The Thirteenth Tale

Wow. I just finished a GREAT book: The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. It's rare for me to find a book that I thoroughly enjoy from start to finish. It is also great to find a book that I can't guess what is going to happen next, and keeps you guessing until the very end. This book has a great mix of mystery, emotion, and great storytelling. This is Setterfield's debut novel, and in the fear of over-hyping this novel, I have read that she has already been compared to the likes of the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. That is some company, and I believe she keeps it well.

After reading a few of the reviews on Amazon.com, I am finding that many people have been left with the same feeling as I did, and that is the feeling that I was actually a part of the story, or at least was a first hand witness to events in the story. The book was that vivid. There is a paragraph in the book, that is describing the tale within the tale of this book, and I think it is a perfect description of how I personally felt reading this book, (and the many late nights I stayed up reading until my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer):

The paper throbbed with light. Swelling, it engulfed me, until I realized with a mixture of trepidation and wonderment that I was enclosed in the grain of the paper, embedded in the white interior of the story itself. Weightless, I wandered all night long in Miss Winter's story, plotting its landscape, measuring its contours and, on tiptoe at its borders, peering at the mysteries beyond its bounds.

Overall, it was a truly great book to read. I recommend it!!

PS. The website for the book is also pretty cool: www.the thirteenth tale.com