read it!

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

this book felt dark from the outset, which i don't normally fancy, btu i kept with it as there were so many mysteries to unfold through the pages and my interest was peaked.

as the story reveals itself slowly, the book speaks to the beauty of stories, how everyone has a story, and how the telling of stories is utterly important to how they are understood.

this particular story involves a british best-selling author, the moors of yorkshire, and a booksellers' daughter.

but as the book says, the characters and the setting are not what make a story compelling.  it is how they come together and how the storyteller reveals the connections, which are, of course, closer than first thought.

the history of a family is the centre of the book and it is fascinating with its abnormalities, oddities, and uncommon composition.  moreover, it is the relationship between two twins that is examined and what happens when pieces of a family are missing or details are unknown.

my one criticism of this particular story is that a few times it was so clearly obvious what was coming or what a connection was, but the author assumed the reader wasn't aware, which became a bit tiresome.

but it is a good story and certainly worth reading.  especially if you do it on the top deck of a chinese junk on halong bay in vietnam!