The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Part Of The Synopsis From The Dust Jacket:

All children mythologize their birth.... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of short stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself - all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret.  Now old and ailing ,s he at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life.  She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain.  Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

I'm in love.  I don't think there is any other way I can put it.  After reading The Little Stranger I realized I really enjoy Gothic fiction.  After finishing The Thirteenth Tale, I'm in love with it.  I don't know how much of it I will read this year since the reading list in my head is pretty full already, but I'm looking forward to whatever I'm able to cram in.

What I loved about this book, and I won't get into many specific details, is the interaction between Vida and Margaret.  Their lives, while different in many ways, have a very tragic core to them that unites them at times and allows Vida to tell her tale.  And what a tale it is.  By piggybacking on their joint childhood pain, Vida is able to manipulate the narrative, allowing Margaret to see the truth and get distracted all at the same time.  It's a wonderful exploration of using personal narrative to tell a life story.  What parts of that story truly matter, which parts are simply window dressing, and which parts are purely fictional and only existed in the imagination.  Vida Winter is the true wordsmith of her life and it shows as she twists and weaves the truth with a bit of misleading information that fogs Margret's eyesight and keeps her from coming to the correct conclusions before Vida is ready.

There wasn't anything that I didn't love about this book.  I loved Vida's narrative style as she spun tales about her family, the Angelfields.  She brought each and every once of them to life as they interacted with each other and their home.  There is nothing out of place and every detail is needed to explain the actions of the wild twin girls, their adulteress governess and the last two remaining staff who keep secrets better than anyone.  The book is a treasure to read from the marbled green pattern your eyes see when you first crack open the cover to the carefully chosen words on every page.  This will be a book I keep and reread for a long time to come.

The Fifth Servant by Kenneth Wishnia

Synopsis From Back Cover:

In 1592, Prague is a relatively safe refuge for Jews who live within the gates walls of its ghetto.  But the peace is threatened when a young Christian girl found with her throat slashed in a Jewish shop on the eve of Passover.  Charged with blood libel, the shopkeeper and his family are arrested, and all that stands in the way of a rabid Christian mob is a clever Talmudic scholar, newly arrived from Poland, named Benyamin Ben-Akiva.  Granted just three days to bring the true killer to justice - hampered by rabbinic law, with no allies or connections, and only his wits, knowledge, and faith to guide him - Benyamin sets off on a desperate search for answers.  Following a twisting trail form the streets to the shul, from the forbidden back rooms of a ghetto brothel to the emperor Rudolf II's lavish palace, he will dare the impossible - and commit the unthinkable - to save the Jews of Prague...and himself.

When I finished reading The Fifth Servant I wasn't really sure what I was feeling.  To tell you the truth, I'm still not really sure as I'm sitting here, typing up my review.  I think I may end up rambling a bit, so I apologize in advance.  If I don't end up doing that, so much the better.

The book sounds like, from the synopsis, that it's going to be a historical murder mystery.  One side of that equation worked for me, the other half I'm still a bit wishy washy about.  Where this book more than succeeded for me was in bringing the time period to life.  It's obvious that the author did a lot of research for the book and that attention to detail made the streets breathe in a way I've not felt in a historical novel before.  I could visualize in my mind streets and building as they were being described to me.  I could feel the fear and anger expressed by both Jew and Christian as tempers flared as the situation was reaching critical mass.  I'm going to be honest in saying that I really never paid all that much attention to the state of Jews in 16th century Europe.  Like most people I could have told you that they probably didn't have the best times and that they were persecuted, horrifically at times.  But I couldn't have told you much more than that.  This book gave me a glimpse into the day to day lives of Jewish people who are forced to live in a walled ghetto, surrounded by thousands of people who would gladly kill them for the smallest reason.  I felt that I came out of this book knowing a little more about Jewish culture and religion, and I feel blessed for that.

What really brought the "reality" home for me was the use of language.  The author uses Czech, German, and Yiddish throughout the book.  I'm going to admit that I found the foreign words a distraction in the beginning, especially when I had to flip back and forth to the glossary in the back.  But as the story progressed I found myself, not necessarily understanding the words, becoming more familiar with them.  They didn't seem out of place after a while and I think without them, the story would have been lacking.  If ever I read a book where words mattered, this would be one of them.

