The Thirteenth Tale

I haven't done any kind of a book review on here in awhile, so I thought I'd share a book I recently read, The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. I originally planned on reading it for a book club, but by the time I got it from the library, the book club had already taken place. I'm so glad, though, that I read it anyway!

There are certain books that remind me of childhood. By that, I don't mean that they remind me of "my" childhood, but rather they bring back some memory of first realizing the magic of books and stories. The Thirteenth Tale did this for me.

Best-selling author, Vida Winter, has never told anyone anything about her life. But as this book opens, she has contacted our narrator, Margaret Lea, and asked her to write a biography. We learn Miss Winter's story through the eyes and mind of the biographer.

The story itself is very good. I found myself quickly drawn and in trying to piece together the mysteries as I waited for "Miss Winter" to tell the rest of the story. I think my favorite part of the book, though, was simply the quality of the writing. If you enjoy reading...definitely check out this book.

Although this is a "modern" novel (published in 2006), it has many characteristics of many of the 19th century classics. The author actually refers many times to Jane Eyre throughout the course of the novel. As a result, the book club that originally read The Thirteenth Tale decided to read Jane Eyre for November, so at the moment, I'm enjoying rereading that novel!