is anything but.  There are so many themes and literary references underlying the story and I thought the characters were fantastic.

I didn’t know anything about the story before reading it, and I’m really glad of this so don’t want to give anything away.  I’ll just say that I didn’t find the story totally ridiculous, but it definitely didn’t turn out as I expected and for me it was a total page turner.  On a similar note, I read the Virago edition with the same cover as this picture, but Sally Beauman wrote the introduction in my copy.  If you haven’t read Rebecca before, definitely don’t read the introduction first.  I found it really interesting for adding a bit of literary analysis, but it does give a lot of the story away too.

I’m so glad I bought a copy of this book, because it’s definitely going on my re-reads pile.  Even though I know the story now, I still reckon I’ll get a lot out of the second reading, and I’ll probably pick up on loads that I missed before.  There are a lot of layers to this book, but it’s totally possible to enjoy it without delving into all the detail.

A wonderful start to my Classics Club reading, and I’m definitely off to track down some more Du Maurier books now.  Any recommendations?  I’m totally at a loss for where to go next, so any advice in the comments would be much appreciated!

Today’s featured book is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

It’s classic, gothic, romantic suspense at its finest.

Why I chose this book:

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” One of my absolute favorite opening lines. And the book never takes a downtown. This is classic, gothic, romantic suspense at its finest. Most of you have probably read it, but for those who have not, it is a classic. I won’t belabor the review because I know most have probably read it, but maybe this will inspire you to go to your bookshelf and pull it off for another read. The critics panned it when it came out in 1938 (what do they know?), but it won the National Book Award in that year despite them. After 65 years in publication, in 2003 it was still listed as number 14 on the UK survey of The Big Read. Alfred Hitchcock won an Academy Award for the film version of it in 1940. Just writing about it makes me want to go read it again. If you’ve never read it, add it to your list.

From Amazon:

“With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten – a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house’s current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim’s first wife – the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

This special edition of Rebecca includes excerpts from Daphne du Maurier’s The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories, an essay on the real Manderley, du Maurier’s original epilogue to the book, and more.”

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join ourFacebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville

Pick a classic someone else in the club has read from our big review list. Link to their review and offer a quote from their post describing their reaction to the book. What about their post makes you excited to read that classic in particular?

As I was browsing through the list of reviews, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier immediately stood out. I have been wanting to read this classic for some time but our copy of the novel is old, worn and slightly dirty…so I haven’t made it a priority.

Then, I read the review by Natalie from Many Media Musings about the novel.

She starts her post, saying:

“When I first picked up Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, I read it slowly.  It felt so perfect that I wanted to savor the reading experience.  I found myself lost in the world of a nameless narrator, a meek young woman who falls in love with and marries a rich widower, only to feel oppressed by the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca.”

Who wouldn’t want to be lost in the world of fiction? Isn’t that the best kind of book to read? One that sweeps you off your feet and makes you feel like you are no longer yourself, but a part of a different, new, and exciting world in some faraway land.

And, she continues:

“And is the shadow of Rebecca really so oppressive?  They are for our nameless narrator, and since we see everything from her eyes, yes, they are.  And that’s ultimately why Rebecca is so powerful: we see everything from the eyes of a shy, small young woman who may very well be exaggerating all the signals she receives.”

I’ll certainly be making Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier a higher priority. I am intrigued and want to feel the magic of being swept inside the mind of this nameless character for myself.

Here are the other Rebecca reviews from Classics Club members:

A Room of One’s Own

Bibliophilia

Only Orangery

Breadcrumb Reads 

]]> http://ihugmybooks.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/april-rounded-up/ Wed, 02 May 2012 21:03:58 +0000 lubylou12 http://ihugmybooks.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/april-rounded-up/ While the weather outside might have being pretty miserable in April there was a silver lining in that it created the perfect setting for a month of reading hibernation. Don’t you just love it when the rain is beating down outside and the wind is howling but inside your tucked up with a great read, immersed in a completely different world?

I began the month by reading Home To Roost by Tessa Hainsworth. This non-fiction delight charts Hainsworth’s real life transformation from busy business woman in London to a post lady in rural Cornwall. The book is a charming and transporting story which may even inspire it’s reader. I soon forgot our own gloomy weather and felt lost in Tessa’s world on the beautiful Cornish coast.

Next up I stuck with the Cornish theme reading what is now firmly one of my all time favourite books. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.  It seems that it wasn’t only my favourite, judging by everyone else’s reactions you all loved this book too. I now can’t wait to read some more Du Muarier titles. Thanks everyone for your recommendations.

