emhawkerblog

The blog about reading, writing, singing, familying and verbing.

  • Home
  • About me
  • Book reviews
    • For children
    • For grown-ups
  • Writing
  • Family life
  • Songs
    • Rewrites
    • Music group programs
  • Reflection
  • Contact

The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield (book review)

May 1, 2014 By Emily 19 Comments

It’s the first of the month, and time to discuss April’s selection in the Pink Fibro Book Club (a facebook book club hosted by Allison Tait).

Here are my thoughts on The Thirteenth Tale.

—-

The Thirteenth Tale / Diane Setterfield

Image source


‘Tell me the truth.’ It is a simple request, but one that shakes the reclusive and enigmatic novelist, Vida Winter, to her very core. For has she not spent the past six decades writing fictional lives that have not only brought her fame and fortune but kept her violent and tragic past a secret? Now old and ailing, Vida Winter cannot escape her own history, no matter how many stories she weaves.

Wow. What a book. The Thirteenth Tale is not a book I would have picked up off the shelf myself. And that’s why I’m so glad I’m part of this book club. I enjoyed this book. A lot.

Margaret Lea lives in and around books, and has done so her entire life. She works in her father’s antiquarian bookshop, and prefers to read the classics – Austen, Bronte, Dickens – and so hasn’t read anything by the still alive Vida Winter. When she is contacted by Winter herself, and asked to write her biography, she seeks out her tales and becomes entranced. She agrees to write the biography, and travels to Winter’s house to do so.

She then gets lost in Winter’s world. As does the reader. Winter relates her story as if she’s writing one of her books, and while Lea does her own research and visits the places discussed, we mostly hear Winter’s story in the way she wants it told.

Setterfield obviously loves to tell stories. There is Winter’s story. There is Lea’s story. There are side stories, which give you little breathers from the intensity of Winter’s story (and are all related somehow). There are the tales from Winter’s books, and the references to (and inspiration drawn from) classic works of fiction.

It’s all done beautifully. I was lost in this book. There is overlap and mystery, and while some of the links are clear from the get-go, others will have you guessing until the end. And even those you think you have sorted will surprise you in other ways.

Little tip: pay attention to the pronouns. And to every little part of every little story in every little timeframe. I’d declare this a spoiler alert if I hadn’t received the same tip myself, then still had NO idea what was meant by it.

I usually share my favourite lines from the books that I review. But when I started The Thirteenth Tale, I had just read Cairo by Chris Womersley. Halfway through reading Cairo, I noticed that I’d already dog-eared no fewer than fifteen pages. I decided to stop singling out passages and just enjoy the book, and that decision carried through to this book as well.

Besides, many of my favourite lines came from the tales written by Winter, the books within the book. To include them here would be to rob you of the delight of reading them in context for yourself.

The Thirteenth Tale is fantastic. I highly recommend it. There are some confronting themes and equally confronting characters, but they’re necessary for the story. I’ll be seeking out other books by Setterfield, and wishing I could seek out Winter’s books while I’m at it.


Have you read The Thirteenth Tale? What did you think?

Previous book reviews:

The Shadow Year and Barracuda
The Paris Wife
Mister Pip and The Light Between Oceans
Big Brother and We Need to Talk About Kevin
The Shining Girls and The Fault in Our Stars

Filed Under: Book reviews, For grown-ups Tagged With: book review, Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale, words

« Children’s book review – April
My career »

Comments

  1. Lydia C. Lee says

    May 2, 2014 at 8:24 am

    Not read, but sounds interesting…

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 6, 2014 at 4:45 pm

      Very. Definitely give it a crack.

      Reply
  2. Lee-Anne Walker says

    May 2, 2014 at 9:58 am

    This novel sounds quite intriguing. I like its premise and the classical allusions to some of my favourite authors.

    Pronouns are pesky little things but can make all the difference in meaning. 😉

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 6, 2014 at 4:46 pm

      They certainly do!

      Reply
  3. Denise Mooney says

    May 2, 2014 at 10:56 am

    Thanks for this review, Emily. I’m going to get a copy, it sounds awesome and I’ve been looking for something new to read. I’m always marking pages too and I end up with a book full of dog ears. I need to stop!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 6, 2014 at 4:47 pm

      Me too! But they’re handy to refer back to. I’ll have to start doing it again ONLY for books I’m planning to review.

      Reply
  4. Cybele @ BlahBlah says

    May 2, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    I’m even worse, I leave the book open at the spot and it breaks the binding – doh! Setterfield sounds great. I need to look her up x

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 6, 2014 at 4:48 pm

      I do that too. Leaving books open, dog-earing, I’m a librarian’s nightmare! You can tell which books in my collection have captured me because they’re all but ruined.

      Reply
  5. Rebecca McGregor says

    May 2, 2014 at 4:00 pm

    I’ve not read this, or even heard of it for that matter. But now I’m intrigued…

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 6, 2014 at 4:48 pm

      Intriguing is the perfect word.

      Reply
  6. Pinky Poinker says

    May 2, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    It sounds intriguing. Especially the pronoun tip. What could you mean? Great review Emily 🙂

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 6, 2014 at 4:49 pm

      What could I mean indeed? Cue evil laugh. Mwahaha.

      Reply
  7. Grace says

    May 3, 2014 at 9:53 pm

    Right! Sounds like another one I need to download on my Kindle. Just finished The Fault In Our Stars. Could not put it down!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 6, 2014 at 4:49 pm

      Oh yay! Glad you loved it. I’m hanging for the movie now!!

      Reply
  8. Kelly Exeter says

    May 5, 2014 at 1:52 pm

    Ooh I started reading this post and then had to stop. Your first two paragraphs have convinced me I need to get on to this book stat. I am a bit behind in my book club reading!

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 6, 2014 at 4:50 pm

      That’s okay, I’m all caught up only because I’ve been unable to do much else lately!

      Reply
  9. Sonia LifeLoveandHiccups says

    May 6, 2014 at 8:19 pm

    I havent read this one but you have me tempted. I just need to finish the other 5 sitting on my night stand first 🙂 xx

    Reply
    • Emily says

      May 10, 2014 at 9:44 am

      It’s always the way, isn’t it? I just borrowed six books from the library. How on EARTH I think I’m going to read them all before they’re due back is a mystery!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Night Guest – Fiona McFarlane (book review) says:
    January 18, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    […] onto both of them, stat.)Have you read The Night Guest? What did you think?Previous book reviews:The Thirteenth TaleThe Shadow Year and BarracudaThe Paris WifeMister Pip and The Light Between OceansBig Brother and We […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Rebecca McGregor Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi! I’m Emily

I parent. I write. I blog. I play with words and numbers in my head. Constantly. It's crowded in there.

FOLLOW ME

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

SEARCH THIS SITE

View posts by month

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress