I would never reveal the plot of any of the books and deprive anyone of the joy of reading. Atleast, not more than what has already been revealed on the back-cover of books.
Rebecca- This book is easily one of my favourites. I have read it three times and it keeps me hooked each time. There is something very captivating in this book which can only be experienced and not expressed in words. It has both romance and thrill- a very strange and different kind of romance and thrill that you do not really see in books of these genres most of the time.
What I love about the book is the strange sense of mystery that one experiences as soon as one of the main characters- Mr. De Winters makes his entry in to the story- the sense of mystery which the protagonist of the story cannot decode until the very end. The main character of the book Rebecca does not really exist per se. It is only memories of her that linger around. The first name of the protagonist is never revealed in the book. She is always addressed as Mrs. De Winters. All other lesser characters in the stories only add on to the mystery as and when the story progresses.
Right from the time I was a child, I have always been fascinated with palaces and castles and stories which have good amount of details and description of these. Though the location of the story is an estate (Manderley) with a huge mansion, the description of the entire estate is really wonderful and created an image of a castle in my mind and transported me to it. I felt like a silent spectator of the events that unfolded in the beautiful mansion. The surroundings of the mansion are one to die for- moors and the sea. Instant magnet for me.
Below is a picture that was depicted in the movie based on the book.
Below is a picture that was depicted in the movie based on the book.
Another thing which I love to read in books of fiction is the description of food. I am just not satisfied with 'we had a quick lunch and ran for the bus'. I prefer- 'we had a quick lunch- a veggie soya chipotle sub with extra cheese, nicely toasted with some guacamole and ran for the bus'. I do not know what it is with me and food descriptors in books. Any book with well described food earn extra brownie points from me. Rebecca is one such book. It satiated my appetite for good descriptions and details of food in it and guess what- all meals were covered I think :-). Extra points from me :-)
The story is a romantic-mystery with the most unexpected twist in the tale at the end. It is not a '...and they lived happily ever after' end,but then it is.. The story is about a young girl marrying an older rich man who was previously married to Rebecca- beauty, grace, style, elegance and wealth personified who died before the story in the book could begin. She finds herself being constantly compared to her predecessor. The story unfolds in such a way that she comes face-to-face with Rebecca's reality. Any more revelation from me is a definite spoiler.
Alfred Hitchcock has made a movie based on this book which is also called Rebecca. With due respect to Hitchcock (I am a big fan of his), the book is much more captivating than the movie. Words can express so much and sometimes cinema, though an audio-visual medium, cannot capture the essence of words just as much. I am not saying it is a bad movie. It is quite good but falls a little short in comparison to the book.
If I had to rate the book, it is 5/5 stars and the movie 4/5 stars.
