It has felt to me that over the last couple of months the books I’ve reviewed have been a mixed bag of what not to read and some you might want to read.
So, I decided this week to give you a review of a book that I think you most definitely must read.
This is my most beloved book and is the one I am holding in the photo that accompanies this column: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It is a breathtaking read and I was so sad when it ended that I immediately started it again. It is cleverly plotted and spellbinding. The characters are fascinating and I was obsessed within the first couple of chapters.
Vida Winter, a reclusive, extremely successful author, publishes a wildly popular collection of her stories called Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. But, one of the stories is missing; the collection contains only 12 tales. The thirteenth is a mystery and although many interviewers and journalists have tried exhaustively for six decades to find out the topic of the missing tale, Ms. Winter refuses to divulge it.
Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary past, and perhaps her thirteenth tale. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman and talented researcher, who is struck by a very curious parallel between Winter’s life and her own.
As Vida exposes the history she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic peculiarity, a remote estate, a ghost and a devastating fire. It is an irresistible, haunting, elegant tale of family and devotion.
The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to readers. It keeps you guessing and wondering right to the end. The prose is fluent and poetic. Compelling throughout, I have read it three or four times and am still not sure which twin is Vida or if she even is one! (If you have a theory, I would love to hear it).
I re-read it every couple of years and every time I take away something new. I read it for a book club and the discussion lasted for hours. Delectable! This is a book for true bibliophiles.
This novel for me is a very strong 5/5.
