Book Review: The Thirteenth Tale

Paperback Writer here again with another book review. And I promise, I'm going to write a real review, not just these half reviews, I've been doing. Deal? Deal.

Anyway, last Thursday while Loki was performing I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite activities: namely wander around a bookstore in search of something new to read. I had several books in my hand when I came upon The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Now, I've seen this particular book time and time again, but the cover just did nothing for me. This time though, I decided to actually the blurb on the back.

It still didn't entice me to actually pick it and carry it around with me while I wandered the store, but I did take a picture of it on my cellphone. It's my favorite way of remembering books that I might want to read at a later time...just not right now. But after picking a few chick lit books, I decided I wanted something more weighty. And I wasn't in the mood for chick lit. (Though, really, am I ever? There's nothing wrong with chick lit, but I'm just not a chick lit type of girl.)

I thought about The Thirteenth Tale downstairs and decided to swap the books for that one downstairs. But I wanted to make sure that this book was a book that I was going to read. I read the first page, not bad. I decided to keep going. And that's when I ran into these lines:

"...I never read without making sure I am in a secure position...I was so seduced by the descriptions of underwater life that I unconsciously relaxed my muscles. Instead of being held buoyant by the water that so vividly surrounded me in my mind, I plummeted to the ground and knocked myself out. I can still feel the scar under my fringe now. Reading can be dangerous..."

Tell me, how does a bibliophile not resist a book that tells you that reading can be dangerous? That was Thursday night, I finished the book last night before I went to bed. A rather rare thing for me, which suggests that I gave up some things that I said I was going to do in favor for finishing the book.

That being said, Paperback Writer, what is the book about? It's about a reclusive writer who knows that she is approaching the end of her days and has decided to tell her life story. Her true life story. She chooses a quiet, bookish woman to write it. And in the process the reader comes to understand that the writer and the biographer have a lot more in common than they think. It is very gothic in nature - something I never really identified with or against - and it's just well written. A lot of mystery, ghosts, secrets and family.

I highly recommend this book. In fact, if you want, I can loan you my copy. Just as long as you give it back to me.

Five out of five stars.