The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'd been wanting to read this for a while & I expected to really love it. I liked it. I loved how descriptive it was in places. Most specifically the retelling of events at Angelfield. Feral children, a ghost, a couple domestics & two mad adults all knocking about in a dilapidated house, had me from the start. Unfortunately the equal time given to Margaret & her rumination on events broke the continuity for me. And I honestly grew tired of Margaret's "twin sightings" in reflective surfaces. After a while I thought she was soppy & melodramatic and a bit less interesting. Where I began wanting to know about the ill that ailed the Lea family in detail, I no longer cared. I think the twin theme was a bit heavy handed but am open to believing that it was lost on me as I am an only. I worked out the connections early enough & the ending for Vida Winter was no surprise but I didn't find that an impediment to overall enjoyment. I'd recommend this for a weekend read for setting alone.
View all my reviews
No comments