The Thirteenth Tale
When an aging author requests the help of an amateur biographer to tell the truth about her past, both are forced to face their ghosts.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield was an unexpected find in a San Francisco bookstore that pleasantly surprised me. As I read the story of famous fictional author Vida Winter and her unexpected relationship with biographer Margaret Lea, it emphasized the truth I have known for years: everyone has a story to tell. In the novel, it turns out Winter’s and Lea’s stories are quite similar. I enjoyed reading the parallels between the two, despite the different paths their lives took.
I often don’t pick up books about authors due to the fact I find a lot of myself hiding between the pages. It’s unsettling. But this book surprised me. I wasn’t off-put by Vida Winter and how she explained storytelling. In fact, I agreed with most of what she wrote. Setterfield has an exceptional grasp of the English language and she used it well in this book.
One of the main things that kept me engaged in The Thirteenth Tale was putting the puzzle of Vida Winter’s history together. Setterfield drew out this mystery in a way where, as a reader, I didn’t lose interest in finding out just who Vida Winter truly was. There were unexpected twists and turns that had me flipping the pages faster and faster just so I could find out the truth. The ending was incredibly satisfying and I was pleased with how Setterfield tied up the lose ends.
A major theme in The Thirteenth Tale was family. Setterfield made it clear that although Vida Winter did not know whom her parents were or where she came from, she made her own family at Angelfield House and she proved she would do anything to protect her family, no matter the cost.
This book is described as “a love letter to reading,” which I have to agree with. The Thirteenth Tale is teaming with gothic strangeness and any reader who enjoys a good ghost story will want to read this.
The Thirteenth Tale Rating: ★★★★
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield was an unexpected find in a San Francisco bookstore that pleasantly surprised me. As I read the story of famous fictional author Vida Winter and her unexpected relationship with biographer Margaret Lea, it emphasized the truth I have known for years: everyone has a story to tell. In the novel, it turns out Winter’s and Lea’s stories are quite similar. I enjoyed reading the parallels between the two, despite the different paths their lives took.
I often don’t pick up books about authors due to the fact I find a lot of myself hiding between the pages. It’s unsettling. But this book surprised me. I wasn’t off-put by Vida Winter and how she explained storytelling. In fact, I agreed with most of what she wrote. Setterfield has an exceptional grasp of the English language and she used it well in this book.
One of the main things that kept me engaged in The Thirteenth Tale was putting the puzzle of Vida Winter’s history together. Setterfield drew out this mystery in a way where, as a reader, I didn’t lose interest in finding out just who Vida Winter truly was. There were unexpected twists and turns that had me flipping the pages faster and faster just so I could find out the truth. The ending was incredibly satisfying and I was pleased with how Setterfield tied up the lose ends.
A major theme in The Thirteenth Tale was family. Setterfield made it clear that although Vida Winter did not know whom her parents were or where she came from, she made her own family at Angelfield House and she proved she would do anything to protect her family, no matter the cost.
This book is described as “a love letter to reading,” which I have to agree with. The Thirteenth Tale is teaming with gothic strangeness and any reader who enjoys a good ghost story will want to read this.
The Thirteenth Tale Rating: ★★★★