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Another one down
Jul. 16th, 2007 12:49 pmI finished The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (http://www.amazon.com/Thirteenth-Tale-Diane-Setterfield/dp/0385662858/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-3556738-2711253?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184604517&sr=8-1). I started it either Christmas break, or Spring break, but couldn’t get into it. It still took some work, but then something clicked in the middle of the book and I became obsessive about finishing it.
Now that it’s over, I’m not sure that I enjoyed it, but I am glad I read it. Oddly enough, I found the “climax” wholely unsatisfying, but what it said about books, and how they can matter in a person’s life was very provocative. And the claims it makes about stories, and the telling of stories, is very canny. Worth the time for the intellectual pleasure if nothing else. When it came to the central conceit of the novel, I actually think Thomas Tryon did a better job in his book, The Other (http://www.amazon.com/Other-Thomas-Tryon/dp/B000GE2EMW/ref=sr_1_3/002-3556738-2711253?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184604715&sr=1-3), which is usually written off as simply a horror story. That book was my first experience of "actor" as something other than just a pretty face. My first encounter with Tryon was in various movies (he looked particularly good in a cowboy hat), but especially in The Cardinal (http://www.amazon.com/Cardinal-Tom-Tryon/dp/B0009WFF68/ref=sr_1_4/002-3556738-2711253?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1184604898&sr=1-4). That movie really made you think about choices.
Once he started writing, though, he mostly stopped acting. I think he was a better writer than given credit for. His Lady is also an interesting read, and showed that The Other really was more than it was pegged.
So, I guess I recommend the book, but it was nothing like "fun to read."
Now that it’s over, I’m not sure that I enjoyed it, but I am glad I read it. Oddly enough, I found the “climax” wholely unsatisfying, but what it said about books, and how they can matter in a person’s life was very provocative. And the claims it makes about stories, and the telling of stories, is very canny. Worth the time for the intellectual pleasure if nothing else. When it came to the central conceit of the novel, I actually think Thomas Tryon did a better job in his book, The Other (http://www.amazon.com/Other-Thomas-Tryon/dp/B000GE2EMW/ref=sr_1_3/002-3556738-2711253?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184604715&sr=1-3), which is usually written off as simply a horror story. That book was my first experience of "actor" as something other than just a pretty face. My first encounter with Tryon was in various movies (he looked particularly good in a cowboy hat), but especially in The Cardinal (http://www.amazon.com/Cardinal-Tom-Tryon/dp/B0009WFF68/ref=sr_1_4/002-3556738-2711253?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1184604898&sr=1-4). That movie really made you think about choices.
Once he started writing, though, he mostly stopped acting. I think he was a better writer than given credit for. His Lady is also an interesting read, and showed that The Other really was more than it was pegged.
So, I guess I recommend the book, but it was nothing like "fun to read."
