The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Published in 2006. 406 pages.


I'd been reading good things about The Thirteenth Tale all over the blogosphere for a while, so it was already on my "someday" list when Kristin chose it for her "Something About Me" list. I, therefore, put it on my "second-tier" list of books to read for that challenge. Then, when I saw that Carl had suggested it for his R.I.P. II Challenge, cross-listing it seemed like a terrific idea - hopefully ensuring that I would get to it soon. I finished it today!

Setterfield is a terrific storyteller, and this is a very readable, engaging book. I read it much faster than I had expected. (It helped that I didn't have to work many long days this week.) Not really knowing anything about the plot, I hadn't anticipated the creepiness - at least not until I discovered that it fit the RIP Challenge - but it wasn't so creepy that I didn't like it. (I am a wimp about being scared and am wary of ghost stories.) Beyond the mysterious, dark atmosphere, it's a story about families and belonging, which I think we all can relate to - at least on some level - and, of course, it's also about books.

This is Setterfield's debut novel. There is a fabulous website about the book here.

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