Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: The Fellowship of the Worms

November 18, 2013 Book Club, Mystery, Romance, Uncategorized 33

smarty-mcwordypants-199x300Hello Bookworms,

Before we start here today, I want to let everyone know that I am a-okay. You probably saw on the news the devastation wreaked on Central Illinois from a tornado outbreak. Some of those touchdowns were a few miles from us, but luckily we are safe and sound, as is our home. Thanks to everyone for your concern!

Now, without further ado, let us get our Fellowship on! This month we’re discussing the classic tale of gothic mystery Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. WARNING: We will be discussing the WHOLE book. This will no doubt include SPOILERS. If you did not read the book and would like to participate, pick up a copy of Rebecca and give it a read. This post will be here waiting for you when you finish. Now that the particulars are out of the way, I’ll remind you of the premise here. I’ll pose questions in bold and answer them in regular type.  If you don’t want your opinions influenced by my rantings, stick to the bold first. Feel free to answer them in the comments, or if you’re so inclined, on your own blog. A linky list will be provided at the end of this post for anybody who has reviewed Rebecca on their own blog. Don’t be shy, please link up!

1.Talk about your whirlwind courtship! Our heroine agrees to marry Maxim de Winter after knowing him only a few short weeks. Her decision is fueled in no small part by her wish to escape her snobby employer. Anybody think she should have thought the decision over a bit more carefully, or does love, as they say, conquer all? I am of the opinion than if something SOUNDS too good to be true, it ALWAYS is. I’m also of the opinion that if on one of your first “dates,” your suitor gets lost in a creepy fantasy on the edge of a cliff, you should cut and run. Being able to spell an unusual name correctly is NOT a good foundation for marriage. I’m not sure saying “yes” was your best move, No-Name Girl.

2. Could Mrs. Danvers possibly BE any more creepy and evil? That woman had wicked written all over her from day one. Sherebecca1 was a combination of Mean Girl and psychopath. Mrs. Danvers had an unnatural attachment to the late Rebecca de Winter (Maxim’s mysteriously departed first wife) and was none too pleased to have a new lady of the house. She was a bully and dead set on wreaking havoc. The stunt she pulled at the fancy dress ball? That nutjob even tried to coax No-Name Girl into suicide. Not cool, Danny. Not cool.

3. Rebecca’s presence was palpable throughout the novel despite the fact that she was deceased. How does Rebecca’s memory torment No-Name Girl? Poor No-Name Girl is haunted. Everything she hears she interprets as Rebecca’s perfection. Mrs. Danvers doesn’t help matters by discussing how fashionable, well bred, intelligent, and active Rebecca was. No-Name Girl is convinced the Maxim is still grieving Rebecca and that she’s a piss-poor replacement.

4. Were you surprised by Maxim’s revelation about what really happened to Rebecca? I wasn’t surprised, because I think I’d read a spoiler somewhere. More than that though, Maxim’s behavior where she was concerned was pretty sketchy. What I hadn’t anticipated was that Rebecca was a full on sociopath. Gah! That woman! She makes Mrs. Danvers look like a well adjusted and productive member of society! The debauchery, the promiscuity, the intentional meanness to the mentally disabled guy… I can’t say it was too great a loss to the world as a whole, though it sounds like Mother Nature was taking care of that bit of business before Maxim stepped in. Yikes! 

5. Who do you think burned down Manderley? My money is on the collusion of the evil Mrs. Danvers and the drunken incestuous (yeah yeah I know it didn’t USED to be incest to hook up with your first cousin, but EWWW anyway) Jack Favell. Team of crazies, those two. I can’t imagine that the place went up in flames purely by coincidence, especially since old Danny had removed all her personal belongings earlier in the day. Seriously though, it was MAXIM’s house, NOT Rebecca’s. There is just no reasoning with sociopaths.

What did you think, Bookworms? If you would like to share your thoughts in blog form, be sure to link up below! 

[inlinkz_linkup id=341844]

Next month’s selection will be The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I know it’s a book that’s been out for a while, but I haven’t read it yet, okay?

gurnsey

On a side note, I have had several inquiries as to my address recently, as I’m sending out holiday cards and bookmarks this year to any reader who wants one. If you’re interested, I’m mailing internationally- all you need to do is send your address to wordsforworms@gmail.com! There is no need to send me anything, but since I was asked, here you go:

Katie Kelly

PO Box 3078

Peoria, IL 61612-3078

P.S. If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of Rebecca for your own collection, please use this link. Any purchases made through this site on Book Depository will net me a small commission. 

