Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

21 reviews

contrapasso's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Self harm

Minor: Ableism

monicalaurette's review

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.25

“People disappear when they die.”

This book was somewhat of a wild ride, and I don’t know how much I truly enjoyed it. I enjoyed the mystery part of this book, finding out the truth of Vida Winters and her personal backstory, and was pleasantly surprised with the actual reveal of it. I won’t spoil it so

I honestly thought it was that the twin was alive, not that there was a third child - cousin - who is our Vida Winters

.

At first the narrator, Margaret, to mee seemed a little stuffy and full of herself, but she was a different type of person compared to me so perhaps that’s why. However as time went on I grew to at least be neutral about her, and the fact that we’re both twins was fun, as well as the Angelfield twins that were such a large part of the story. I loved how that was a small surprise for me while I was reading.

“The separation of twins is no ordinary separation.”

One thing I wanted to put in this review and not just in the content warnings/spoilers: there’s like possible incest in this book. It’s not specifically stated between the brother & sister character, but to me it was HEAVILY implied that there was some. Also the brother is a rapist so if that’s not something you want I’d suggest steering clear of this book, or at least the big reveal twist reveal because that’s when it’s mentioned. Besides those things, really it was a fine book.

“Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you?”

This book didn’t really have this feeling for me. I finished this and told myself I would sit on it before writing my review, and then promptly forgot all about it until I opened up my reading notes. So while the above quote I 100% agree with and have had that feeling, this book didn’t do it for me. The story only really picked up towards the end (which happens) but I wish it had hooked me deeper sooner.

For this book, because of the items that just didn’t sit nicely with me I mentioned above, along with not feeling like this book really stayed with me long, I am giving it 3.25 stars. I loved the concept and at the end thinking I had the answer and then getting shocked, so glad that I did read it to get that small enjoyment.

I liked the Missus & John-the-Dig’s relationship as like two friends having to come together to raise some kids

HOW DID HESTER NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE THIRD CHILD WHY DID MISSUS & JOHN SAY NOTHING ABOUT THEM?

I should have realized there was someone else in the story since it was all in the third person while Vida was recounting it to Margaret.

Honestly said that Margaret & Aurelius didn’t like….at least keep in touch or stay together at the end. I liked when they interacted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Terminal illness, Grief, Violence, Death, Animal death, and Gore

Moderate: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Incest, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Mental illness, Confinement, and Kidnapping

bre88's review

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

It’s not for everyone and a book I would need to read a couple times to catch everything. You have to power through the first couple of chapters but the book does become immersive and I don’t regret reading it. There’s multiple layers of stories and you feel yourself chasing to keep up like the protagonist.  I can’t say it was the best thing I’ve ever read; however, I can’t stop thinking about the story and characters. It was interesting and challenging and the kind of book you need to discuss with a friend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Grief, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Death, Mental illness, and Bullying

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Rape, Incest, and Self harm

Minor: Animal cruelty

mitchell_1's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Dementia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Child death, Suicide, and Ableism

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Vomit

mellikesbooks's review

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Grief, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Incest

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

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Content Warnings

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

tuuliareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, and Abandonment

Moderate: Dementia and Eating disorder

Minor: Rape and Incest

lostinthelibrary's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I'm so glad that I finally got around to reading this much loved book. It kept me guessing throughout with exciting reveals, a rich atmosphere and characters that I grew to love. 

My edition had some reading group notes at the end one of which asked when this book was set. It really made me think as the book is written in such a way that it could be placed anywhere within the 20th century and even the "modern" section could well be historical. The book is truly timeless while still having a strong sense of setting and atmosphere and that takes true skill. This really allowed the book to take its place among the classic gothic tales which it references and is inspired by. Overall, a wonderful reading experience.

WARNING: If you somehow have managed to avoid knowledge of the ending of Jane Eyre, this book will spoil it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Rape, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Cancer

Minor: Incest

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.

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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.

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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