The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Vida Winter has never told people the truth about her past but now she’s dying and has decided to tell Margaret Lea, an amateur biographer with secrets of her own. Slowly, as her body falls apart, she reveals her past and tells a story of madness, ghosts, and red haired twins.
This book was dark. It gripped me and also made me not want to stop reading it because it was a bit too creepy for me.
Margaret Lea is our narrator as she tells Vida Winters tale as it was told to her. She is haunted by her own ghost which tore her family apart the day she was born. I really appreciated that Margaret is a reader and is all about books. Also I suppose I should mention that Vida Winters is an author, a very popular author apparently in this world. I think I appreciated books about books and having characters who like books.
I’m really not sure what else I can say about the book without spoiling anything. At times I felt like the book was a bit too dramatic and it did sometimes feel rather unrealistic but the book is also all about trying to determine what is actually true. The twist I did not see coming at all (is that a spoiler? I hope not) and at first it really confused me but then it got explained and I understood what was going on.
I actually quite liked the ending of this book. It wrapped up everything rather nicely even though I don’t usually like it when the book I’m reading tries to be a real book that someone else wrote etc.
There is a air of mystery and nightmare when it comes to this book and I can’t say that it is a happy book in really any regard but it is a addictive book and a well-written book. Also I would be very curious to see how someone who is a twin would think about the way the twins are portrayed in this book.
Overall a good book that made me want to keep reading. A bit on the creepy side for me but still enjoyable. I liked the characters and setting even if the actual plot itself got a bit eerie at times.
Also I just want to note that the physical book itself is quite beautiful. It was obviously designed to look like one of those old gorgeous books. At least, this is true of the hard back version I borrowed from the library. It would be interesting to see what the paperback version looks like.
Looks like the BBC made a movie out of this but unfortunately I can’t seem to get it her in America
