I don’t know who recommended The Thirteenth Tale to me but thank you, thank you, thank you! I’d been longing for a book that would spin a story to snare me, holding me rapt until I finished and this one did not disappoint. The story of a reclusive British writer who, after many deceitful biographical interviews, finally decides to tell her true life story to a novice biographer, a bit of a recluse herself, effortlessly bobs between a haunted past and an unresolved present.
Often referencing 19th century Gothic novels, like Jane Eyre, it makes me wonder if this style of writing mimics those, creating a desire in me to read those books I’d often perceived as “early chicklit” and avoided.
Either way, the past of Vida Winter creates just the right amount of mystery without thrill or danger that kept me guessing until just before her biographer, Margaret, solved the puzzle herself. If you’re looking for a good story to keep you company on a rainy weekend, I highly recommend. I only wish we’d read this as a book club book so that I’d have someone with which to discuss.