I was fortunate enough that the next book I picked up was another true gem. Getting into the 2012 Olympics I read the powerful and moving Gold by Chris Cleave. Please keep an eye out for my review which will appear very soon. I can’t wait to share my thoughts on this unique and engrossing story.

Finally I finished of the month reading Night by Elie Wiesel. The tone was certainly more sombre and at times difficult to digest, but then aren’t these books sometimes the best? I’ll be posting my review soon and look forward to sharing my thoughts on this one also.

So that was April for me, what about everyone else? Did you read anything special? And what about May any big plans? I don’t have any solid plans. There’s too many books, too little time. But fingers crossed it will be just as exciting a reading journey as April.

Happy Reading Everyone.

You may remember that I recently pondered the question can too much praise spoil a book? I mused on the idea that over hyping of a novel could leave a reader susceptible for server disappointment, and while this may be the case with some books I was recently reminded that some books simply deserve all of the praise they get.

I’ve always put off reading Rebecca perhaps because it came so heavily recommended, surely it would never live up to my by now high expectations. But then Rebecca is so unique and worlds apart from any other novel that I need never have feared disappointment, from page one I become enthralled and by the end of the novel I was unable to put it down.

The novel opens when our heroine is working as a ladies companion to a wealthy but tiresomely trivial American lady. Shy and introverted but detached and bored with her life in Monte Carlo she finds her attention instantly piqued when she meets the handsome Max De Winter, a rich widower with a dark and brooding past.

Within just two weeks our heroine agrees to be Max’s wife and return to his grand country home; the beautiful Manderley. This may be the escape from dreary companionship that she craves  but the new Mrs De Winter will also learn fresh challenges in this ultimate tale of ‘the other woman’.

Arriving at Manderley it is clear that whilst the late Mrs De Winter, Rebecca, may have died a year ago her presence still lingers in every corner of their home. From flowers in the morning room and letters in the writing desk to the examining glance of strangers our heroine feels herself constantly sized up and compared to the perfect Rebecca. Mrs De Winter feels shy were Rebecca was exuberant and fascinating. She feels plain and ordinary were Rebecca was glamorous and beautiful and worse than anything she feels inadequate in her duties as lady of Manderley where Rebecca was so respected and revered.  Chipping further away at her resolve is the strange and forbidding Mrs Danvers Rebecca’s former maid who makes clear with her hostile manner that Rebecca can never be replaced.

Maybe it’s female sympathy on my behalf but I really felt for and connected with the novels heroine whose real name we incidentally never learn. Du Maurirer seems to be hitting home the ambiguity of her identify and how isolated and insignificant she feels.  As she shrinks further into the shadows suffocated by Rebecca’s memory a deep despair weaves itself into the Novel. Du Maurirer details acutely the heartbreaking reality of her characters life in Manderley and the impossibility of living in the overbearing shadow of Rebecca.

I can’t recommend this book enough. It has everything, a slow burning plot with a dark gothic feel, detailed and engaging characters and a heroine whose journey will have you on the edge of your seat so intimate and real is her plight. I waited too long to read my first Daphne Du Maurier but I’m keen to rectify this. Which books by her would you recommend?

Sadly this month was a slow one for me, probably because I did something I never do and re read a book, well half a book actually…I will explain. You may remeber that last month I read The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and had a very mixed reaction to it. Whilst on the one hand I was able to appreciate the intelligence and effort that went into this novel I was on the other hand left bereft at my lack of ability to connect with the book. I felt strangely detached from all that happened in the book, slightly defeated by the fact that I had not had the same awe inspiring reaction to it as so many other readers seemed to have had.

When reading the first half of the book I took pain staking time to make sure I fully absorbed every sentence and detail. About half way through though I really gave up and forced myself to fly through the story which is something I never do.

So with this in mind I endevored to read the second half and the result was still a little disapointing. Sadly I didn’t finish the book a true convert to the novel, nor did I feel that I could honeslty say I had discovered the magic of Roy’s work. However I did manage to relax a little, take my time and appreciate certain events and messages within the book that previously had evaded me. I won’t be compltely changing my opinions on this book but I can say the ending was more touching the second time round and for that reason slightly more enjoyable.

So after this slow and rather frustrating read I moved onto something far more uplifting, Witch Light. A story of the atrocious witch hunts in the Seventeenth century and one womans story of survival. The novel was quite unlike anything I usually read and made for a pleasurable story. Especially given that this book describes beautifully the world of Glencoe and all of the majesticy of the natural world. A refreshing change to the rainy days I have been spending in Manchester.

