This is an Online Internet Book Club on The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
Settle down to enjoy a rousing good ghost story with Diane Setterfield's debut novel,
The Thirteenth Tale. Setterfield has rejuvenated the genre with this closely plotted, clever foray into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths. She never cheats by pulling a rabbit out of a hat; this atmospheric story hangs together perfectly.
There are two heroines here: Vida Winter, a famous author, whose life story is coming to an end, and Margaret Lea, a young, unworldly, bookish girl who is a bookseller in her father's shop. Vida has been confounding her biographers and fans for years by giving everybody a different version of her life, each time swearing it's the truth. Because of a biography that Margaret has written about brothers, Vida chooses Margaret to tell her story, all of it, for the first time. At their initial meeting, the conversation begins:
"You have given nineteen different versions of your life story to journalists in the last two years alone."
She [Vida] shrugged. "It's my profession. I'm a storyteller."
"I am a biographer, I work with facts."
The game is afoot and Margaret must spend some time sorting out whether or not Vida is actually ready to tell the whole truth. There is more here of Margaret discovering than of Vida cooperating wholeheartedly, but that is part of Vida's plan. The transformative power of truth informs the lives of both women by story's end, and The Thirteenth Tale is finally and convincingly told. --Valerie Ryan
Book Club Questions for The Thirteenth Tale (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on The Thirteenth Tale:
- Did Diane Setterfield emphasize any specific themes throughout The Thirteenth Tale? What do you think Diane Setterfield is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of The Thirteenth Tale and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout The Thirteenth Tale? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does The Thirteenth Tale reveal Diane Setterfield's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Diane Setterfield is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of The Thirteenth Tale affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did Diane Setterfield's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for The Thirteenth Tale (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on The Thirteenth Tale:
- Did Diane Setterfield make persuasive arguments in The Thirteenth Tale? Did The Thirteenth Tale change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from The Thirteenth Tale?
- How does Diane Setterfield present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is Diane Setterfield biased within The Thirteenth Tale? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does The Thirteenth Tale make you want to read next? Why?
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