Absolutely Superb (The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield)

Member Name: MI9to5

Product:	The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
Date:	05/06/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compelling from start to finiSh

Disadvantages: Couldn't find one if I tried

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is probably the only book I have read in quite a while that not only grabbed my attention but held it throughout as well as living up to and probably surpassing all my expectations of it. I must therefore admit before I go any further that I utterly adored this book and from the opening words to the closing sentence founds myself completely wrapped up in the tale I was being told.

As a title 'The Thirteenth Tale' is in many ways important to the basis of the story but in other ways merely a side-line but an intriguing one at that, whichever line of the story grabs your attention the most however is not particularly important because all parts of the tale that Setterfield tells through her characters captures your attention and keeps you gripped as the drama unfolds in the depths of your imagination.

The novel tells the story of Margaret Lea, a lover of books and the stories that every page of them can tell. Margaret is nothing special, she simply spends her time in her fathers old book store cataloguing and writing biographies of those long dead and forgotten. That is however until the somewhat mysterious author Vida Winter asks her to write the story of her life. Margaret is more than apprehensive about the undertaking but something about the tales surrounding Miss winter grab hold of her.

Miss Winter over the next few months tells Margaret the story of Angelfield House, which was once the home of the March family. She tells her the story of the fascinating yet manipulative Isabella, her brutal brother Charlie and the somewhat wild and definitely untamed twins Emmeline and Adelaide. Their stories however aren't the whole truth as Angelfield House holds within its boundaries a concealment of chilling secrets that have a resonating impact.

The Thirteenth Tale is in my opinion an absolutely outstanding book and I must admit that I never once guessed what was going to happen in the coming pages and was unaware of how the whole story would be brought to a close until the moment for it to happen came. Even now after reading the story I know that I would never have guessed its ending and that is why I think I enjoyed the book so much. I hate predictability in a novel and I dislike straightforward narrative threads preferring to read more about interwoven ideas and stories told by and about complex and intriguing characters. The Thirteenth Tale offers all of this and more, making it an absolutely tremendous read from page one.

I completely agree with the Cosmopolitan quote on the back of the book, which says that if you 'start reading this on the bus and, I swear, you won't only miss your stop, you might even lose the whole day', because this is exactly what happened to me. OK, I didn't miss my bus stop because reading on a bus makes me feel ill but I did manage to spend a whole weekend engrossed in this wonderfully novel and was utterly disgruntled when my mum decided we'd have a family outing, as that meant relinquishing the story.

All in all I found this novel to be a truly compelling read and one that I would highly recommended. It is intense and intriguing as well as being dramatic and emotional. The Thirteenth Tale is a powerful read on all accounts, that will catch you hook line and sinker and not let go until its landed you at the end of this unforgiving yet marvellously created little tale.

Summary: An outstadning novel