The Thirteenth Tale

It has become rather clear recently that I have made some rather tragic choices on my list of “must reads before I die”. Unfortunately, The Thirteenth Tale was one of them.

Let me explain – and defend myself for choosing this somewhat vapid book. I like books about books. It is as simple as that. Metabooks I guess you could call them, which of course differs slightly from metafiction, which is far more postmodern (and also very cool by the wa - just not what I am discussing here). No, I mean books that show us the value of books and reading. A good example would be Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. And this is what I thought I was getting with The Thirteenth Tale. The premise is a bestselling author calls in an obscure young biographer to tell her the last great tale of her career – the real truth of her life. This has been hidden for years behind a myriad of “smoke and mirror” stories, all of which proved to be false.

There are some interesting (although not entirely direct) references to the magnificent Jane Eyre, but the book slurs into a cheap mystery and loses its believability. Again, I am disappointed with this one, and thoroughly encouraged to go back to some traditionally good authors to bask in the warmth of their certain glow….

Expect some changes to the list too…. Amazing what one book can do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Tale_(novel)