....the perfect sort of day to read something atmospheric. Yesterday was a fitting day to finish reading The Thirteenth Tale (my second RIP book)! It was gray, rainy and very autumn-like. I enjoyed the book immensely. It is just the sort of book that I like to curl up with when the weather is like it has been! As several people have already finished reading it and given their reviews (here and here so far), I won't go into much detail. I fell into the story very easily--I love a good story. This one had at its center a rather dysfunctional (read: gothic) family. I do admit getting to a point where I wondered, can I take anymore of this family....perhaps I should switch to something less heavy. However, just as I was considering this, the author anticpated her reader and the story changed tack slightly. It was just enough to keep me going. Once I got past that point and maybe halfway through the book, I couldn't put it down. The writing was good (in case you are afraid of those overhyped books like Labyrinth where the writing was less than stellar), the story was wonderful, and she moved seamlessly from place to place and past to present and back again. I like being so involved in a story that I lose myself in the reading. Perfect timing!
Interestingly Henry James's Turn of the Screw is mentioned in the Setterfield book (as is Jane Eyre and several other classic gothic novels). So, I guess I shall move on to the James book as my next RIP read. It is a slim novel--really a novella. I only know it is a classic ghost story involving a governess. I took a peek at it last night and plan on starting it this weekend. Why do people like to tell ghost stories on Christmas? There is Dickens's A Christmas Carol, and Susan Hill's The Woman in Black begins with ghost stories told on Christmas Eve, and it appears that once again James begins his tale with a group of people telling ghost stories on Christmas yet again. Perhaps this is some sort of tradition? In any case, I am looking forward to reading The Turn of the Screw. Wikipedia has this to say about it:
"Due to its ambiguous content and narrative skill, The Turn of the Screw became a favorite text of New Criticism. The reader is challenged to determine if the protagonist, a nameless governess, is reliably reporting events or instead is some kind of neurotic with an overheated imagination.
To further muddy the waters, her written account of the experience—a frame tale—is being read many years later at a Christmas house party by someone who claims to have known her. The account lends itself to many different interpretations, including those by Freudian psychologists and those trying to determine who or what exactly is the nature of evil within the story."
It looks like there will be lots to sink my teeth into here despite the short length! I already have the Masterpiece Theatre adaptation in my Netflix queue for when I have finished the book. And though it is sunny today, I hear tomorrow will be another rainy day...perfect for a ghost story!