Bookworm at Edwards CO signing
6 months ago
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
I recently finished this book--a book that could not be put down. It's a book within a book. A story of a family, a fire, of twins.
Margaret Lea works in her father's antiquarian book shop and prefers to read old books. She does not like contemporary writers and it's even better if the author is dead. She has written a few essays and short biographies of old authors. When a living, contemporary author asks her to write a biography, Margaret balks.
Once she meets Vida Winter, she wants to leave. This is not her world, this is not the type of author she writes about in her essays. Ms. Winter draws upon her heart--Margaret's lost twin. In the oral retelling of her life, Ms. Winter reveals she is a twin...or is she?
In a very popular method of writing, Setterfield tells a tale within a tale and links the two in bizarre ways. She leads the reader through decades of lives and mysteries. Ms. Winter states that her tale is "just a sub-plot" in the real story. We find similar stories in Louise Penny's writing, with Inspector Gamache who says, "Murders really start years and sometimes decades before they really occur." But, I digress. We hear of Ms. Winter and her sister Emmeline. We learn their mother was insane and their brother not far behind. We learn of a governess and a doctor who try to split the twins with devastating results. We come full circle with the story of a 60 year old man that crosses paths with Margaret as she investigates the story of Angelfield.
A thoroughly enjoyable book, I was completely drawn into the story and could not put it down. It held my attention, because as with Margaret, I had questions. I wanted to hear the rest of the story. Ms. Winter draws out the tale, as she says, "All good stories have a beginning, a middle and an end."
Margaret Lea works in her father's antiquarian book shop and prefers to read old books. She does not like contemporary writers and it's even better if the author is dead. She has written a few essays and short biographies of old authors. When a living, contemporary author asks her to write a biography, Margaret balks.
Once she meets Vida Winter, she wants to leave. This is not her world, this is not the type of author she writes about in her essays. Ms. Winter draws upon her heart--Margaret's lost twin. In the oral retelling of her life, Ms. Winter reveals she is a twin...or is she?
In a very popular method of writing, Setterfield tells a tale within a tale and links the two in bizarre ways. She leads the reader through decades of lives and mysteries. Ms. Winter states that her tale is "just a sub-plot" in the real story. We find similar stories in Louise Penny's writing, with Inspector Gamache who says, "Murders really start years and sometimes decades before they really occur." But, I digress. We hear of Ms. Winter and her sister Emmeline. We learn their mother was insane and their brother not far behind. We learn of a governess and a doctor who try to split the twins with devastating results. We come full circle with the story of a 60 year old man that crosses paths with Margaret as she investigates the story of Angelfield.
A thoroughly enjoyable book, I was completely drawn into the story and could not put it down. It held my attention, because as with Margaret, I had questions. I wanted to hear the rest of the story. Ms. Winter draws out the tale, as she says, "All good stories have a beginning, a middle and an end."
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