The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
by Diane Setterfield
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Book Reviews of The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
Book Review: A tale wirh reading....
Summary: 5 Stars
It's wonderful to find a book that you read and enjoy purely for the story being told. There are no self-help hints; no underlying messages about politics, the environment or the decay of society; no theories about religious wherefores or arguments about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin - just a great gothic tale told in a modern day setting that kept me engaged until the very end.
Diane Sutterfield's debut novel centers on the lives of two women: Vida Winter, a famous writer who is nearing the end of her life, and Margaret Lea, an amateur biographer, who is summoned by Vida so that she can at long last tell the true story of her life. Up to that point Vida has told curious interviewers each a different story of her life - all tall tales -- but Margaret insists, as a biographer, on the facts. What evolves is the telling of two lives because as we learn about Vida, the story of Margaret's life also unfolds.
The novel, while not a literary masterpiece, is remarkably well written in that the reader is drawn into the room for each story telling session. Vida being old and of ill health, her sessions with her biographer are limited in duration. I felt as though I had taken a comfy overstuffed chair in a dark corner and was right there in the room when the two women were together. It was easy to be drawn into the story and I willingly and eagerly went with Margaret as she traveled from Vida's home to her father's rare book store and back again. The characters are so well developed that you feel as though you know them both very well. The story takes many twists and turns, but the progress of the plot is well thought out and thoroughly readable and believable.
If you enjoy a great read and a well told story, then The Thirteenth Tale is a must. For greater enjoyment, choose your time and place keeping in mind that this book is best read with long spans of uninterrupted time and a warm fire and glass of good wine optional.
I'm not yet convinced that there is at least one great novel waiting in each and every one of us, but Diane Sutterfield certainly proved this true for her and I know others join me in hoping there are at least a dozen more tales for her to tell.
Book Review: I HOPE THERE'S A FOURTEENTH
Summary: 5 Stars
Reading a really good book feels a lot like connecting and conversing with a really good friend. One thing leads to another and words flow like a river carrying you away, through twists and turns, bringing you into and out of places you'd never thought you'd find yourself. Smiling, holding your breath, crying without realizing, you've been hypnotized by the landscape of someone else's story. Often, retracing your steps back to the beginning seems impossible since you've gotten "so far off track." Maybe it takes getting so far off track to realize you don't really care about find your way back.
Really good books, like really good friends, help loosen the grip of life. Really good things in this world bring us outside our perpetual thought machines and onto the fascinating result of someone else's.
Such is the case with The Thirteenth Tale. First it's a story about a girl. Then it's a story about a famous author. Then it's a story about a famous author telling the most amazing stories to the world. It became to be for me, a story about family, life, books, writing, secrets, connections, family, family, family, fear, mystery and devotion.
The plot twisted itself like a snake around my heart, and it wasn't long before I surrendered my attention and time to this great novel. In three days, I finished The Thirteenth Tale, and like real conversations with friends, I was sad when it was over. Nearly two weeks ago I bid adieu to Setterfield's beautiful characters ("cut your heart open and sew it back together again" beautiful), and they're still having conversations in my head. Like flashbacks from a good movie, her words are permanently etched in my mind.
A ghost story, I was told. Twisted, one might say. You think you know something about someone in The Thirteenth Tale and then BAM! you're put in your place. The author may make you feel like the wide receiver for a couple of plays, but really, you're that guy in the stadium with the beer belly. It's someone else's story to tell, someone else's game. You may think you have it all figured out Magnum, but in the end, Setterfield shows you who's boss: The Storyteller. Which in itself, is testament to her literary brilliance.
-land+sand
Book Review: "When one is nothing, one invents. It fills a void"
Summary: 5 Stars
Early on in Diane Setterfield's 'The Thirteenth Tale', the (fictional) author of the aforementioned 'tale' utters the line I have quoted in the title of this review, "When one is nothing, one invents. It fills a void."
Upon reaching the end of this novel, this one line holds greater meaning than initially suspected.
With so many reviews of this book, I am hesitant to provide a plot synopsis (amongst the many), and will focus on what I consider to be the book's strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths: Where to begin? This is a wonderfully atmospheric, well plotted, literary tale with so many parallels to classic literature tales that it's hard for any lover of classic fiction to NOT like....others have called this simply a 'ghost' story, and in ways it is, but it's that and so much more. Setterfield has crafted such a wonderful premise and tale to support it, with so many subplots, that virtually every character mentioned in this novel is of great interest, and has a 'place' in the story that unfolds.
