The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

[Riselka]

I know it's not Sci-Fi, or Fantasy, but I'm in the middle of reading this book and I'm finding it to be an utterly fantastic read.

I'm just wondering if there's anyone else here who's read it, reading it, or intending to read it?

If you have read it, or are reading it now, what are your impressions of the book?

Personally, I find Ms. Setterfield's command of the English language to be masterful, and her sentence structure is brilliant. The story is wonderfully Gothic, and quiet at the same time. Her characters have such a quirky disfunction to them, without going overboard.

It's the most engaged I've been in a book for a long time.

 

[elvet]

It was reviewed recently in Entertainment Weekly and it caught my attention.

Diane Setterfield's spooky, gloom-infused work lovingly invokes both Jane Eyre and Rebecca (indeed, the name Winter is clearly meant as an homage to Daphne du Maurier), but the mystery is very much her own. Pitch-perfect as it is, though, The Thirteenth Tale loses momentum in the last hundred pages, dragging out what should have been a swift knife thrust of a conclusion. Grade: B+

Let me know what you think of it when you are done.

 

[Riselka]

Just finished it, and I thought it was fantastic. The word "WOW" just about sums it up.

I didn't think it lost any steam in the last 100 pages, but I guess if someone is more attuned to reading the modern day thrillers, they might think so. I'd liken the way I felt as I was reading it, to that of Bastien in the attic of his school, reading "The Neverending Story" - as in I really got peeved with anything disturbing my reading it.

I went into it more with the expectation of the book playing itself out more like the books of those authors it's been compared to - Austin, the Brontes, Du Maurier.

If you're into the style of books they write, as well as stories such as Wilkie Collins' "The Moonstone", and "The Woman in White", this book is definately for you. If you're wanting something more in the line of a modern day thriller, you will probably find it slow at the end.

This isn't an action-packed, thrill-a-moment, mindless piece of entertainment. It's a quiet little intrique, that, as the review you've quoted says very accurately, is "Pitch-perfect".

 

[elvet]

I'm not terribly well read (when it comes to classics ), but I have read some of Jane Austin's books and enjoyed them. I actually prefer a slower paced book, rather than racing through a thriller - heart beating, etc. - so that is appealing. This one will go on my wish list. Thanks for your input .