The Thirteenth Tale
by Diane Setterfield
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Book Reviews of The Thirteenth Tale
Book Review: Wow - how profound: eccentrics with red hair and twins with super-natural connections...
Summary: 2 Stars
Ok, so The Thirteenth Tale is a modern gothic novel of sorts, and it is really not all that bad; however, it's a shame it has to be so formulaic and have that all too familiar "made-for-movie" flavor. The story, the characters, the settings, the predictable twists and turns, even the title - it is all packaged in such an easily digestable manner that you wonder if the author can have any serious intent behind it. Nothing wrong with writing for pure entertainment; however, there remains a feeling that the author tried to give it a serious attempt before getting lured into the world of literary cliches...
Yet again, overly eccentric women must have flaming red hair - funny how few ones have mousy brown locks. Once again, twins have overly exaggerated cosmic ties to one another. And then we have the English moors for the proper somber backdrop, the dilapidated once-grand country manor, the dusty, but noble bookstore that exudes nostalgia, the conflicted narrator who feels the strange calling of her dead twin, the mysterious old Dame who holds all the secrets and slowly unravels the carefully constructed "mysteries"... and of course, the end is all neatly tied up with a happy conclusion for everyone who deserves it...
There is a bleak resemblance to Spanish writer Zafon's "The Shadow of the Wind" - another modern Gothic which has spent its share of time on bestseller lists and book club reading agendas. Although also slightly overrated, Zafon's book is a better compilation of gothic fare.
All in all, it is a decent beach read; however, do not expect more than just that
Book Review: Labyrinthine, addictive tale
Summary: 5 Stars
I had been looking forward to reading _The Thirteenth Tale_ for a long time before I actually read it, and so I worried I'd be disappointed. My worries were groundless. This tale is a hypnotic, lush drug that hooked me and didn't let me go, not even after I'd turned the last page.
Margaret Lea, a bookseller and sometime biographer, is hired by reclusive, eccentric author Vida Winter to write her life story. Winter is famous for her dark fairy tales and for telling only lies when questioned about her past. Finally, now, she will tell the truth of her origins.
Margaret is a woman with ghosts of her own, and she finds a kindred soul in Vida as the tale unfolds. And what a tale it is--a moldering mansion, incest, dark family secrets. The twist, when it comes, is stunning, and makes things click into place with eerie perfection. After you've shut the cover, you'll find yourself opening the book again hours or even days later, rereading some scene or other, because the real significance of it has finally dawned. Usually, mystery plots leave me satisfied but not feeling the need to ever read the story again. But I want to read _The Thirteenth Tale_ all over again through the different lens of knowing the twist.
I disagree with the readers who charge Setterfield with hubris and claim that she's trying to eclipse the "greats" of literature. I see this book not as a pretension but as a love letter to all the books that she has loved.
In my wildest dreams, _The Thirteenth Tale_ would be illustrated by Audrey Niffenegger. I'd love to see that...
Book Review: A haunting debut...
Summary: 4 Stars
Diane Setterfield has definitely left the gate running with her debut novel 'THE THIRTEENTH TALE'. Not only is the story of mysterious author Vida Winter haunting it is also very well written, a hard combination to come by for a first time novelist.
Setterfield tells the story of Margaret an armature biographer who is commissioned to write the biography of Vida Winter a living legend amongst novelists. Ms winter is not only one of best writers of present day she is also notorious for keeping her past under wraps. She has made up varying accounts of her history in every interview she has ever conducted and now in her last days she is ready to tell all, with only two conditions...first, the story must be told in order beginning, middle and end and second, no questions may be asked. Margaret, not sure she is up to the task of writing what will inevitably be a very important piece of work is quickly drawn in to Ms. Winters story when a startling discovery leads her to believe that she and the famous author may have more in common than meets the eye.
Vida Winter's story is captivating from the very beginning and will definitely draw the reader in and keep you guessing until the very unpredictable ending. My only regret about 'THE THIREENTH TALE' was that Margaret's own story was no where near as intriguing and I kept wanting to get back to learning the secrets of Vida Winter. With that said, Setterfield's novel is definitely worthy of all of the praise it has garnered thus far and she is definitely an author to watch!
Book Review: Several Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Summary: 2 Stars
This book is overrated. The best thing about it, several references to fairy tales, ended an eighth of the way in: (p 34) "a single lupine exhalation could reduce it to rubble;" (p 40) "[the bed] was so lavishly covered with cushions that there could be any number of peas under the mattress and I would not know it...;" (p 47) "I have cried wolf too often." After an interminably long time, when the contents of the Thirteenth Tale was finally revealed, all I could do was resent the fact that Vida Winter insisted on telling the story in such a painstakingly slow manner (p 52) "beginning at the beginning, continuing with the middle, and with the end at the end. Everything in its proper place. No cheating. No looking ahead. No questions." The result being that readers were forced to trudge through the hundreds of pages of nonsense that made up the story of her unlikely life (which appears to include a major theme from the novel Middlesex and several characters who would have fit right in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest). The who's who of the family members was a boring lesson in inequalities, and the mental states of several characters only served to confirm why familial relationships are not generally allowed to stray into the forbidden zone. Far from the end, I was tired of learning the details about the reclusive writer's ultra-dysfunctional family members and their pitiable but uninterestingly messed up lives. Better: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Jane Eyre, The Woman in White, The Turn of the Screw, The Wings of the Dove, etc.Book Review: Mystery, thriller, horror, scandal--this one's got it all!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished The Thirteenth Tale and it's a good thing I did. I couldn't do anything else until the story ended! This novel is a murder mystery, a gothic thriller, and a right good ghost story all rolled into one. It's a dual story about a famous, though elusive, writer of popular fiction (Vida Winter) and a reclusive keeper of antiquated books (Margaret Lea). The two come together to reveal the truth about both of their lives and put to rest the ghosts they both keep in their closets.
During the first couple of chapters, I thought it might be yet another story about introverted, fatalistic and self-absorbed women (ho hum and yuck), but as soon as Vida Winter began the final tale of her life, I was hooked. The ins and outs of the story are complicated and include scandal, insanity, obsession, love, hate, murder, lies, truth, dark characters, dark secrets, tragedy, triumph,... Honestly, what more could a reader ask for? There were a few moments of confusion about which character was telling which story, but if you will continue reading all of the questions are answered in due time.
I appreciated the fact that the author didn't feel compelled to spell it all out and talk down to the reader. I like being left to decide for myself about some things and I especially like an author who doesn't tie up all of the loose ends, but leaves it to the reader to make some assumptions on his own. I was surprised when I read that this is Miss Setterfield's first book. I will anxiously look forward to her next offering.