The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
Book Review: Must Read
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is just fabulous - I couldn't put it down. The imagery is so good you can picture the locations perfectly right down to the cat!! Just the best read in a long time. The only other book I ever got this lost in was Rebecca's Tale!!Book Review: A brilliant debut
Summary: 5 Stars
When a first novel is immediately (and enthusiastically) compared to the works of such literary luminaries as the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, a large dose of skepticism is in order. I read this book with a jaundiced eye, expecting to eventually uncover at least one unconvincing character, a plot twist that failed to surprise, or a passage less than vivid, unworthy of the masters.
I did not.
Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale carries the reader along like a turbulent river, with unexpected eddies and undertows you can't escape. The characters are absolutely true to the worlds of Dickens and Austen, but they're originals, not derivatives. They grieve and you do, they rejoice and you do, they die and you do- almost. The whole atmosphere of the book is powerful and sweeping, in the manner of Henry James or even Joseph Conrad. (Well, minus all those ships, of course.) If I had to pick one story that gave the same overall effect as Setterfield's book, I'd pick The Turn of the Screw, since the ghost element in Setterfield's book is equally shocking and unique, although James's classic novella lacks the grand span and scope of The Thirteenth Tale. Then again, Setterfield's characters could just as easily find a home in Dickens' dangerous London squalor or in the halls of a Bronte mansion, the air thick with secrets and heavy with troubled specters anxious to make themselves known.
Intriguing, daring and even downright heart pounding at times, The Thirteenth Tale might well give you nightmares at the end, but they'll be the best- and most original- nightmares you've ever had.
-Mark Wakely, author of An Audience for Einstein
Book Review: Unforgettable story and cast of characters
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished this book and read it in a record (for me) of 3 days. I could not put it down. Its a very rich and engaging book. I am not good at explaining what a book is about but I can say that it surprised me quite a few times and held me captive until the very end. Its on my list of favorites now. Would definitely recommend. 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: Lyrical prose, absorbing story: a MUST read
Summary: 5 Stars
Every few years in the hundreds of books I read, one comes along that makes you rave about it to anyone who will listen. This is it. I cannot praise this book enough. The prose is lyrical - not in a worthy ought-to-read-this-as-it's-clearly-good-for-me way, but in an enchanted suck you in to the story, miss your stop on the tube sort of way. And the story is utterly compelling, I resented anyone who interrupted me. I was so sad to finish it as I think anything I read next will pale by comparison. I'd like to think that Diane Setterfield can knock out another as good but it seems like a book in a lifetime job to me! Would love to be proven wrong and will wait with hope....