Rebecca

So many books. I’m always bookmarking lists of books — award nominees and winners, best of’s, top 10s, and so on. My solution has been to look over the list and pick just one rather than adding stacks to my already piled up (and under) nightstand. And I’ve been listening to more and more on audio, so I can have more than one book going at a time.

This week Jen, a.k.a. Devourer of Books, is celebrating Audiobook Week, so I decided to combine my list trolling with my audiobook listening to join in on the fun. Skimming over the table of contents for Thrillers: 100 Must Reads, I noticed Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca (1938) — I’d never really thought of it as a thriller. I was intrigued.

The famous first line — “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” — sets the stage for this dreamy, haunting story. The basic plot is simple. Young, orphaned lady’s companion meets rich widower in Monte Carlo, becomes Mrs. Maxim de Winter, moves to his estate, and feels dwarfed by… well, everything. The house, the staff–especially the bitter and hateful Mrs. Danvers, the locals, the past, and hovering over it all, the first Mrs. de Winter: Rebecca.

Listening on audiobook turned out to be crucial for me. The book’s full of description of people, hotels, scenery, cars, and, of course, Manderley. It’s also full of the musings and imaginings of the young (unnamed) narrator — for example, she paints pictures of long imagined scenes of people talking about her and Maxim, and the reputed (lack of) success of their marriage. If I’d been reading rather than listening, I just know I would’ve started skimming, and that would be a shame, not only because the descriptions add to the flavor of the book but because they help build suspense as it slowly becomes obvious that something is very, very wrong. It’s a story that unfolds at the narrator’s telling, not one that should be skimmed. The reader, Brit Anna Massey, will not be rushed but lingers over each word and scene, just as she should.

Rebecca is not a typical thriller, but it is very suspenseful, and I’m glad I paid attention to yet another list. But then, what if some of the others on this list were just as good, or better? Sigh. So many books.

Buy the audiobook:

This is book #1 in the Audio Book Challenge.