Next up was the wonderful Before I Go To Sleep which I will be reading as part of a  book group tonight…I can’t wait. Until then I will hold back on my thoughts and share them with you in the next few days. I can’t wait to see what everyone else though though and report back to you all.

So what about September, well thankfully I will be enjoying a much needed holiday this month and whislt it might mean a fairly quiet blogging month, for which I apologise in advance, it will hopefully give me the space to catch up on some much needed reading time.

What do you think of my reading choices, I’ve selected Never Look away by Linwood Barclay, I became a fan after reading No Time For Goodbye earlier in the year. A good crime thriller should, fingers crossed, be the perfecr partner for afternoon’s spent by a pool enjoying the sunshine.

I’m also contemplating The Girls by Lori Lansen’s which is the story of conjoined twins. The book comes highly recommended and it seems like a sad but inspiring story so this may well find it’s way into my suitcase. Has anyone else read this book?

I also picked up Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier at a steal of a price from a second hand bookshop. Whilst this might not make it to Spain with me I do hope it makes it onto my reading list in September as I finally have a copy and can’t wait to read it.

And last but not least I picked up a book by an author that I hadn’t even heard of till I saw it’s attractive silver and pink cover. It’s called White Mice and is written Manchester born writer Nicholas Blincoe which I admit also added to the novels appeal. It seems completley different to the type of literature I usually go for and for that reason it’s top of the TBR list.

So that is August summed up for me and thats my plans for September. So what about everyone else? What are you reading and what did you discover in August? What do you think of my selection? Are there any books on there that you have already read or plan to read? I’d love to hear what reading you have been getting up to?

Also if anyone can recommend some great books suitable for a book group then they would be greatly apprecaited. Tonight is our third meet and as of yet I have no suggestions. Any thoughts?

Happy reading everyone, I hope September brings many treasures your way.

One of the most appealing heroines in all of fiction weaves a special magic to enthral every reader.

Known to millions through the outstandingly successful versions on stage and screen, the characters in this timeless romance become hauntingly real  – to be treasured in the memory.

Brilliantly conceived, masterfully executed, Daphne du Maurier’s unforgettable tale of love and suspense is a storytelling triumph that will be read and re-read.

Written by Daphne du Maurier. First published 1938 by Victor Gollancz Ltd. This edition published by Pan Books 1976.

Daphne  du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn is one of my favourite all-time gothics and since there’s a new anthology of her stories due out this week (more on that later) and the Daphne du Maurier Festival taking place later this month, I thought it was  about time I posted a review of what must be her most remembered book, Rebecca. 

With one of the best known opening lines in literary history and widely believed to be the book that kick-started the revival for Gothic Romance in the 20th Century, Rebecca is Daphne du Maurier’s fifth novel and for many considered to be the quintessential modern Gothic.

Told in flashback, this is story of an unnamed women’s struggle as she adjusts to a new life married to the wealthy owner of a West Country estate and her fight to come out from under the shadow cast by her husband’s first wife Rebecca.

Rebecca was everything the new Mrs de Winter is not – beautiful, charming, self confident and dead. She drowned in a boating accident in the bay, and it was her husband Maxim de Winter who identified the body when it was supposedly washed up from the sea a couple of months later. 

1992 Arrow Edition

Feeling inadequate and unfamiliar with her grand new lifestyle, the new Mrs de Winter finds it very difficult to adjust, becoming less and less confident with each new faux pas, failing to live up to the standard she thinks is expected of her. And then there is Mrs Danvers – the sly, secretive, skull-faced housekeeper who loved Rebecca more than anyone and who just can’t hide her dislike for her new mistress.

The best gothic romances brim with unspoken secrets and emotions. This book is full of such things and more, as the withered claw of Rebecca’s unburied past  reaches out from its watery grave, maintaining its strange stranglehold over the living occupants of Manderley.

Dare I say it however, Rebecca is not my favourite gothic romance – it is not even my favourite du Maurier novel. Though it is beautifully written, I find the voice of the new Mrs de Winter a little too insipid for my tastes and difficult to listen to for long. I’ve picked this book up and put it down again so many times the story has always been a bit of a disjointed blur for me. In my defence though,  I have seen the play and I did watch the Alfred Hitchcock movie last night specially for this review.

Movie poster 1956

And what a fab movie it is too!