Weaknesses: I only have one criticism of this novel, for which I have not deducted any 'stars' in this review. One thing that typically 'irritates' me as a reader is when someone is recounting a story, giving a narrative, and somehow has details to relate of conversations that they were not privy to, and do not explain how they learned the details. Granted, in this instance, the details were vital to the story, yet I still loathe the 'leap' one must take in order to simply accept that the person narrating the story 'somehow' found out what they are telling of. Whereas Ms. Winter's narrative of her life story is supposed to be the truth, I hesitate to think that she simply invented filler details....perhaps it was an embellishment of what little she DID know to be fact, but it still leaves me feeling a bit 'flat' in reading such things.
That said, this is a wonderful story....a perfect read for crisp fall afternoons when the shadows seem a bit longer and appear sooner in the day. A tale of death and rebirth, being freed by the truth, and the unburdening of the soul, I plan to recommend this novel to fellow readers over and over and over again.
Book Review: Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a fascinating and rich Gothic mystery about a young Englishwoman who is hired to write the biography of a famous, dying author. The author has always kept her past a secret from her millions of fans, and the biographer is about to find out why. The young woman moves into the old author's home in the remote English countryside, and spends the ensuing weeks compiling details of the author's bizarre and disturbing early years. As the dying author tells that one final tale, her biographer finds herself working through some of her own demons. Interestingly, the biographer's demons at times bear an uncomfortable resemblance to the ones she is writing about for her employer.
THE THIRTEENTH TALE is a modern-day story, but it is written in an old-fashioned, Gothic style that takes its time to reveal its many secrets. It includes all the elements of a classic Gothic novel: a crumbling haunted house, English moors, dense fog, and a young heroine who finds herself in a potentially dangerous situation. It is gripping, at times frightening, and always interesting. I was kept guessing about how the story would eventually be resolved, and was pleased by how skillfully the author pulled all of the pieces together.
My biggest complaint about THE THIRTEENTH TALE is that the main character felt somewhat one-dimensional. It is possible, however, that the characterization might have been intentional. The main character has been damaged by her own past, so maybe this was demonstrated by making her seem less-than-complete. In any case, that is a minor complaint for the book because many of the other characters are so well drawn.
This is an excellent book for readers who like a good, unusual mystery. There was even a happy ending for those characters who were capable of enjoying happy endings. Be warned, though, that this novel is written for adults. Its dreaded "adult themes" include (vague, not graphic) references to incest, sex, and children born out of wedlock, as well as (explicit) mental illness. But if you're willing to overlook those issues, this is a great story and a fascinating mystery for older readers.
Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan
Book Review: I was serching for something special.....and I found it
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been a long time since I read a novel where I felt the like the author really got me.
"Got you?" You ask. "The author can't get you. They never even met you."
But you see, this author has more than met me. She is me in some ways. The reader who is more likely to have a book as a best friend than a person-and is ok with that. Not a loner, not a geek, but someone who appreciates the written word, who loves stories, who is constantly reading searching for something special.
I'm happy to report I have found another special book. It's not something I expected to find so appealing. A little novel that's more about storytelling than anything else, lacking the historical detail I love to absorb-and it's in first person. But it's hard to resist a story that is told by one of your own kind- a story seeker, a story teller-and it's impossible to resist "The Thirteenth Tale."
Imagine an old woman-the most famous, prolific author in the UK about whom almost nothing is known-who one day sends a letter to a young woman working in her family bookshop. She's not famous, she's never written a novel, doesn't even read contemporary novels. But based on a short biographical piece on two brothers she published the old woman wants her to write her biography before she dies.
And this time, the old woman, renowned for her fantastic, unbelievable (and unverifiable) life stories, is going to tell the truth.
Like I said, this novel is literally irresistible. It is chopped full of secrets on top of secrets, stories that twist and turn and lead you to unexpected places. I never, in a million years could have guessed at the ending for the book. It is a shocker then looking back, fits in perfectly with the story. And the writing is unbelievable. Funny, touching, stuffed with real meaning and heart wrenching sense that will make you laugh, cry, dance around the room.
It's a special book all right. I recommend it very highly. And I can't wait for more from this author.
Diane Setterfield as a fellow book lover I salute you and your wonderful achievement.
Five stars.