Post by Dominique on Dec 26, 2007 8:12:09 GMT -5
Ok I just finished The Thirteenth Tale, I really got drawn into it - I read it all day today with a few breaks between about 1pm and 12am! You know a book is a good one when that happens
So in terms of the time frame everyone was talking about earlier I didn't really mind that it didn't have one, but I placed it roughly in the same periods as everyone else due to the talk about the village lady's perambulator and how it was still unusual for someone of her status to have one.
BEWARE SPOILERS
It really is very similar to both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre - as a few people have mentioned the way it is a story within a story like Wuthering Heights and the gothic tone. But also so many plot elements: the orphaned girl with no real family, the way that the story spans generations like Wuthering Heights, the nature of Isabelle and Charlie's relationship rather reminded me of Heathcliff's and Cathy's (except H & C didn't have the brother and sister ick factor!), the fire, the way there's another person living in a house in secret and the brutish and reclusive nature of Charlie reminded me of both Healthcliff and Hindley Earnshaw. When you look at all of these plot elements it's hard not to see the novel as a kind of a hybrid of the two stories.
I also felt the way the book was concerned with twins really added to its gothic tone or made that tone more appropriate because of the mystery and fascination many people feel about twins and the scientific studies that have results that sound like they could be superstitions but clearly aren't - like how they can feel eachother's pain like Bookaddict's dad and uncle.
The repitition of the titles didn't bother me too much, although I felt perhaps a little less of it may have been better as the book is so obviously already heavily influenced by them. But then at the same time I'm not sure because it was really interesting how Vida had that whole shelf of Jane Eyre.
Zelda I'm so jealous of the cool book signings you get to go to!
So in terms of the time frame everyone was talking about earlier I didn't really mind that it didn't have one, but I placed it roughly in the same periods as everyone else due to the talk about the village lady's perambulator and how it was still unusual for someone of her status to have one.
BEWARE SPOILERS
It really is very similar to both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre - as a few people have mentioned the way it is a story within a story like Wuthering Heights and the gothic tone. But also so many plot elements: the orphaned girl with no real family, the way that the story spans generations like Wuthering Heights, the nature of Isabelle and Charlie's relationship rather reminded me of Heathcliff's and Cathy's (except H & C didn't have the brother and sister ick factor!), the fire, the way there's another person living in a house in secret and the brutish and reclusive nature of Charlie reminded me of both Healthcliff and Hindley Earnshaw. When you look at all of these plot elements it's hard not to see the novel as a kind of a hybrid of the two stories.
I also felt the way the book was concerned with twins really added to its gothic tone or made that tone more appropriate because of the mystery and fascination many people feel about twins and the scientific studies that have results that sound like they could be superstitions but clearly aren't - like how they can feel eachother's pain like Bookaddict's dad and uncle.
The repitition of the titles didn't bother me too much, although I felt perhaps a little less of it may have been better as the book is so obviously already heavily influenced by them. But then at the same time I'm not sure because it was really interesting how Vida had that whole shelf of Jane Eyre.
Zelda I'm so jealous of the cool book signings you get to go to!