Rating: 
Summary: Best of Du Maurier
Review: This book is great. I just happened upon the film version of this book a couple months ago and liked it enough to give the book a try. It was my first Du Maurier and I loved it. Since then I have read Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, and Frenchman's Creek. My Cousin Rachel is definitely the best of the bunch, with Rebecca at second. THe other two are very enjoyable but a little far-fetched. Before I read this book I had no idea what Du Maurier was like, I just assumed she was some trashy twentieth century writer like Agatha Christie (sorry AC fans). I would put "Rachel" on par with Thomas Hardy's work- its that good. It could be called a gothic novel, though it is more modern in approach. Overall somewhat similar to Jane Eyre or Tess of the D'Urbervilles. This book is a bit slower than her other works, but much more believable, in depth, and serious. It is a frustrating mystery at the end, was Rachel good or bad? I like to tell myself that Du Maurier herself never decided, never "knew", and that is why it is so ambiguous.
Rating:
Summary: A real life love drama
Review: This is one of the most fascinating and moving novels I have ever read. The story is not about pirates, smugglers or wildly romantic adventures. It is a real life love drama, in which an inexperienced young man falls in love with a woman of the world. A possible crime plays an important role, but the real story is about the feelings of Rachel and Philip for each other. For me, the most dramatic person is Rachel, whose character and way of life don't fit into the dreams of Ambrose and Philip. Not until the last page it becomes clear what kind of a woman Rachel really is, at least for me. (For some readers the questions remain.) At the end there are no winners, no bad guys, only victims. Even after I finished reading the book it kept me under its spell for days. I think this is because Rachel and Philip are so like real people, because the end is surprising in a very moving way, and because I couldn't help falling for Rachel myself. For me it belongs to the top of my favorite novels. If I could take five books with me to a deserted island where I had to spend the rest of my life, this one would be one of them.
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