The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.98 You Save: $9.02 (60%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.64 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
Book Review: Mythic, beguiling and as rich as one of Aurelius' cakes!
Summary: 5 Stars
Setterfield mixes a hefty dose of 'Jane Eyre', sifts in a fair helping of 'Turn of The Screw', adds some Alain Fournier, a bit of atmosphere from 'Bleak House', deft touches from 'Rebecca' and a whisk of Angela Carter, and manages to serve up this tempting collation which is all itself, and I'm sure will have readers of future bookes by other authors saying 'this has touches of Setterfield'
Not being one who likes to read (or write) reviews which 'tell the story' - if you've read the book, you know the story anyway, and if you haven't - well, read the book itself, not the plot summary which might spoil the surprise of the book in store - I can only say that if the brooding, unreal yet real, almost dream landscape of the authors mentioned above delight you and left you longing for a similar fix, try Setterfield.
This is a beautiful, slow, poignant piece of writing and double journey - both the narrator's and her storyteller's.
Though the twists and turns of the plot were ahead of me every step of the way - and yet so RIGHT when they arrived, I actually found myself prepared to wait, and savour the smallness of each moment, rather than going faster and faster because I couldn't wait to find out 'what happened next'
To manage that juggle is splendid indeed.
My only disappointment is (and it's a big one......this is a FIRST novel, so I can't go rushing off to the pleasure of her previous canon of works. Damn, damn, damn.
Book Review: A well written atmospheric,lyrical story.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have recently joined a book club and was given this title to read before the next meet.I would not have easily chosen this book otherwise,first of all I was struck by the size of the book and with my busy life and lack of time to read I was concerned about getting half-way, least of all finish it (not the attitude I know !)
All this boring info aside,I HAVE finished it and would encourage anyone who enjoys a truly well told story,with such well conveyed characters,all the atmosphere of Wuthering Heights and the like,but in an updated style - to read it !The insight on feelings and what makes people feel and do,is an amazing gift.This book has all the escapism of a well told story and leaves you pondering feelings,twists and the needs and wishes of all the people in this experience of a story.I enjoyed it so much and await the next book.
Book Review: Faux Gothic claptrap
Summary: 1 Stars
A great book...but only for any readers who've never read any proper gothic fiction. The author seems to think that by employing tropes from a variety of gothic sources, and then shoving them into a book with no believable characters and a plot verging on the ludicrous, she'll get away with it.
Overall 'The Thirteenth Tale' is formless, rambling and incoherent, with occasional passages of good writing. I haven't written her off yet - this is a first novel, after all - but Setterfield needs to hold back on the prose (some of the writing here is so awkward I can't believe an editor wouldn't have picked up on it) and tell the damn story, like her elders and betters in the tradition do so well.
Not good.
Book Review: Good but not great
Summary: 3 Stars
The first couple of chapters I struggled with; it felt I was reading the work of someone who spent too much of their childhood re-reading Jane Eyre. However, the story is sound, while losing its way occasionally and although formulaic, Setterfield knows her genre. If she has more plots like this ready to write then I will certainly read them and hopefully her imagination will transcend beyond the pedestrian. The Thirteenth Tale is a good read, but I doubt it will take any place in a Setterfield Collected Works 20 years down the line.Book Review: Refreshing and Different
Summary: 5 Stars
There was so much i loved about this book. I loved the gothic feel, the mystery and intrigue. I liked the fact that the characters were all creepy and un-relatable. That sounds strange as you normally like to relate to the characters in a book, but i felt it maintained the eerie, strange atmosphere in the novel.
My only criticism is that parts of the novel wavered and sometimes it felt like i was reading a saga. This was disappointing. The dialogue between some of the characters just seemed a little forced and cheesy. If it had maintained the same sophistication and mystery as the rest of the book, then this would be an amazing, breathtaking novel.