The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

I am a repressed ghost fanatic. I don't think I've ever acknowledged that before, even to myself. Ghost stories never fail to hold my attention. Despite the fact that I scare easily, I am unable to turn away. Movies, books, and segments in historical study will be twice as interesting to me if there is even the possibility of the presence of a ghost.

I opened The Thirteenth Tale not expecting a ghost story. Somehow I overlooked the fact that the Editor's Review on Amazon.com begins with the words, "Settle down to enjoy a rousing good ghost story..." But the ghosts in this book are not the sort that haunt the pages of Stephen King or Peter Straub. They are the sort of ghosts that mirror those that haunt our own lives: the ghosts of stories left untold, the ghosts of people we used to be, the ghosts of things that could have been. They are those sort of ghosts as well as the sort that lurk in corners or behind curtains.

On the pages of this book, the character Miss Winter says, "You are at liberty to say nothing, if that is what you want. But silence is not a natural environment for stories. They need words. Without them they grow pale, sicken and die. And then they haunt you."

That is the sort of ghost that haunts the pages of this book, and it is the sort of ghost that has haunted my mind since I read the final page. This is the sort of book that leaves a residue even after you've placed it back on the shelf, even after you've taken up another book. In this way Diane Setterfield harkens back to those who have haunted minds for centuries. This book gives the illusion of being a classic despite its recent release, despite its somewhat contemporary setting.

The story is that of a young, bookish woman (which is what got me reading the book) who works in her father's antiquarian bookshop. Margaret Lea loves to read the diaries of obscure people of the past and has written the biographies of several of these people. A few of them have been published, and because of this, Vida Winter, "the world's most famous living author" writes to her to commission a biography. Miss Winter has never told her own story. She has given dozens of personal interviews in which she gave the reporter a story, but each of the stories she provided was a fabrication. However, Miss Winter knows she is nearing the end of her life and therefore feels the need to finally tell the truth so that her story might not die with her.

Being the reader of diaries and other antiquarian books, Margaret has never read any of Miss Winter's books. Having been asked to write the novelist's biography, she feels obliged to familiarize herself with what she has written. She begins with Vida Winter's debut, The Thirteen Tales. She is engrossed, and as she approaches the end of the book, she realizes that there are only twelve stories within it. This is only one of the mysteries that make Miss Winter so famous (aside from the fact that her books are fantastically written). "The Thirteenth Tale" is her story.

I really need to read another not so great book to review because all of my reviews seem to end the same way: "I recommend this book." If you enjoy books like Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, you will enjoy The Thirteenth Tale. The resolution of the mystery is sure to surprise you, but it doesn't come out of nowhere. The clues are laid out for you to find. Setterfield never pulls the answer out of thin air. It was there all along. That, I think, is the only sort of mystery worth reading.

Disclaimer: Most of this book was read while I should have been doing homework. However, all of said homework was completed in time for class. There is no need to worry.