Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

18 reviews

meg_elyse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Death, Excrement, Medical content, Bullying, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Incest

khbenedik's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I generally enjoyed this book - it was beautifully written and narrated by the two narrators in the audiobook, had a suspenseful Gothic feel, and is layered with interact details that build upon the dark family mysteries. That being said, I had issues with some of the plot points and it felt like the last 25% of the book was anticlimactic and wrapped up too quickly after all the build up.  

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

emturnspages's review

dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Death, Incest, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

mrslyndyp's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

Whilst the concept of this story may seem straight forward and somewhat predictable, the story itself is not! I found it totally engrossing as it twisted and turned it's way through the dark and often disturbing family history. 
There are references to sexual abuse and abusive relationships between family members but no graphic details are given. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Incest

Minor: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, and Child death

paulasnotsosecretdiary's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The 13th Tale is a gothic novel about family secrets and legacies. The story touches upon the connection between twins, which has a little overall impact on the plot. The narrator, Margaret, is grieving over the loss of her twin and her mother. She works in her father's bookstore and writes biographies of notable scientists and others. Hired to write the biography of beloved author Vida Winters, Margaret untangles Vida's complicated family history, a history Vida has told in half-truths and outright lies in interviews. The truth is more terrible than Vida has let anyone believe, filled with incest, rape, child abuse, hunger, and physical and emotional neglect. Despite the split timeline of the story structure and parallels between Margaret and Vida's lives, by the end of the novel, we know little more about Margaret than we did at the beginning, but everything about Vida. The ending feels over-edited as though the author was strongly advised to conclude the book on a positive note with everything neatly tied up. However, the author's writing and pacing are on point, and a love of writing, words and books is a highlight of the book.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide

laurenleigh's review

dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Is there a more satisfying feeling than finally crossing a book off your TBR? Especially when it’s been there for years?! This deeply atmospheric novel did not disappoint. I only wish I had read it in the winter though. Its slow pace, its setting in the moors, and its numerous mentions of cocoa made me wish I was curled up in wool socks by the fire while reading this somewhat spooky tale. It wasn’t quite in sync with my summer vibes at the moment. If you’re a fan of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, or just a true lover of fiction in general, I recommend this one. It’s not just an homage to those classic works of literature, it celebrates that we all have our own stories to tell. Our birth and our life are a tale we’re constantly editing and inevitably mythologizing. We don’t even know ourselves what is “truth” and what is fiction at some moments, but there’s a magic nonetheless in finding special people to whom you can trust your story. The audiobook was lovely, and both narrators had terrific English accents. The ending was completely satisfying, which can ring false for me sometimes, but felt perfectly in keeping with this book’s trajectory.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Terminal illness, and Child death

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

mariebrunelm's review

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Excrement, Grief, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Incest