chicken Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Right then, if you put it like that............. 50!........really - You lucky thing I have about 3 that I have not read in the house. Been mulling over Terry Pratchett - might have a look at those, but there are so many Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 I bought this on a whim a few weeks back, the blurb on the back sounded interesting. I will read it eventually just can't say when lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Hi Madcow - I would be interested to hear your views on the book ....... let me know what you think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 No problem chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Chicken - your review would not put me off reading it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Oh thats good ! want to borrow it ????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Oh thats good ! want to borrow it ????? hmmm... maybe in a coupla years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 dont blame ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deirdre Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 I have read this book in the earlier this year and eventhough I enjoyed it I share the view of Chicken. I do believe the character of Margaret and some others were underdeveloped and I too had trouble with the timesetting. Margaret is not a modern girl, I placed her somewhere in the Fifties or Sixties but could be totally wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 Are we talking about Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale? Because if we are, I couldn't be more confused. Never before have I heard of a person who didn't like that book And this is the second thread on disliking The Thirteenth Tale that I've come across on this forum! Or was the Finnish translation just so good that it made a poor read fantastic? That would be a first... Seriously speaking, I liked most of the characters and I really enjoyed the storyline and was surprised at the twist in the end. It was one of those books that you want to read in one sitting. If there's anyone on the fence with this book, go ahead and give the book one try, there's no harm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 I enjoyed this very much. I remember trying to work out when it was set, as there is no actual references in the book with regard to the era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyD Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I started reading this book last night - am hooked after only a few chapters. So atmospheric and intriguing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyD Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 I finished reading this last night and really enjoyed it! Am I the only one?! I thought it was great, a real page-turner. I did guess a few of the twists, admittedly and could have done without quite so much about Margaret's twin but overall, I thought it was fab. Beautifully written and really original. I didn't mind not knowing exactly when it was set - I felt it was a timeless sort of book which didn't need pinning to a specific year. Margaret did feel slightly old-fashioned, I thought, so wouldn't have pegged her as 21st century, and there was no mention of anything remotely 'modern' like mobile phones etc, but I was happy to go along not knowing the date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 I enjoyed it too, Lucy. I posted my review on my reading blog here a couple of days ago, and I felt the same way as you about those points you made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 I really enjoyed it too. I didn't mind not knowing when it was set either. I felt it perhaps added an element of intrigue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smint Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I enjoyed it too, although I found it a little unsettling not to know when it was set - and some of the characters annoyed me - but I think they were supposed to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Having just read you review Kylie, I pretty much agree on your thoughts. The author obviously has a love of books, and of words, and I very much liked her style. I had the same problems.. there was a little too much about Margaret's twin, and I did feel the Angerfield family's characters were slightly unbelieveable. However, despite those points, the story hooked me, and I felt connected to the characters. In fact, I was surprised how upset I was as some of them died. I also never considered the era, there was nothing really modern in it, but I did feel it was set quite recently, with Margaret being a rather sheltered, old-fashioned person. All in all, a very good start to my reading year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Library Nook Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 I also never considered the era, there was nothing really modern in it, but I did feel it was set quite recently, with Margaret being a rather sheltered, old-fashioned person. I enjoyed it too but as others have said found it difficult to settle into it because of the issues of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 This is an interesting point.. why do some of you feel that you need to know when a book is set, and why do you feel unsettled if you don't? It was something that I didn't even consider until I started reading other people's thoughts and reviews. Do books need to have a particular time setting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Library Nook Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Michelle that is something that I was wondering myself, why it unsettled me. I have never really had this before with other books so perhaps it is just this one. Mind you something is flickering in my brain about a book I have read in the past that was quite ambiguous about time but cannot remember what it was! I would be interested to hear what others say about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 All these posts about this book have intrigued me. I only discovered the book because when searching on Amazon to see if Elizabeth Kostova had another book out, The Thirteenth Tale was listed right underneath The Historian. Anyway, I've requested it at the library and when I go to the used book store this weekend I'll have a look. I'm hesitant to pay full price, but it looks like something I would rather enjoy. Thanks for the posts, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Quite often, for me, the setting of a book is usually one of the reasons for reading it. I go for period books generally as I like to picture the scenes, the gentileness of the Victorian/Edwardian era, the rawness of Medieval times and the quaintness of the 20s through to the 50s, these hold something special for me. I think I would be unsettled if I didn't know what time to picture it in. However, I am intrigued by this book and although I promised myself no more book piling up (and it's only January:smile2:) I may seek this out in the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 This is an interesting point.. why do some of you feel that you need to know when a book is set, and why do you feel unsettled if you don't? It was something that I didn't even consider until I started reading other people's thoughts and reviews. Do books need to have a particular time setting? I actually didn't realise until about halfway through that I had no idea of when this was set. But I quite liked that about it:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I finished this a few days ago and must say I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I picked it up and to tell you the truth, had I not read the posts here about the time-period issue I don't even know that I would have noticed it. I think vehicles were mentioned, but other than that it was kind of nice not to read about the internet and cell phones (or even regular phones for that matter). Writing letters, old book shops and big estates just seemed to go together so well! I will definitely look for more from Setterfield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaLee Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 I finished this book a couple of months ago and must say that I quite enjoyed it. It was unlike anything I've ever read before and I thought Diane Setterfield's writing style was very poetic. I thought the characters were unique, the plot interesting and imaginative. This book has tragedy, dark stormy nights and mystery; it's certainly not realistic and no doubt, wasn't meant to be so I found with that in mind I was able to accept the unbelievable characters; I did find the Angelfield family to be quite over-the-top and extremely odd. All in all, I liked it and certainly enjoyed Diana's beautiful writing style enough to try anything else she may publish in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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