Reviews with content warning for Self harm - The Thirteenth Tale

I love an unreliable narrator and a twisty mystery, and this had plenty of both. It's not a quick read, though it's well-paced and with good character development, but it was engaging throughout most of the story.

I was more caught up in Vida's story than Margaret's, though I think that was by author design- there's far more meat (including disturbing familial events) in Vida's history which make the large gap between her young childhood and her now elderly circumstances that much more intriguing. Margaret, on the other hand, is mostly soggy toast who doesn't eat or feel or seem very aware of herself. She's caught in some grief loop about what she's lost, but it was a bit tiresome given it's her only character quality. The dynamic between the two- one pretty much lifeless, the other quite sassy and mysterious, works well to keep the story from feeling melodramatic.

The relationship between Margaret and her father was particularly touching, an the whole thing left a solid impression in my mind even days after finishing it (and I'm tempted to re-read it someday).

I definitely recommend it for fans of mysteries, history, and nuanced storytelling. Be aware, the story contains references to self-harm, incest, suicide, sexual assault, child neglect, child abandonment, and Alzheimer's.

Content Warnings

wiktoria88's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

lestatsoul's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Content Warnings

artsydarcy0's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

When I decided to gift this book to a friend, I thought I might as well re-read it before parting with it. Dear me, I had forgotten how dark it was! But it's also a very elegant book, for reasons I can't quite point to.
The story is that of Margaret, a antique book seller who dabbles in biography writing for unknown people of the 19th century. One day she receives a very special invitation in the post: Vida Winter, the most famous writer of her generation, asks her to write her biography after years of misleading journalists about her past. There ensues a story about the stories we tell ourselves, those that shape us and those that we hide. It's an extremely dark character study of two women shaped by trauma and grief for things they can't always identify. But it's also a fabulous hommage to the power of literature.
Rep: lesbian MC.

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