Lawyer Mama

The Thirteenth Tale

Can you keep a secret?

I can't. I've never been able to keep secrets well. When I buy T a Christmas or birthday present that I know he'll love, I'm always tempted to give it to him right away. Why wait? Same with the kids. If something big happens in my life, I have to share it. In some ways sharing a secret can make it more real. You can discuss that oh so important happening, tidbit, revelation, or gossip with someone else. But, of course, once you tell someone else it's no longer a secret, is it?

I recently joined Mother Talk because, well, who wouldn't want free books? All I have to do is read them and tell y'all what I think. Well, it's a rough job but someone has to do it.

For my first review, I read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It's a gothic-esque novel set in the modern day. Our protagonist, Margaret, is a biographer treading water through life and living through books in the antiquarian book store she runs with her father. A notorious novelist, Vida Winter, asks Margaret to write her story, an unexpected coup because of Ms. Winter's mysterious past. Two stories, and many secrets unfold throughout the course of the book, Ms. Winter's and Margaret's.

Although I'm not normally a fan of the Gothic novel, there are a few classics of the genre that I absolutely love, one of those being Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre, the novel, appears over and over throughout The Thirteenth Tale as do many not-so-subtle allusions to the Bronte classic, along with a hint of Wuthering Heights. A few things about the story made me crazy, including the fact that I was whacked over the head with Jane Eyre at every turn. The other is the big plot twist that I can't tell you unless I spoil the story. I can't decide if I'm annoyed because I don't think it's believable or annoyed because I wasn't really expecting it.

The book did, however, make me wonder if I could keep a real secret. I mean a secret that changes lives, not simply the fact that I ate the last oatmeal cream pie in the cabinet. I don't think that I could. At least not the sort of secret that's hidden in The Thirteenth Tale. So much of what happens to us defines us. By keeping it a secret, aren't we denying who we are?

Well, if anything, I hope I've at least piqued your curiosity about the big secret in The Thirteenth Tale.

Tell Me What to Read

Friends of the Blogosphere, I need your help. I'm running precariously low on reading material right now. Shocking, I know. Normally, I have piles and piles of books waiting to be read. This year I just haven't been replenishing my stores the way I normally do.

I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love right now and I'm enjoying it. Which is saying a lot for me, who normally thinks that books like that are a bunch of transcendent crap. I must be mellowing in my old age.

The last book I finished was The Thirteenth Tale and I'm writing a review about it, so I'll leave my detailed opinions off here, but I would probably read it again if I had life to live twice.

I'll read pretty much anything: fiction, non-fiction, biographies, it's all good. I'm not a big fan of popular trite like James Patterson, Danielle Steel, or Tom Clancy. (I loved Tom Clancy's first three books. They were great thrillers. It's gone steadily down hill from there.) I like books that make me: (1) think; (2) laugh; or (3) feel. If I can get all three together, even better.

What do you recommend?