Wednesday, May 05, 2004
On Daisy's recommendation, I read Daphne Du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel next. I love how she writes this from the first person; she does it frequently (Rebecca and The Scapegoat employ the same narrative technique) and to great effect. Her narrators are flawed and unreliable and trying to figure out what's really going on when seeing everything through one biased perspective is cool. In this case, we have not only Ambrose's letters to help us discern the truth about Rachel, but also Louise. Neither is exactly trustworthy though, as they both have other motives that might explain their interpretation of the facts. Du Maurier creates such an air of creepy ambiguity in this book, beginning at the first page with a description of a man hanged for murder. I also liked the pacing of the book; she let you go just long enough to begin to doubt your suspicions of Rachel before throwing in another letter or sinister action. Right up to the end you're not entirely sure who to believe. I love that. Thanks, Daisy!
|
Comments:
Post a Comment
