The Thirteenth Tale

I just got finished listening to the audio book of "The Thirteenth Tale" by Dianne Setterfield. Great. It has some Gothic features to it. A definite nod to "Jane Eyre", which is explicit. It's set at an indeterminate time in the middle of the 20th century, not explicitly stated, and in England. The author does something I envy, which is to provide a perfectly twisting tale. The end I did not guess at all. And it was compulsive listening. Normally I leave my audio books at work and just listen to them there but I took this one home over the weekend and listened every chance I got. As for the twisting of the plot, she uses a device of an unreliable character. It's a novelist about to die telling her tale to a younger biographer. The novelist has only told lies about her past before, so much so that she has trouble telling the truth about it when she wants to. It's a brilliant plot device. The biographer has to listen to her and also investigate her. I'm not sure I'm there yet- able to completely surprise with my endings and yet make it seem perfectly logical all the time. But I admire it. The trick in this book is to emphasize one element of the biographer's personality that aligns with something about the novelist. But it's the lie- like a sleight of hand. The author of this novel emphasizes one element so much so that you don't notice the side story going on that becomes the centerpiece of the mystery. It's not flawless, one part of the ending does require a person to suspend belief. But still compulsive and highly enjoyable. I really do like Gothic elements in a book and want to think about including some. And this is a book about books and writers. What could be better?