Book One Title: The Thirteenth Tale
Author: Diane Setterfield
Version: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780743298025
Published: September 12, 2006
Publisher: Atria
Book Two Title: Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story
Author: Diane Setterfield
Version: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781476711959
Published: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
First and foremost I would like to state that I think Diane Setterfield is a great writer. I find that her writing is addicting in all the best ways. Once you start reading you can't seem to stop, you can't stop reading, can't stop thinking about it and it is all consuming and amazing. The great thing too about these two books is how they differ from each other. There is a hole that authors can sometimes fall into, where book after book feels the same, same basic story, same character traits and after awhile it becomes boring. With Ms. Setterfield, so far, each book has a unique flavor to it.
"The Thirteenth Tale" is a book about books, about the love of books so of course I was intensely interested from the start. Margaret Lea lives in an antiquarian bookshop with her father and mother. From a very early age Margaret was fascinated by the world of books and reading. Her father, a simple quiet lover of books, encouraged this. Her mother was distant and sad and never really seemed to respond to Margaret. As Margaret grew up she became endlessly fascinated with the stories of people and the lives they led. Biographies became not only her passion but her livelihood. One day she receives a letter from a very famous and very private mystery writer, Vida Winter. Although Margaret has never met this woman, in fact she has never even read her books, Ms. Winter requests that Margaret comes to her and writes her biography. Surprised but intrigued Margaret decides to meet with Ms. Winter. Her curiosity heightens even more after reading her books, and Margaret goes to meet Ms. Winter. As her story starts unfolding Margaret finds herself drawn into a world of darkness, hopelessness and twins. Above all she finds herself drawn into the story about twins, a story that touches the very core of her own.
"Bellman & Black" is a story about a man who as a young boy killed a rook with a catapult. Frightened by what he has done William Bellman pushes the memory as far into the recesses of his mind as possible and locks it away for good. As he grows up he becomes the best loved young man in town. He is friendly, hardworking, handsome, and well trusted by all. Since he is related to the Bellmans that own the Bellman mill he learns the business. As he learns it, and quickly masters it he suffers the loss of his mother, his uncle and his cousin in quick succession. Using his grief to fuel his work, he becomes the head of the mill and starts taking it to all new heights. He eventually gets married and has kids and his life seems to be going perfectly. When two of his kids and then his wife die he throws funeral after funeral for them. At each funeral a strange man appears, a man all dressed in black, a man that is never there when William goes to look for him. One night, drunk and alone William stumbles to his wife's grave where who should be there but the strange man himself. This man proposes an idea to William, an idea that sparks an empire, an empire of death called 'Bellman & Black.'Both books are well written, well put together and utterly mysterious. Diane Setterfield has a mystical voice that comes out beautifully in both books, a voice that from the very first line of 'The Thirteenth Tale' captured me. Her writing is magical and in each book I found myself unable to tear myself away. For a debut novel 'The Thirteenth Tale' was perfectly written and 'Bellman & Black' followed it masterfully. Ms. Setterfield has an incredible talent and I really look forward to seeing what else she brings to the world of literature.
Now as for stories 'The Thirteenth Tale' was truly amazing. Of course I went into it knowing that I would like it because it was about books and the love and respect of books. But when I really started getting into the book and the story within it I found myself loving every detail of the story. It was up and down and elegant and gruesome and I loved every second of it. It took me in directions that I was shocked at and there were times when I actually had no idea what was going on at all but I was so into the story that I kind of liked not knowing what was happening. It was incredible.
With 'Bellman & Black' the story was good. I found myself confused a lot of the time about who was who and what was going on but not in the same way as with her first book. It's full title is 'Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story' and I found myself confused as to why. Even now after reading it and letting the story sit for awhile I have no idea what it was actually about. Where was the ghost story? What was the book actually about? I found myself being confused by it and even at the end I stayed confused. The story was just good enough to keep me interested all the way through and of course the writing made up for it. It just didn't wow me as much as 'The Thirteenth Tale' did. But it was still a good story.
All in all the books were well done and I am so glad that I read them. I'm already looking forward to the next book by Diane Setterfield because she is such an amazing writer. It's been a long time that I have found a new writer that is truly unique and talented. It is an exciting thing finding a new author to be this excited about. I hope that you, my readers, find a way to pick up one of Diane Setterfield's books because I think that they will sweep you away and make you fall in love with reading all over again. I tip my tiny hat five out of five times to 'The Thirteenth Tale' and only three and a half times out of five for 'Bellman & Black.' I highly recommend both of them though simply because her writing is just that good!
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