In which I share vague recollections about books I read long ago that have stuck with me.
A biographer named Margaret receives a request from an elderly novelist to come listen to her life story. The novelist, Vida Winter, has always been very secretive about her life, but now recounts it in all its shocking glory. It's a fantastical gothic story of family secrets, lies, betrayals, and possibly a madwoman in an attic.
Although I'm a little fuzzy on the details (except for some shocking spoilers that I won't reveal here) I do still remember being so engrossed in the story that I didn't want to put it down. After finishing, nothing else I tried to read seemed good enough, which is both wonderful (because what a great book!) and frustrating.
I put The Thirteenth Tale on my Staff Picks shelf every now and then (when it's not checked out already, that is) and it always gets taken. I remember it being popular back in the day, and it seems like a lot of people I know have read it already, but apparently not everyone. If you haven't, maybe it's finally time.
2 comments:
I just read "The Thirteenth Tale" in October and I loooooved it! It had been on my to-read list forever and I was saving it for just the right time. And I'm glad I waited, because I ended up reading it on my birthday trip to the Smoky Mountains in our cabin in the forest, where it was chilly and rainy and totally enhanced the awesome atmosphere of the story. This book is absolutely going on my best-reads-of-2015 list (and our staff picks shelf at the library)!
It sounds like you read it in the perfect setting! So glad you loved it too!
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