#9: The Thirteenth Tale

Setterfield, Diane: The Thirteenth Tale. New York: Atria, 2006. Print. 406 pages.
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SETTING: London, England.  Sometime in the mid- to late- 1900s (the protagonist mentions sending a film roll to her father for development, so my guess is that this story takes place before the advent of digital cameras).
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SUMMARY: Margaret Lea, a bookstore owner's daughter and fervent lover of books, is commissioned to write the biography of Vita Winter, a secretive, reclusive, incredibly famous author.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "Still in my coat and hat, I sank onto the stair to read the letter.  (I never read without making sure I am in a secure position.  I have been like this ever since the age of seven when, sitting on a high wall and reading The Water Babies, I was so seduced by the descriptions of underwater life that I unconsciously relaxed my muscles.  Instead of being held buoyant by the water that so vividly surrounded me in my mind, I plummeted to the ground and knocked myself out.  I can still feel the scar under my fringe now.  Reading can be dangerous.)" - page 4.
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This book was picked out of a list of "books for book lovers."  Can't go wrong with that, right?  I also read a majority of this book while sitting in a cafe in San Francisco.  The combination of the location, cafe atmosphere, and a hot mug of mocha with whipped cream may have biased my reception of this book.  It's hard not to enjoy any book in such an ideal book reading setting!
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Things I liked about this book:

1. Books, books, and more books!  And the main character loves books!  Books!
2. I haven't read many gothic novels, but the author does a great job of creating an eerie, gothic atmosphere.  You really do feel the "darkness" of the novel.
3. The doctor in the novel attributes the main character's bouts of fatigue, loss of appetite, and fainting spells to her constant rereading of 19th century British romances and dramas, and prescribes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes as the remedy.  That part was, by far, my favorite.
4. The transitions between present dialogue and past memories are very smooth.
5. Jane Eyre plays a strange, yet integral, part of the story. 
6. The strong connection felt between blood relations as a main theme.

Things I didn't like about this book:

1. The story line isn't very organized. All in all, it doesn't deliver considering how much anticipation the author builds up for the ending.
2. Going off of point #1, the ending leaves MUCH to be desired.  
3. Some pretty gross subplots; then again, it is a gothic novel.

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Even though the story wasn't anything great, there were some superbly awesome quotes and it definitely is a book for book lovers.  A great aspect of the book is that the author incorporates an appreciation for 19th century British romances and dramas into the story line.  She actually makes it a major part of one of the character's lives, fully describing how such literature has actually influenced the development of that character's personality.  Also, I don't know if this was intentional or the result of wear and tear from many readings (I checked this book out from the library), but the actual pages felt like parchment paper, the same texture you would expect from a handwritten book.  Most likely some previous reader left the book in a damp setting that curled and crinkled the pages, resulting in the parchment-like look and texture.  Either way, it added to the gothic nature of the novel, and the overall ambiance the author was aiming for.
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Recommend?  Yes, if you love books.  Otherwise, it's not that extraordinary a read.