Book Review: The Thirteenth Tale

by Diane Setterfield.

wow, what a book. it’s a beautiful piece of writing with just the right amount of suspense, mystery and dramatic revelations. it’s about a library shop owner, Margaret Lea,  who is commissioned to write the biography of a ailing, famous author, Vida Winter. the catch is, every piece of information Ms. Winter has ever given on herself, has been fiction. she’s apparently given more than 20 different life stories about herself, and her ability not to embellish (at the very least) is questioned. with her death looming close on the horizon, the author plays on Margaret’s own dark secret to entice her to write the biography when she expresses a complete lack of desire to take the project on. from there, there are secrets are revealed that come wrapped in sorrow, tragedy and more than a few ghosts.

i can honestly say that the ending completely blindsided me… i didn’t see it coming at all. the best part is that it wasn’t unrealistic for the story, just unsuspected. there was just enough doubt placed in my brain for me to think “what changed between then and now” to make the dramatic revelation an “AHA!” moment. it was brilliantly spelled out. one of the things i loved the most about the book, is that there were no loose ends left flapping in the breeze. nothing irritates me more in a story than when the author decides to leave things up to the readers imagination. Diane Setterfield finishes the book with a flourish that has left me a little sad, but wholly satisfied.

an amazing novel, and i highly recommend it to…well, everybody.