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The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield


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just saw a review on this one today in People magazine, it got four stars!! I was thinking of reading it, now I'm not so sure. Anyway, for those interested, here is the review.

 

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Bookshop assistant Margaret Lea is summoned to the estate of British author Vida Winter to write her biography-a gothic tale of incest and identity swapping, adultery and arson. Margaret puzzles out the truth while keeping watch on her own heart, as Vida's story focuses on twin sisters, and Margaret has her own raw secret: She is a twin too, haunted by her infant sister's death. Readers will feel the magnetic pull of this paean to words, books and the power of story.

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Anybody else reading this? I'm 25 pages into it and yawning, supplementing my reads with gallons of Pepsi. Is this something that warms up as you go or is it hopeless????

 

Advise please.

What??? You don't enjoy wine.

 

Only kidding. It sounds like you really didn't like that book.

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About the Thirteenth Tale -- far be it from me to take away from any author's chance to shine. Go for it. It might appeal to you. It just didn't to me, but then as I've said before ( as an author ) I'm really stingey with my time and therefore, if something doesn't sink its teeth into me, I'm onto the next read.

 

I picked it up for the same reasons as you: stunning reviews. Good luck!

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  • 1 year later...

:( I have never written a review before so please bear with me if I ramble!

Synopsis: "Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten. It was once the imposing home of the March family - fascinating, manipulative isabelle, Charlie, her brutal and dangerous brother, and the wild and untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline. But Angelfield House conceals a chilling secret whose impact still resonates.

Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield's past - and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel. What has the house been hiding? What is its connection with the enigmatic author Vida Winter? And what is it in Margaret's own troubled past that causes her to fall so pwerfully under Angelfield's spell?

Review: I really liked the sound of this book from the Blurb on the back, but I found it very confusing and quite hard to read. The main character, Margaret, feels under developed, as do most of the characters in the story. It seems that the book should be twice the size to fit in all the details to flesh out the characters. The idea behind the story itself is very good, it just seems to lack depth.

The story begins when Margaret receives a letter from a prominent author who wants to meet her with a view to writing a biography. As the story developes it becomes clear that Vida Winter began life as a different person, and not a particularly nice one. There are a few twists and turns in the story but most of them are fairly predictable as is the ending. Although saying that, it is a satisfying ending.

The way the book is written is a bit irritating as it is not clear which period the story is set in and I kept trying to make Margaret a modern girl, but I dont think she is :) I would have enjoyed it more had I been able to set Margaret in a time zone. I didn't really engage with the characters, they didn't come alive for me this time, which was a shame because overall the book is good. Its an interesting mystery story, with all the ingredients for a really good read, somehow tho (for me) it just didn't quite come off.

If you like mystery tales then give this one a look, but dont expect the characters to jump off the page and into your life - they dont.

Edited by Michelle
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Yes thats true happy, its quite unsettling to read a book like that, I dont know about you, but when I am reading a book it plays out in my head :( and with this one I couldn't put faces or costumes to any of the characters and I found that quite uncomfortable. Thing is I really wanted to love this book because the idea is so good, but ...........nope :)

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Thanks Janet. Thing is my opinion might have put you off reading a book that you may have loved, even tho I didn't get on with it, thus I feel bad :) Shame about the book tho it had the potential to be a fab book, but wasn't really :(

As I have 50+ on my to read pile, and I'm definitely likely to buy more before I've read them, I'm not worried about missing one book that I may have enjoyed - honestly! ;)

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