Monday, July 20, 2009

The Thirteenth Tale...

The Thirteenth Tale is a brilliant bit of writing. And, I can't say too much about it because it has so many twists and turns and I don't want to give any of the mystery away.
However, it is the story of two writers born into tragedy who both find a way to cope, to escape, to understand and to explain their experience by devouring books.
While this book is certainly a love letter to literature, don't think you'll be bored, it's a real can't-put-it-down-page-turner. You'll be riveted.
It has very dark themes without being graphic. But, it's honest. It shows the suffering caused by selfishness, by sin and by neglect. It shows how that suffering can leap the generations.
But, it also shows something very true. If a person is lacking a good example, they can find one in a book. The character in this book, used the moral grit and compassion of Jane Eyre to inspire her life... to help her to forgive, to love and to serve the one person who had destroyed her life completely... and by this compassion to change the history of her family. Beautiful.