Review: My Cousin Rachel

4 stars, but I highly, highly recommend this sharp, vivid classic. 

When young Philip Ashley's guardian travels to Florence for his health, he doesn't expect Ambrose to stay - nor does he expect to hear news of his marriage to a mysterious and distant cousin named Rachel. Mystified by this choice and by the idea of marriage altogether, Philip grows more and more concerned by Ambrose's letters and signs of declining health. When he travels to Florence to visit, he is too late - Ambrose has passed away, leaving cousin Rachel untethered and apparently alone. 

Philip returns home to England determined to find out more about cousin Rachel and her involvement, or lack thereof, in his beloved guardian's death. He invites her to stay at his inherited estate. But the more he gets to know Rachel, and the more she becomes involved in his life, the more his uncertainty - and interest - grows.

I'm of the opinion that the ending really makes this book - we spend the whole time circling, circling, circling the drain in an agonizing slow spiral and somehow she hits us with an immaculate gut punch of a throwback to the beginning - it's brilliant, genius, perfect. And there are so many clever details - literal seeds of doubt and dramatic gothic touches, like locked doors, buried letters, rattling carriages, black dresses... it's just a beautiful piece of work.

So - is Rachel guilty or innocent? Rumor has it even the author didn't know, but I think she's guilty. People are much, much more likely to be greedy, dishonest, manipulative, and good at acting than they are likely to be kind, gracious, or selfless. Maybe Rachel was a little bit of all of it, as Philip considers at one point - she contains multitudes! As does he! 

I'm trying to consider why this feels like a 4-star read for me, even with a UDD. I know many say it's du Maurier's most "technically" successful book from a plotting/pacing and character perspective. I can see that. I think I found it to be a bit of a feel-bad drag, maybe not as spooky or exciting as some of her other stories. I don't mind insufferable characters - and this book is full of them - but I think I am a bit sensitive about stories in which the protagonist is yanked about by hypocrites and ultimately not believed when he forms a thought for himself. I also didn't find it romantic, or full of romantic tension, as others have described. 

Still - what a fascinating thing to read. Like with all du Maurier books my heart was in my throat the whole time. It was like watching a slow motion train wreck. Philip offers an incredible - and incredibly awkward - headspace to occupy. Wild ride for sure.

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