Award-Winning – DaneCobain.com

Title: Rebecca

Author: Daphne du Maurier

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 432

Rating: 4*/5

Daphne du Maurier – Rebecca

First off, whatever you do, don’t read the Virago Modern Classics edition. The front cover is a spoiler for the last page and the introductory essay is a spoiler for the other 431 of them. I already knew a little bit about the story line of Rebecca because of its parodies in popular culture, and particularly Mitchell and Webb which ruined the scene with the dress from the portrait, and what I didn’t know was spoiled by Sally Beauman’s introductory essay. And from what I understand, that was only there in the first place to try to get you to buy her “award-winning Rebecca’s Tale, authorised by the du Maurier estate.” Yeah, I won’t be reading that.

Because of all that, this entire read felt more like a re-read, even though it’s the first time I’ve ever picked it up. And that’s a shame, because it took a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me. Sure, it was good to read it to see how du Maurier told the story, but none of it took me by surprise, as I imagine it would have if I’d read it in 1938. I’ve also never read Jane Eyre, which apparently it’s based on, so maybe I would have got more from it if I’d read that.

The unnamed narrator is bland and boring, at least for the majority of the book, but that’s a deliberate ploy on du Maurier’s part. Still, it was kind of irritating to have to read her whittering on about stuff, especially when you already know what’s going to happen and that it’ll make most of what she’s even going on about completely redundant. Maxim de Winter and Mrs Danvers were much more interesting.

Daphne du Maurier

I also found it entertaining because I didn’t trust Rebecca and then it turned out that I’d sussed her character out when everyone else in the book was taken in by her. But that wasn’t outright spelled out or spoiled for me and so even though I called it, at least I called it myself. I was also taken by surprise by a twist towards the end when they called upon Rebecca’s former doctor, but I also thought it was a little too convenient.

Overall, based on my reading experience, Rebecca just scrapes a 4/5, and only because I’m generous and based on the strength of du Maurier’s writing. Without being spoiled, it would have been an easy 5* and a contender for my book of the year. Oh well.

Daphne du Maurier – The Breakthrough

Click here to buy Rebecca.

Mark Haddon – The Red House | Review

Title: The Red House

Author: Mark Haddon

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 340

Rating: 8/10

Mark Haddon – The Red House

The Red House is typical of Haddon’s work, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t brilliant – as always, the author of the award-winning novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time focuses on people and the relationships between them. As far as the story-line goes, this novel is simply about two families who spend a week living together in a cottage near the Welsh border. But let me tell you right now that there’s so much more on offer.

The way in which Haddon depicts the subtle interplay between the members of the two different families is fantastic, and his slightly abstract style of writing works well because it helps him to show how the differing perspectives of two different people can distort the truth. For example, a brother and sister have completely different memories of their father – the sister can’t remember what he looks like, and she remembers him as a hero. The brother, meanwhile, remembers that he was an abusive arsehole, and it all comes out when they’re locked up in the cottage, away from civilisation.

You’ve also got a bunch of horny teenagers to look forward to, including a teenage girl who joined the church to find salvation but slowly realises that perhaps she can find herself somewhere else. There was also a girl called Melissa who has such a strong personality that I’m not surprised that so many of the other characters are drawn to her – she seems like my kind of girl, too.

All in all, it’s a long old read and you’ll need to concentrate on it until you reach the end, but it’s worth persevering with, especially if you find (like I did) that all of the characters blend together to begin with. By the time you reach the end, you’ll feel as though you’re a part of the family, like you spent a week in the Red House with them.