Now where this story didn't really grab me was in the mystery side.  I found the murder itself to be almost an afterthought and not really well developed.  Instead of the murder and the subsequent investigation being the vehicle and driver of the story, it seemed to interrupt the narrative.  I found myself  not caring all that much and wanting to get back to the rest of the story.  I still can't really tell you how Benyamin solves it because the end is so rushed that I'm sure I missed something.

My only other quibble, and it's slight, is the point of view the story is told in.  When Benyamin is on the page, it's all told in the first person.  When the story shifts, it's told in the third person.  Now I know most people wouldn't notice or care about that, but I found myself getting annoyed at times.  It didn't do any damage to my enjoyment of the story since I plan on reading this one again.  I have a feeling this will be a book that on each reread, I will discover something new.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.  You can find more reviews by visiting the tour page.

Challenges:  A-Z, M&S

Mailbox Monday for 2/28/11

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at The Printed Page and is being hosted all this month by Laura of Library of Clean Reads.

I won a hardcover of The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino from Stephanie at Misfit Salon

Watchers by Dean Koontz

Synopsis From Title Page:

From a top-secret government laboratory come two genetically altered life-forms.  One is a magnificent dog of astonishing intelligence.  The other, a hybrid monster of a brutally violent nature.  And both are on the loose...

This was the book that made me fall in love with Dean Koontz as a teenager.  I don't remember how I came to read this one but the first time was magical for me.  I couldn't put it down, I didn't want to eat or sleep until I was at the end.  Something about this book grabbed me and would not let me go.

I'm always a little hesitant to go back and read a book that I have such fondness for in my head.  I'm never sure if it will be as good as I remember or if the "greatness" I experienced with the first reading will have faded, leaving me with tarnished memories.  Thankfully, though this book didn't live up to that euphoria, I still loved it and found myself getting lost once again.

The first time around I really found myself getting lost in the story of the dog, Einstein.  The fact that he turned into such a blessing for both Travis and Nora really hit home for me.  Dogs have always held a special place in my heart and I've always know that they can "save" a human in ways that can never fully be explained.  The fact that Einstein is not only as smart as a human but has the same emotional needs made it all the more special for me.  Add in the action of running for his life from both the government and The Other, and the story was just mesmerizing.  I still loved them and what Travis and Nora were willing to do to protect him.  I got lost in all the minute details of their discovering his intelligence.  From the wedding magazine, to the flash cards and Scrabble tiles, I smiled when they smiled and felt fear when things got hairy for them.

What really grabbed my attention this time around though were the bad guys of the piece.  It really wasn't the government officials that I found myself gravitating towards, though Samuel's conversion at the end was a great thing to read.  What I really paid attention to this time around was the contrast between Vincent, the hit man hired by unknown employers to take out the scientist involved, and The Other. 

Vincent is a homicidal maniac who has no qualms about killing.  He enjoys it and feels he gets life energy from his victims.  He never questions the hit and has no problem taking out women or children if they are in the way.  Actually quite the opposite, for him the younger the victim the stronger the life force he takes into himself.  This time things are a little different though, he does start to question why he is being told to kill these particular people.  He breaks his own rules and start to torture them to find out why the are being targeted.  When he discovers the truth about Einstein and The Other, he quickly figures out how to capitalize on the information he has and does everything he can to hunt Einstein down.

The Other, on the other hand was created to kill by the scientist who designed him.  Part baboon, dog, and who knows what else, The Other was created for one thing and one thing only, to kill.  Where Einstein  was designed to act as a spy, The Other was designed as a soldier.  Where Einstein is both physically adorable and has a loving nature, The Other is physically hideous and knows nothing but anger and violence. 

What breaks my heart about The Other is that he still has the emotions of a human.  He knows he is hideous to look at so he breaks mirrors and gouges out the eyes of his victims.  He knows he can't control his urges and hates himself for it.  The only joy he feels is by watching Mickey Mouse cartoons, something that Einstein loves as well.  He is a damaged character, one that I felt so much empathy for despite his actions and desire to kill Einstein, who he hates more than anything.  Einstein is the golden son, loved by everyone and taken care of by Trevor and Nora after he escaped from the laboratory.  The Other is the reject, the creation that is neither loved or cared for,  He is black sheep of the family, and he knows it.