33 Responses to “Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: The Fellowship of the Worms”

  1. Sarah Says Read

    Poor ridiculous No-Name Girl. She definitely made some bad calls. Mrs. Danvers was SO crazy and creepy, but I kind of love her for it! She adds a lot to the creepy atmosphere of Manderley. (It was also really amusing to then read the Thursday Next book in which there’s an army of Danver clones, lol).

    I think the writing was really good. I FELT the scenery and the suspense and it was a lot of fun to read. I keep meaning to pick up something else by her soon.

    Also, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is an awesome book.

    Reply

  2. Shannon @ River City Reading

    Lalalalala, I’m not going to read the whole post and I’m trying to comment early because I JUST picked up a copy and trying to avoid spoilers. I’m just here to say I’m excited to finally read this book, it seems like everyone loves it!

    Reply

  4. Melinda

    Rebecca is my favourite modern classic – I really adore the book. I hope you enjoy the read. It’s definitely on my list of re-reads for 2014.

    Reply

  6. Charleen

    I skipped it this month since I already had plans to read Rebecca early next year, but I’ll be sure to check back when I do.

    And yay for next month’s book! It was so good! Thanks for giving me the perfect excuse to re-read it!

    Those tornadoes… that was crazy. I slept through most of the storms out here in Iowa, and I didn’t realize how bad they were until I was getting ready to watch the Bears’ game and they were talking about possibly having to postpone and even evacuate the stadium. I’m glad you guys are okay!

    Reply

    • Words For Worms

      Those tornadoes sucked hardcore- looking and photos gives me a tummy ache- it’s too much to take in. I’m really glad that there were so few fatalities (only 1 confirmed so far) looking at the wreckage, that in itself is a bit of a miracle.

      Reply

  7. Lori

    So glad to hear you are okay!

    Rebecca is such a fabulous classic. Earlier this year my book club read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and we truly enjoyed it and so will you.

    Reply

  8. Andi (@estellasrevenge)

    Yeah, Mrs. Danvers totally gave me the creepin. And I’m certain it was her and ole yucky Favell. I really enjoyed this book when I read it a couple of months ago, and the biggest surprise was that it kept going from where I thought the climax would be. We got a much greater look into the sociopathy that was Rebecca than I’d originally anticipated. Loved it!

    Reply

  11. bybee

    The movie version of Mrs. Danvers, Judith Anderson, is even creepier! The look of her, her expressions and that voice! I get nightmares.

    Reply

  13. Ciska @ Ciska's Book Chest

    Loved Rebecca, have read it so many times and still find new things in this book. And NO mrs. Danvers could not be more creepy, she is one scary lady that gave me nightmares at some point.

    Hope you enjoy The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

    Reply

  16. Rhian

    I *finally* got around to reading Rebecca and boy was I pleasantly surprised.

    From the beginning of the book you realise No Name Girl is in exile and that obviously something bad happened. I think I was expecting escalating psychological warfare on the part of Mrs Danvers, concluding in a murder attempt via arson. I also wasn’t sure whether Max was going to survive, speculating that the “we” at the start could have referred to No Name and child.

    I certainly wasn’t expecting Max’s confession. While I realised Rebecca was not very nice, I accepted No Name’s opinion on Max’s feelings for Rebecca, and that Rebecca had Max fooled like everyone else. I really loved how the book played out after that point in terms of tension – revelation after revelation, but not what you expected.

    I had to keep reminding myself that No Name was quite young, even for her age because I just wanted to shake her for most of the book. In fact even at the end I wanted her to grow a spine!

    I agree that Mrs Danvers definitely burned down Mandeley, I think because she didn’t believe that Rebecca killed herself even given Rebecca’s diagnosis. I don’t think the creepy cousin was involved, by that stage I think he was more concerned about whether he might have caught cancer from Rebecca. I think his perseverance in relation to investigating Rebecca’s death had less to do with love of Rebecca than messing with Max.

    Time for me to stop talking now. Thank you once again for introducing me to another great book.

    Reply

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