"I have always been a reader; I have read at every stage of my life, and there has never been a time when reading was not my greatest joy. And yet I cannot pretend that the reading I have done in my adult years matches in its impact on my soul the reading I did as a child. I still believe in stories. I still forget myself when I am in the middle of a good book. Yet it is not the same. Books are, for me, it must be said, the most important thing; what I cannot forget is that there was a time when they were at once more banal and more essential than that. When I was a child, books were everything. And so there is in me, always, a nostalgic yearning for the lost pleasure of books. It is not a yearning that one ever expects to be fulfilled." 
 This quote from "The Thirteenth Tale" actually explains my exact reading experience of reading "The Thirteenth Tale" itself. It was a reading experience which reminded me of the obsessive and greedy way in which I used to read when I was a child. Within Diane Setterfield's gothic tale about books, writers and their families, I found a rare page-turner that kept me engaged and enthralled throughout every single page. 
 Diane Setterfield writes beautifully. The main character (and narrator) is working in an antique bookshop and the entire novel is about the life of one particular author, so words do play an important part. Every event is deeply connected to the act of reading and the story itself clearly mimics the pattern of Brontes "Jane Eyre". Setterfield sets up a rather delicate framework, allowing us to read a story within a story and to watch as the lines between the two stories blur and evaporate. 
 Margaret's tale is one of skepticism and it almost reads like a detective story as she sets out to investigate the true circumstances of Vida's life. Vida's tale, on the other hand, is one of uncertain identity; of living a life one doesn't recognize and trying to put it into words. It is a tale of silent ghosts, repressed memories and deep traumas. As Vida herself puts it: "Silence is not a natural environment for stories. They need words. Without them they grown pale, sicken and die. And then they haunt you." 
 "The Thirteenth Tale" is filled with darkness, plot-twists and unforeseen revelations. Vida's story is very Brontesque and it is filled with strange creatures; the tragically beautiful Isabelle and her violent brother almost mimics the later generation of the twins Adeline and Emmeline who clings desperately to each other, bound together by an almost sickening bond of mutual understand. In a dusty mansion a governess comes to visit and silently disappears, a ghost haunts the grounds and a fire ends it all, erasing every trace of family history and betrayal, and leaving Vida in the dark. 
 And, perhaps biggest of all, is the mystery of the thirteenth tale itself; a story never written, never told, and yet always present in the reader's mind. (view spoiler)[While some people argue that the final thirteenth tale was a disappointment, I do not see it that way. Vida's story, her life itself, should be viewed as the thirteenth tale. That is why the final story is only a fragment. That is why Vida needs Margaret; to tell the thirteenth tale. That is why it is the title of the book itself. At least in my interpretation. (hide spoiler)] 
 This was such a perfect book to read in the middle of my exam period; completely captivating and helplessly spellbinding. Even though I've read the last word on the last page, I'm not even remotely finished with it yet. It is still there, rummaging in the back of my mind, caught in the fibres of my clothes. 
 "Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you? You leave the previous book with ideas and themes - characters even - caught in the fibers of your clothes, and when you open the new book, they are still with you."