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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a disappointment , ! This is advertised as a ghost story. The only ghost here is that of Diane Setterfield.
Surely she did not write this book,or maybe she did not write The Thirteenth Tale.
Either way, a waste of my time
Surely she did not write this book,or maybe she did not write The Thirteenth Tale.
Either way, a waste of my time
Having read - and loved - Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale, I was looking forward to reading something else by her, and I was not disappointed. Although the stories are radically different - and I'll talk about this later - Settefield's smooth, lyrical prose shines through in Bellman & Black as it did in The Thirteenth Tale.
Bellman & Black follows the story of William Bellman. The book begins on the day that William kills a rook and then jumps forward to the late years of his adolescence. From there on, we get a steady portrait of his life. That is what this book about - William Bellman's life: where he first worked, the woman he falls in love with, the losses he suffers and the new enterprises he embarks on.
I know what you're thinking: that's not what the book blurb says. Forget about the book blurb. While the description given isn't entirely wrong, it is misleading. The point of the story is not that William makes a deal with Mr. Black and starts a mysterious business. Yes, that happens and it is an important plot point, but it's hardly the main aspect of the book. This book comprises of so much - it makes facts of the time period a reality for the characters (think: illnesses, heteronormative society, etc.), it beautifully blends in lore about rooks with the plot, it follows a character throughout his lifetime. Oh, and it manages to tie everything up neatly together in the end (can you tell I love Diane Setterfield?).
Now, for all those of you who want to read this because you loved The Thirteenth Tale, a word of caution: if you're looking for a book with similar themes, this is not the place. The Thirteenth Tale is about a biographer unearthing secrets in a famous author's life. It is a gothic mystery that plays with time and perception. It has an eerie atmosphere and celebrates a love of stories. All brilliant. Bellman & Black, on the other hand, is about the ups and downs in the life of William Bellman. Who he is, how he changes, what happens in his story. The main themes in the book are success and death. It has a mystery - we all want to know who Mr. Black is and what deal is made between him and Bellman - but it's not the same. They are two different stories and liking one does not mean you'll like the other.
That being said, they both have the same lucid style, and the narration in Bellman & Black is similar to that of Vida Winter's story in The Thirteenth Tale. I'm not sure what time period B&B is in, but the countryside and the family history that Vida relates in the beginning of The Thirteenth Tale is similar to the setting of Bellman & Black. Setterfield seems to point the reader in a certain direction, and then completely surprise them with what actually happens in both books. I don't know if that's so much a twist as it is a red herring. Anyways, I liked it.
In all, lovely read. I'm definitely going to be reading more of Setterfield.
Bellman & Black follows the story of William Bellman. The book begins on the day that William kills a rook and then jumps forward to the late years of his adolescence. From there on, we get a steady portrait of his life. That is what this book about - William Bellman's life: where he first worked, the woman he falls in love with, the losses he suffers and the new enterprises he embarks on.
I know what you're thinking: that's not what the book blurb says. Forget about the book blurb. While the description given isn't entirely wrong, it is misleading. The point of the story is not that William makes a deal with Mr. Black and starts a mysterious business. Yes, that happens and it is an important plot point, but it's hardly the main aspect of the book. This book comprises of so much - it makes facts of the time period a reality for the characters (think: illnesses, heteronormative society, etc.), it beautifully blends in lore about rooks with the plot, it follows a character throughout his lifetime. Oh, and it manages to tie everything up neatly together in the end (can you tell I love Diane Setterfield?).
Now, for all those of you who want to read this because you loved The Thirteenth Tale, a word of caution: if you're looking for a book with similar themes, this is not the place. The Thirteenth Tale is about a biographer unearthing secrets in a famous author's life. It is a gothic mystery that plays with time and perception. It has an eerie atmosphere and celebrates a love of stories. All brilliant. Bellman & Black, on the other hand, is about the ups and downs in the life of William Bellman. Who he is, how he changes, what happens in his story. The main themes in the book are success and death. It has a mystery - we all want to know who Mr. Black is and what deal is made between him and Bellman - but it's not the same. They are two different stories and liking one does not mean you'll like the other.