The contrast between these two "killers" is fascinating.  One human, but not human in any way that counts.  The Other, a genetically created killing machine that is more the more human of the two.  One you want to die because he is a disgusting person, the other you want to die so he can quit living in such self hatred and anger.  I wanted to kill Vincent myself where I would have wanted to take care of The Other, though I know that would have been futile.

I'm so glad that I've reread this book as an adult.  I think I like it even more now, though for different reasons.  I think that's the best thing to happen with a reread, discovering new sides of it that for whatever reason you never saw the first time around.

Challenges: M&S

Favorite Fictional Character --- Speed Buggy

I'm going to finish the month off with another one of my favorite cartoons that played on USA's Cartoon Express.  Speed Buggy was the coolest car since Herbie, only with more personality.

Speed Buggy, or Speedy to his friends, was a fiberglass dune buggy that loved to win races.  Along with his builder, Tinker, and two other friends, Speedy traveled the world racing against all types of cars.  No race was too big or too small and Speedy normally came out on top.

What made the show so much fun though was all the mysteries and espionage situations they found themselves in.  Like Scooby, Jabber, Josie, or Captain Caveman, Speedy would normally get involved in some nefarious happenings and would always manage to save the day.  He was loyal and lovable, almost like a big dog on wheels.  He had a mind of his own but could be controlled by a remote as well.  Tinker and his friends would rarely ever use it, but sometimes the bad guys got a hold of it and made Speedy do things against his will.

There are few cases where a car could stand on his own as a character.  I don't think it's enough that they talk, I mean KITT would never be considered a great character, there has to be a personality as well.  Speedy not only has the personality to pull it off, he also has the heart to go along with it.  No matter what, whether anyone else agree with me, Speedy will always hold a special place in my memories.

Mailbox Monday for 2/21/11

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at The Printed Page and is being hosted all this month by Laura of Library of Clean Reads.

I stopped into the Friends of the Library Book Store and picked up two hardcovers for $1 a piece.  I got Alphabet Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip and Stitches in Time by Barbara Michaels.

Then I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up a bargain hardcover of The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie and trade paperback of The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett.

CSN Review & The Story of What Happened to the Old Ones

So as many of you already know, I was super excited to get the opportunity to review another product from CSNStores.  I was really looking forward to picking something out for Aidan to put in his room as we redecorated it.  We had actually gone through a few ideas together and just a few hours before we were going to make our final decision, Aidan had an accident.

I'm still a little foggy on the details but for one reason or another Aidan was sitting on my bed, watching TV, and cutting some pictures out of a magazine for a school project.  Within 15 minutes he came out of my room crying.  At first I thought he cut himself or hurt himself in some other way.  It took a few minutes before he was able to tell me that somehow he cut the top sheet as he was cutting the pictures out.  He couldn't tell me how he did, I'm not even sure how he managed that one, but he did it.  He was scared that I was going to be mad at him, which I really wasn't.  I would rather have him cut my sheets rather than something else.  So long story short, I ended up picking sheets out for my bed instead of his.  It was that or get him a TV for his room instead, and he's still too young for that one.

My bedding is all dark brown with a little blue, so I needed to look for chocolate brown sheets.  I'm really picky though when it comes to my sheets.  Too high a thread count and I don't like the way they feel or look.  They all tend to be too "satiny" for me.  Too low a thread count and they are just rough and I don't like that either.  I guess I'm like Goldilocks that way (minus the blond hair).

After looking at a lot of sheet sets, I picked out the Luxor Treasure 530 Thread Count Solid Sheet Set from Simple Luxury.  Once I got them, they went into the wash and onto my bed that same day.  I've now had a few days of sleeping in them and I love them.  I think I've found the perfect thread count for me.  They are soft without being too soft, if that makes any sort of sense.  I even like their shade of chocolate more than a lot of other sheets I've looked at.  It has a richness to it that doesn't come across as too shiny.  It's just right.

I would encourage you to visit their site and look around for a while.  I'm almost positive that you will find something to your liking.

After Kathy commented, I figured I better finish telling the story.  Aidan still got the Night Fox Rug.  I felt bad for him so I went ahead and bought it.  He loves it, I just hope he doesn't cut it up too. :-)