The Thirteenth Tale
by Diane Setterfield
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Book Reviews of The Thirteenth Tale
Book Review: A lot of fun, for a gothic mystery
Summary: 4 Stars
I had heard great things about this novel, both from friends and on NPR. I sprang to it as soon as I could after Christmas. And now I'm very ambivalent.
The book starts off with a delicious description of a woman's life as an antiquarian bookseller working with her father. Her quiet world of booklovers, book trading, cataloging and the occasional sale were most pleasant. That pulled me in so quickly I didn't even realize I was getting into a gothic mystery until it was too late.
Now, I am not a huge fan of gothic mysteries and this is almost a parody of the gothic mystery: mists on the moors, ghosts, secretive servants, madness, death and veiled references to Unspeakable Acts as well as frequent explicit references to Jayne Eyre, Wuthering Heights - they're all here. At times I almost laughed as yet another gothic element was introduced. Further, Vida Winter (storyteller extraordinaire) makes such incredibly bombastic pronouncements on Truth and Life that I almost tossed it aside in annoyance.
But the telling of the stories was so well done I just couldn't put the book down. It was enthralling, even when I was irritated by the protagonist's dithering. I really wanted to know what was happening at Angelfield, I really cared about those characters, I was upset when bad things happened to them (and a lot of bad things happen to a lot of people) and I was almost sad to be finished with the novel. It is all tied together at the end, but there are pieces to Vida Winter's life you wish you knew (even if they aren't really part of the main story line).
I guess at the end, I'd compare it to some of the better genre fiction in which, at the end, you may not have a deeper understanding of the human condition, but you sure had a lot of fun getting there!
Book Review: Not All That
Summary: 3 Stars
Diane Setterfield has done exceptionally well with the Thirteenth Tale, it being her very first novel. It's been on the NYT best seller list for a month now, and while it is moving down from a short stay at #1, it is still in the top ten. There's no denying that this story has captured many readers.
Unfortunately for me, I was not one of them.
The commitment with a friend to read this book together is probably the only thing that made me stick with it to the end. Sure, there are mysteries, most of them based on the assumptions that readers naturally make (and Setterfield knows it). And there's a ghost or two, but the reader can tell that the ghost is more implied in Margaret's case. But it's just not that great of a story.
The biggest problem is that Setterfield creates only one character that I actually cared about--Aurelius--and he was secondary to the plot. Or so it seems. The author handles the constant change of narrator well enough, but the characters are simply not that endearing. I don't mean that in a sappy way, either. I just couldn't muster a brain cell that cared about anyone other than Aurelius.
Setterfield is quite a clever writer, though. I will give her that. She has taken central characters and plot lines from the gothic classics like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre (to name only two) and used them to create a new story, a sort of gothic hybrid based on the classics.
For lovers of the gothic classics, this book may be irresistible. While I enjoyed seeing how the author used certain techniques and similar story lines from the past, I simply could not "get into" this story. I wanted to be transported. I was not. I fell for the hype with an open mind, but the Thirteenth Tale simply did not deliver.
Book Review: Why is this a bestseller???
Summary: 2 Stars
Let me preface this by saying: I love books and read books from all genres--so this isn't just a matter of me disliking a book because it's lengthy. I saw reviews for this book and couldn't wait to read it. I don't understand how this has so many 5-star reviews. The story as it begins to unfold is so interesting. An elderly reclusive author who has rejected numerous biographers writes a letter requesting an antique bookstore owners daughter to come stay with her and write her memoir. There is mystery drenched on mystery here and I turned pages as quickly as I could until I was so mired in mystery that it all seemed pointless. And then when I finally did reach the end (of both storylines) it was so hideously boring I couldn't believe I had wasted so much time! The author seems to have come up with a great premise and possibly with some editing it could have been saved but instead we have a mess of a climax where everything is revealed and I was left scratching my head saying "SO WHAT?!" Maybe having thoroughly enjoyed Stephen King, Alice Hoffman and Alexander Mccall Smith...I've grown accustomed to good storytelling. And that's what is lacking in this book. The premise was excellent. And I can't complain about a lack of writing expertise by the author. The one failing seems to be in the actual storytelling...2 people can tell the same joke--they have the same story just worded and delivered in completely different styles with the result being one will get a laugh and one will be met with silence as the listener figured out the joke 10 minutes before the speaker finished telling it. That is my problem with this book. If you're looking to waste a bit of your life and want to read a "bestseller"...I guess I can't stop you...but please browse furthe and find something more worthy.Book Review: A Beautiful, Unsettling Puzzle
Summary: 5 Stars
When I read the first five pages of this book, just over 36 hours ago, I thought that I've made a wrong choice of reading. I put it down and kept it away from my thought.
Hours later, at 3am in the morning, I thought of reading several more pages before going to bed. I almost didn't. I kept reading the books until my eyes could not take the stress.
The book is a tale about a tale. It was as if I was there as Margaret and was also there as the Angelfield twins. It was nothing short of mesmerizing. Setterfield wrote in such fluency that the convoluted plot of Angelfield's story is as clear as the blue sky.
Even nearing the end of the book, we were left knowing only pieces of the puzzle with the all-important link missing. And if there is anything to describe my feeling then, Setterfield described it only too well in the beginning as she told the tale of Margaret reading the thirteen tales, realising that there is only few pages left in the book and that she was only at the twelfth tale. I thought, like Margaret was left without knowing the thirteenth tale, I would be left without seeing the complete puzzle.
But Setterfield did not disappoint. She wrapped the book neatly and tightly around with just few pages left to satiate all my curiosity. She tied all the loose ends neatly, leaving me, even now, an hour after finishing my reading, wondering and fixing some seemingly insignificant pieces of the puzzles into its rightful place. Although the big picture was already etched in my mind when I finished reading the book, these little pieces uncovers more details and truths; they beautify the (finished?) puzzle.
I would not hesitate the least bit to recommend this book to all of my friends, and to you.
Book Review: Gothic Twins!
Summary: 4 Stars
Everyone loves a good story more than the truth! Vida Winter has become a prolific and hugely popular writer by fashioning her stories according to that stated belief. But now illness is rapidly diminishing her capacities, and she believes it is time to do something different!
Margaret Lea, an antique book lover/author/collector, is shocked to discover her family has a long and painfully vague secret dramatically affected her own life. So when Vida Winter contacts her to share the "truth" in a biography she wants Margaret to write, this younger writer becomes intrigued by the similar secrets held from the famous writer's adoring public for decades.
However, there's always the chance that Vida is still fabricating fantastic, imaginative tales and Margaret is never sure whether she's getting the real thing until both realize they are forced to confront the painful parts of their past lives in order to become the living "truth."
Diane Setterfield is a master of the gothic tale and also of the art of storytelling. The reader will zoom through these pages, totally caught up in an other-worldly tale with mystery, sanity, insanity, violence, beauty, separation, intimacy, and so very much more beyond what these simple words can describe!
If you love reading, telling or hearing a grand story, creating a stunning or mesmerizing tale, you will LOVE this novel!!! What a magical treat!!!! This reviewer has not been so captivated by such an artfully written story in a very long time!!!
This book is bound to be a winner of many awards and be loved by many more than satisfied readers!
Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on December 2, 2006