The 2015 Classics Challenge set up by Stacey over at The Pretty Books. The goal is to read one classic a month and to blog about the experience. I've always wanted to read more classics and since I'm in a monthly classics book group, I thought this would be a great way to combine the two! This month, I've read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
WHEN I DISCOVERED THIS CLASSIC + WHY I CHOSE TO READ IT
I discovered this classic through the movie. Rebecca is one of those classic films that every has watched and I've always wanted to read the book first before I saw the movie. Hence, I never saw the film until a few days ago. My father loves Daphne du Maurier and her books have always been all over our house, so since I read my mother's favourite classic last month (Little Women), I thought it was only fair to give one of my father's favourites a go. From all of Daphne's book, this one always appealed the most to me because it's the most famous one and I like reading books a lot of people have read.
WHAT MAKES IT A CLASSIC
Again, I hate this questions because it's so hard. This book is probably a classic, because the writing is flawless. Daphne du Maurier knows how to weave in tension into the story without the reading really noticing. For the longest time, nothing is wrong in the story, yet as a reader you feel like everything is wrong. It's enticing and makes it nearly impossible for you to put the book down.
Probably also a major element for this book is the Hitchcock adaptation. I think that people who don't know the book will have seen or heard about the movie. It must have given a nice boast to the sales!
WHAT I THOUGHT OF THIS CLASSIC
I LOVED this classic! If you've been following my challenge, you'll know that I'm not overly fond of classics that really read like classics. I think Jane Austen and Robinson Crusoe are exhausting and hurt my brain. I want to enjoy reading, even when it's a classic and Rebecca was perfect for that. Though clearly not a children's book (which could be argued for both Little Women and Lord of The Flies; books that I both loved), it reads easier than any YA book I've read. The writing, as mentioned, is flawless and the plot is so good that it's impossible to put this book down. And after I did finish it, I couldn't read anything else for days. It was just too good to really let go.
Another major factor for me was the fact that I loved the main narrator so much. She was so nice and endearing and I really just wanted her to live happily ever after. This got me invested in the story and made the reading experience even more enjoyable.
WILL IT STAY A CLASSIC
Yes. I think it's impossible for a book with such amazing writing to ever not be a classic. I've read other classics, but I think the writing of Daphne du Maurier is the best I've ever read and as a fellow writer, I'm just in awe of her talent and how safe I felt in her hands. Add to that the amazingly successful Hitchcock film, which is a film classic in its own right, and there's no way any future generation will forget about this book.
WHO I’D RECOMMEND IT TO
ANYONE! But if I had to pick one group it would be future writers. I can't even explain how much Daphne du Maurier's writing has helped me and the story that I'm writing. It's exceptional and any writer can enjoy the beauty of her language.