Joan Fontaine is brilliant. When reading Rebecca I never developed much sympathy for the new Mrs de Winter – I could never understand what all the fuss was about over the costume ball for example – but watching the film made me cringe in sympathy for her. Laurence Olivier really brings the character Maxim alive too, maintaining an undeniable charm on the surface but with an added aura of menace and control over his new bride. And if gloom-ridden, gothic mansions are your thing – well, the opening shots of Manderley are a treat!

Four out of five stars.

Fans of Daphne Du Maurier will be interested to know that Virago press are publishing a new anthology of her short stories this week. Called The Doll, this collection features 13 ‘forgotten’ short stories written by du Maurier early on in her career. The titular story – lost for more than 70 years – is a macabre tale about a man who discovers that the girl he’s smitten with is besotted with a mechanical sex doll. 

Here’s a description taken from the Virago website:

 ‘I want to know if men realise when they are insane. Sometimes I think that my brain cannot hold together, it is filled with too much horror – too much despair …I cannot sleep, I cannot close my eyes without seeing his damned face. If only it had been a dream.’

 In ‘The Doll’, a waterlogged notebook is washed ashore. Its pages tell a dark story of obsession and jealousy. But the fate of its narrator is a mystery. Many of the stories in this haunting collection have only recently been discovered. Most were written early in Daphne du Maurier’s career, yet they display her mastery of atmosphere, tension and intrigue and reveal a cynicism far beyond her years.

More information can be found at the Virago press website HERE.

Virago 2003

And to celebrate all things splendiferously Daphne, I have not one but two copies of Rebecca to give away free to anyone with a UK postal address.

The first is an Arrow edition, published 1992 with a short biography and photograph of the author on the inside cover (pictured above). The second, shown left, is the very nice Virago Modern Classic edition.

Just email me via the contacts page with your preference. First come first served. Enjoy!

My Pan copy - love the colour of that sky!

“Even the [Agatha] Christie pick, And Then There Were None, is one of her creepier novels,” said NPR’s book critic Maureen Corrigan, who served on the advisory panel for the project. Why are we not surprised that Harris is right on top? and a a little dissapointed that Clive Barker is not on this list?

1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. Kiss the Girls by James Patterson
4. The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
5. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
6. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
7. The Shining by Stephen King
8. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
9. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
10. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The entire top 100 Killer Thrillers list!

1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson
4. The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
5. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
7. The Shining, by Stephen King
8. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
9. The Hunt tor Red October, by Tom Clancy
10. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
11. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
12. The Stand, by Stephen King
13. The Bone Collector, by Jeffery Deaver
14. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
15. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown
16. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham
17. The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton
18. Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane
19. The Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsyth
20. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier

21. Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett
22. It, by Stephen King
23. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
24. The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson
25. Jaws, by Peter Benchley
26. The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
27. Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris
28. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow
29. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett
30. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, by Stieg Larsson

Rosemary’s Baby

31. No Country For Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
32. Gone Baby Gone, by Dennis Lehane
33. Gorky Park, by Martin Cruz Smith
34. Rosemary’s Baby, by Ira Levin
35. Subterranean, by James Rollins
36. Clear and Present Danger, by Tom Clancy
37. Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King
38. Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane
39. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre
40. The Poet, by Michael Connelly

61. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
62. In the Woods, by Tana French
63. Shogun, by James Clavell
64. The Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
65. Intensity, by Dean Koontz
66. Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming
67. Metzger’s Dog, by Thomas Perry
68. Timeline, by Michael Crichton
69. Contact, by Carl Sagan
70. What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman

71. The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
72. The Cabinet of Curiosities, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
73. Charm School, by Nelson DeMille
74. Feed, by Mira Grant
75. Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child
76. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay
77. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
78. The First Deadly Sin, by Lawrence Sanders
79. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
80. The Brotherhood of the Rose, by David Morrell

Goldfinger

81. Primal Fear, by William Diehl
82. The Templar Legacy, by Steve Berry
82. The Hard Way, by Lee Child [tie]
84. The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper
85. Six Days of the Condor, by James Grady
86. Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler
87. Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith
88. The Eight, by Katherine Neville
89. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
90. Goldfinger, by Ian Fleming

Bangkok 8

91. Bangkok 8, by John Burdett
92. The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva
93. Hardball, by Sara Paretsky
94. The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
95. The Deep Blue Good-by, by John MacDonald
96. The Monkey’s Raincoat, by Robert Crais
96. Berlin Game, by Len Deighton [tie]
98. A Simple Plan, by Scott Smith
99. Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
100. Heartsick, by Chelsea Cain