'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...'

★ ★ ★ ★

Reading Rebecca was fun--it was like a postmodern Bronte novel. It actually felt like a combination of The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights: The Great Gatsby for the Art Deco element--characters in Jazz Age attire, smoking cigarettes, ordering cold lunches and throwing parties on the terraces of grand estates. Jane Eyre for the shy young bride factor. And the big old house aspect. And the being haunted by the dead wife of your older husband thing. Wuthering Heights for the disturbing turn the plot takes towards the end (I won't give anything away, but there's a definite Heathcliff sort of twistedness to it).

It's hard to say much about the story without spoiling it for prospective readers (there are a few twists I don't want to risk giving away). But I loved du Maurier's evocative writing. I'm not normally a fan of long setting descriptions and overly flowery language, but I was actually quite captivated by the scenes described in this book. I felt almost as if I were on the grounds of Manderley. Eerie and haunting and beautiful. I also loved the attention she gave to detailing food. You'll want to read this book while eating a boiled egg and cold shaved ham with a pot of coffee on the side.

Recommended if you love haunting romantic fiction. (It is a little disturbing though, just to say I warned you.) I might have to get my hands on the film version--apparently it was Alfred Hitchcock's first.