I was lucky enough to win a copy of one of Magalys' favorite books: The Thirteenth Tale (Diane Setterfield). An engrossing story of an older woman telling a younger woman her lifes' story, in bits & pieces, as the younger woman searches for what is real & what imaginary.
Quote #1: "It never failed. A good story is always more dazzling than a broken piece of truth." (page 6, paragraph 2)
How many politicians have practiced this bit of truth found within a work of fiction?
Quote #2: "(People disappear when they die....Yet for some there is an exception....) For in the books they write they continue to exist." (page 17, paragraph 3)
Not only do writers continue to exist, but lovingly crafted characters live on as well. In this brightly crafted story Vida Winter (awesome name), the twins, & Lea will continue dancing long after Setterfield has moved on.
Visual: "And off he went. His feet danced delicately in & out of the jagged edges of wood, then skipped swiftly up the stairs, while the upper half of his body sailed serenely above, as if unconnected to the elaborate footwork going on below." (page 133, paragraph 7)
Just wonderful! Setterfield kept me guessing until the last 2 chapters. She brought satisfaction to a tragedy, the sweetest of potentials for a main character, & rewrote a fairy tale into tears. I hope that Diane Setterfield will craft another such novel in the near future.
Love, love, love your choices!
ReplyDeleteI follow Diane Setterfield on Authors Tracker. And I check the web almost every week, hoping she writes something else. How I love what she does with words. And my goodness, Vida Winter is such an amazing character… I cried with her (and for her) for her sister and for the old man and for the love she lost before she fully got it. So many wonderful things.