Scan barcode
vukosgrin's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
paroof's review against another edition
5.0
This book reminded me of an adult version of all those books I read as child that made me fall in love with reading like The Secret Garden, Mandy, and A Little Princess. I loved the writing and the characters and the mystery and the romantic setting.
jpeck2134's review against another edition
1.0
I got so bored with this I stopped reading. It was something that I thought sounded interesting, but just never really captured my attention.
booksrachelreads's review against another edition
4.0
This book was atmospheric and weird and I was so into it. Just the right amount of creepy and mysterious. Writing was gorgeous
nucleartumbleweeds's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
shannenlc's review against another edition
3.0
My overwhelming thought upon finishing The Thirteenth Tale is "meh". I understand and appreciate what Setterfield was trying to achieve but it fell completely flat for me. The story, the setting, the writing style, the mystery...it all had potential but it didn't fulfil any of it. There were aspects that were intruiging and where I did want to learn more, but for the most part I was reading through it to get to the end. When the Big Secret was revealed, it was underwhelming and a tad too far-fetched for my liking. I also wasn't attached to the characters or particularly concerned with discovering the mystery of Vida Winter's life, which is the central plot of the entire story.
The main character, Margaret, was completely a one-dimensional self-insert. And she's not just a self-insert for the author but for almost every single person that reads this book. She's an introverted book lover who works in her father's book-store and writes occasionally. That is the extent of what we learn about her character beyond some other family history. One could argue her characterisation and development doesn't matter since Vida Winter was the key figure, but likewise, Vida was a rather boring and undeveloped character. Setterfield tried to make her intruiging and mysterious, but it didn't really work. If Vida had been a more compelling character, perhaps this story could've been totally different, but that wasn't the case.
The most glaring issue with The Thirteenth Tale is that it draws too heavily on the greatest gothic classics of all time such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. It's clear that Setterfield has a passion for these books and that she has directly drawn inspiration for them, which is understanable and common; all literature is in some form an imitation or reimagining of what has come before it. However, the similarities were so obvious that I couldn't help but make direct comparisons to other novels, which inevitably resulted in The Thirteenth Tale falling short in every possible way. If you're going to place your novel in the same space as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, it needs to be something pretty damn amazing.
Overall, The Thirteenth Tale is what I'd describe as a solid three-star rating. It was easy enough to get through, had a lot of promise and some redeeming features, but was generally underwhelming and forgettable due to the fact that it felt too much like a poor modern imitation of a gothic classic. It didn't resonate with me on any level and as a result, the characters and story will most likely fade from my memory within the next few weeks.
The main character, Margaret, was completely a one-dimensional self-insert. And she's not just a self-insert for the author but for almost every single person that reads this book. She's an introverted book lover who works in her father's book-store and writes occasionally. That is the extent of what we learn about her character beyond some other family history. One could argue her characterisation and development doesn't matter since Vida Winter was the key figure, but likewise, Vida was a rather boring and undeveloped character. Setterfield tried to make her intruiging and mysterious, but it didn't really work. If Vida had been a more compelling character, perhaps this story could've been totally different, but that wasn't the case.
The most glaring issue with The Thirteenth Tale is that it draws too heavily on the greatest gothic classics of all time such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. It's clear that Setterfield has a passion for these books and that she has directly drawn inspiration for them, which is understanable and common; all literature is in some form an imitation or reimagining of what has come before it. However, the similarities were so obvious that I couldn't help but make direct comparisons to other novels, which inevitably resulted in The Thirteenth Tale falling short in every possible way. If you're going to place your novel in the same space as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, it needs to be something pretty damn amazing.
Overall, The Thirteenth Tale is what I'd describe as a solid three-star rating. It was easy enough to get through, had a lot of promise and some redeeming features, but was generally underwhelming and forgettable due to the fact that it felt too much like a poor modern imitation of a gothic classic. It didn't resonate with me on any level and as a result, the characters and story will most likely fade from my memory within the next few weeks.
kimcheel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
astonecdp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
jessiihaze's review against another edition
5.0
Hands down one of the best books I have ever read! If you love books this is the book for you. It has a little bit of everything in it. It was a definite page turner and loved every minute of it. The story starts out with a young english woman who works in her fathers bookstore. She receives a letter from a "famous" author inviting her to stay with her for a few weeks to write her biography because all the authors life she has never told the true story of her life and who she came to be. It is modern day in an english countryside but is written in an old fashioned style, very gothic like. The young girls character is very one dimensional and whom I found un-interesting at times but the story line and the character Vida Winters (the author seeking a biographer) makes up for it. This will be one that stays on my shelves for years and years to come.