BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Thank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment.
MY BOOK BEGINNING
It was November. Although it was not yet late, the sky was dark when I turned into Laundress Passage.
-- from The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
Are you reading anything special for Halloween week? I do NOT like scary, so no horror, ghosts, vampires, or gruesome crimes for me. That limits my choices!The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield seems like a good pick. It’s been sitting on my TBR shelf for years, long after it ceased to be super popular. I’m about a quarter of the way into it and it’s perfect for me. It has just the level of eerie atmosphere, suspense, and melodrama that I enjoy. There may be ghosts, but not so far!
Have you read this one?
YOUR BOOK BEGINNING
Please add the link to your book beginning post in the linky box below. If you participate or share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings so other people can find your post.
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THE FRIDAY 56
The Friday 56 asks participants to share a two-sentence teaser from their book of the week. If your book is an ebook or audiobook, pick a teaser from the 56% point.
Anna at My Head is Full of Books hosts The Friday 56, a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please visit My Head is Full of Books to leave the link to your post.
MY FRIDAY 56
-- from The Thirteenth Tale:
In the shop my father was sitting at the desk with his head in his hands. He heard me come down the stairs and looked up, white-faced.
FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION
Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness—featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.
Sounds like a good one.
ReplyDeleteI read it in 2016. It is a gothic novel, and I read a lot of them at my mom's behest when I was growing up. I liked the way the characters speak directly to the reader.
ReplyDeleteIt's been quite a while since I read this. so I couldn't recite the plot if my life depended on it, but what I do remember is the writing. Stunningly beautiful. The quotes about stories are some of my favourite book quotes ever.
ReplyDelete