RIP III... The Thirteenth Tale

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Atria (September 12, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0743298020

(Book 2 of 4)

Amazon.com
Settle down to enjoy a rousing good ghost story with Diane Setterfield's debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale. Setterfield has rejuvenated the genre with this closely plotted, clever foray into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths. She never cheats by pulling a rabbit out of a hat; this atmospheric story hangs together perfectly.
There are two heroines here: Vida Winter, a famous author, whose life story is coming to an end, and Margaret Lea, a young, unworldly, bookish girl who is a bookseller in her father's shop. Vida has been confounding her biographers and fans for years by giving everybody a different version of her life, each time swearing it's the truth. Because of a biography that Margaret has written about brothers, Vida chooses Margaret to tell her story, all of it, for the first time. At their initial meeting, the conversation begins:

"You have given nineteen different versions of your life story to journalists in the last two years alone."

She [Vida] shrugged. "It's my profession. I'm a storyteller."

"I am a biographer, I work with facts."

The game is afoot and Margaret must spend some time sorting out whether or not Vida is actually ready to tell the whole truth. There is more here of Margaret discovering than of Vida cooperating wholeheartedly, but that is part of Vida's plan. The transformative power of truth informs the lives of both women by story's end, and The Thirteenth Tale is finally and convincingly told. --Valerie Ryan

So.. this is my second time reading this book. I enjoyed it so much last year, and continually talked about it for such a long time, that I thought I should reread it and be sure I wasn't mistaken.

I wasn't mistaken.

This is such a good book! The writing is superb! Ms Setterfield certainly knows how to say just enough to make you keep on reading!

Vida Winter, prolific author, begins her tale by telling Margaret that she was going to tell her a story about twins. As her story unfolds so do the tales of all those that lived in the house, and even some who did not. All is not how it seems to Margaret... or is it?

As Vida voices her story and Margaret pieces the tale together questions arise, but she has promised Vida that she would ask no questions, and so you begin to ask the same questions and you find you can't put the book down because you need to find the answers! Not that Margaret doesn't have enough with Vida's story, but her own life seems to interrupt.

There is much to be said for this story, not the least is that it is creepy! It's filled with twists and turns, anger and mysteries, it is by far, one of the best written books I've read. Not that I am any sort of expert about writing, but it says a lot that I have read this book not once.. but twice, and it's a book that would be considered.. not something I would normally read.

I said it last year and I'll say it again this year... This is a Fabulous book! I thank Carl profoundly for making The Thirteenth Tale a suggested read for those joining the RIP Challenge last year, and hope that everyone who has it on their list for this year enjoys it as much as I did!!