I had been interested in reading this book for a while, and when I finally picked it up, I could not put it down.
This novel is well written and tells a unique story. It starts off with a young woman whose father owns a book store. (This drew me in right away: it is one of my many dreams to have a book store and read, discover, and talk about books all day.) The book store is a magical place for Margaret Lea, the main character. She and her father run the store together, and the way Setterfield describes Margaret and her father's passion for books sounds so familiar to me; often, they spend the afternoon reading, swept away by the words on the page. Many of the characters in the book are passionate about reading, and I enjoyed the references Setterfield makes to other novels, including Jane Eyre, one of my favorites.
When Margaret receives a letter inviting her to write the biography of a wealthy, popular author, Vida Winter, the mystery begins; this is where the story transforms from familiar to fascinating. The author herself is old and declining in health, which adds an element of excitement to the story: will Margaret get all the information she needs in order to tell the whole story, or will we, like Margaret, be left wondering about the end?
I appreciate how Setterfield relates the story, beginning with the odd history of the family and continuing with a more personal, exciting story of Vida's childhood and growing up as part of a strange, secretive family. Her characters are well formed and honest, faulted and flawed, and allow the reader to connect to them as if they are human instead of imagined characters. She also builds the story very well through not only Vida's telling of her childhood but Margaret's research of the family as well. The transitioning back and forth between Margaret's modern life and Vida's history is handled well; since Margaret is immersed in Vida's story, her experience researching adds elements to the story and fills out the details, giving Margaret proof that Vida's story is true.
As the story unfolds, we become swept up in it, wondering and puzzling ourselves about how it all plays out. The ending is a satisfying one, and the characters stay with you long after you've put the book down.
