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**3.5 stars**
First of all, if you haven’t read Jane Eyre and intend to read it, please don’t read this book first. It gives Jane Eyre’s plot away.
Jane Eyre is mentioned in this book often and it’s clear to me that Ms. Setterfield attempted to create a similar atmosphere with her prose and gothic undertones. There are dilapidated houses, ghostly apparitions, visions that characters see from the corner of their eyes, nightly strolls in gardens, misty forests, etc. There IS a mystery and it’s extr ...more
First of all, if you haven’t read Jane Eyre and intend to read it, please don’t read this book first. It gives Jane Eyre’s plot away.
Jane Eyre is mentioned in this book often and it’s clear to me that Ms. Setterfield attempted to create a similar atmosphere with her prose and gothic undertones. There are dilapidated houses, ghostly apparitions, visions that characters see from the corner of their eyes, nightly strolls in gardens, misty forests, etc. There IS a mystery and it’s extr ...more
Margaret Lea, an amateur biographer, received a letter from a well known novelist to hear her story. The novelist, Vida Winter, is known to always tell a glamorous and different stories of herself when asked. Intrigued, Margaret decides to at least visit and at least speak to this mysterious persona. From then on, she was drawn to the story like a moth to a light.
I was really looking forward to reading this book that I was scared of being let down. BUT from the top of page 2, I was completely su ...more
I was really looking forward to reading this book that I was scared of being let down. BUT from the top of page 2, I was completely su ...more
Really liked this one ... lots of dark secrets & suspense. Yes, it seemed long at times as some reviewers herer mentioned, but the ending was worth the wait. A good listen, well done with 2 narrators.
2021: I read my review before I started listening to it for the 2nd time & realized that I didn't remember much more than what I had written. So it was like a brand-new novel & some of it was familiar as it came along, but some of it I didn't remember at all. But it was really good & I loved it all over again. The two readers were very good.
2011: Loved this Gothic tale of mystery and secrets. I figured out some of the secrets before the end, but the core secret that underpins the entire story wa ...more
2011: Loved this Gothic tale of mystery and secrets. I figured out some of the secrets before the end, but the core secret that underpins the entire story wa ...more
I found the book interesting, but still a slow read. I thought the author did an excellent job of giving clues and answers throughout the book. This was a really good book club selection, because we had a great discussion about the different characters and twists in the story. My advice is to just keep reading...
A book that harkens back to the classic gothic novels – ghosts, mad relatives hidden in the attic, secret passageways, spinster governesses who fall in love with the doctor, loyal housekeepers, reticent gardeners.
There are stories within stories and a compelling forward momentum, despite the constant return to the past.
I was consumed with trying to figure out the time frame. Isabelle is taken away in a brougham. Margaret is seemingly without a computer (or even a typewriter), but has phone ser ...more
There are stories within stories and a compelling forward momentum, despite the constant return to the past.
I was consumed with trying to figure out the time frame. Isabelle is taken away in a brougham. Margaret is seemingly without a computer (or even a typewriter), but has phone ser ...more
The first time I tried reading this book, I had a really difficult time getting into it. I had to put it down for a while (a few months, actually) before I was brave enough to try again. I was surprised when I did pick it up again, that it was a lot easier to read than I remembered (most likely because I'd just finished reading Gone With the Wind - a much more involved novel).
While reading this book, I kept thinking of The Forgotten Garden, so for this reason, I was turned off by some of the si ...more
While reading this book, I kept thinking of The Forgotten Garden, so for this reason, I was turned off by some of the si ...more
Only a highly skilled author can write a compelling tale about a reclusive family whose world is small and not overly exciting. Yet Diane Setterfield does exactly this in The Thirteenth Tale. Yes, it has suspense, off-stage violence, and even a ghost it also has gorgeous writing, fascinating characters, and a great plot. It was fascinating to my psychologist's mind, and enthralling. It is part Gothic; part fantasy fiction, part suspense novel. I loved the protagonist's love affair with books. I
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I enjoyed this book. Vida was an interesting character and she led a troubled life with a truly dysfunctional family.
Margaret Lea is hired by the reclusive writer Vida Winter to write her autobiography. This leads into the odd tale of Miss Winter's past and the twins Adeline and Emmeline. This book just didn't grab me like it seems to have grabbed a lot of other people. The main characters were all so depressed and disturbed that I found the book bringing me down and it took me a really long time to read.
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I really enjoyed this book, especially because the ending was so unpredictable.
This book was pretty slow to start. I actually put it aside for a few weeks while I read other things. It ended up being a really good story full of twists, turns, and suspense. A bit of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.
I read the Finnish translation and it wasn't the best translation.
I love this book - it created a lust to write :-)
The authors inspiration was very visible :-) ...more
I love this book - it created a lust to write :-)
The authors inspiration was very visible :-) ...more
Apr 08, 2008
Tiffany
marked it as to-read
Jul 21, 2009
Gaijinmama
marked it as to-read
Aug 23, 2009
Mary Ann
marked it as to-read
Sep 11, 2009
Rebecca
marked it as to-read
Dec 18, 2009
Erin Carney
marked it as to-read
Jan 31, 2010
Leslie
marked it as to-read