That being said, they both have the same lucid style, and the narration in Bellman & Black is similar to that of Vida Winter's story in The Thirteenth Tale. I'm not sure what time period B&B is in, but the countryside and the family history that Vida relates in the beginning of The Thirteenth Tale is similar to the setting of Bellman & Black. Setterfield seems to point the reader in a certain direction, and then completely surprise them with what actually happens in both books. I don't know if that's so much a twist as it is a red herring. Anyways, I liked it.
In all, lovely read. I'm definitely going to be reading more of Setterfield.
DNF at 100 pages - a lot of style over substance for me. I loved the gothic Thirteenth Tale but there just isn’t enough going on here to keep my interest - and that’s speaking as a true fan of gothic literature
Honestly...I was a little disappointed. I had really enjoyed "The Thirteenth Tale" and I suppose I was expecting something along those lines. This book started out interesting, but then as ALL of the characters died, it began to drag and crawl and I just lost interested half-way through. I ended up skimming the book to the end, and I found the ending very disappointing, and very disappointed in William Bellman for being that naive.
I have never read anything like this before and I think I never will again. The story is absolutely unique and stunningly written with a fantastic composition. This book is not for everyone but if you aren't scared of a story about death and want to experience something completely new I highly recommend it.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn’t fully understand some parts of this, especially parts toward the end, but it was beautiful.
Good prose in a bad book is like a solid gold toilet. Technically speaking there's something of value in it, and yet it is both criminally wasted and basically invites people to crap on it.
Which oh-so-classily sums up my feelings on Bellman & Black. Good gods was this an aggravating book to read. Setterfield has a deft hand with her prose-atmospheric, descriptive, and elegant-and the base concept of a supernatural death debt is really interesting. And yet Bellman & Black was such a dull, pointless, meaningless novel, and one that barely had anything to do with its own premise.
When William Bellman kills a rook in a moment of childhood thoughtlessness, what guilt he experiences fades as he represses the memory of the incident. As he grows into a young man, Will has no reason to think of it, nor does he when he takes over management of his family's cloth mill in the British countryside, or when he becomes a husband and a father.
But not remembering isn't the same as not mattering, and Bellman realizes this when one by one everyone he loves starts to die off. Desperate men are willing to make equally desperate bargains, and William Bellman's deal with a mysterious stranger to save the last person he has left leads to the establishment of Bellman & Black.
I pretty much covered what I did like about Bellman & Black-the writing style. That's...it, really. It's good but seriously wasted.
As for the problems of Bellman & Black...where to even begin?
Above all the biggest one is the novel is not remotely what it purports itself to be. I know we've all heard of not judging a book by its cover (which honestly never made sense to me because the whole point of the cover is to indicate the nature of the contents), but what about judging a book by its summary? I feel that's reasonable.
First of all I would like to state-and I read this book all the way through just so I could say this with 100% certainty-THERE IS NOT A SINGLE FUCKING GHOST IN BELLMAN & BLACK. When half of the blurbs for the novel literally call it Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story, it's pretty understandable readers would be put off. I've honestly never see a book blurb be technically accurate and yet so totally wrong as Bellman & Black's.
This sort of segues into the other big problem of Bellman & Black. Putting aside the no-ghosts thing for a second, every single description of this book emphasizes the supernatural aspect, the spooky, eerie, factor. It was these things that drew me to check out Bellman & Black in the first place. Just from a read of the summary, it sounded like some cool, gritty, dark fighting otherworldly forces deal. I would have LOVED to seen that.
And every single implication this is a very supernatural book is A FREAKING LIE. Bellman & Black is 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999% the ins and outs of cloth production in mid-to-late Victorian England, with every so often a rook making a 'spooky' appearance. That's it. If you handed this book to someone and didn't tell them it was supposed to have supernatural elements, they would never know.
Hell, the titular mysterious stranger "Black" appears for what amounts to maybe four pages worth of text throughout the book. His entire shtick is to show up, say something cryptic, be kind of creepy, and leave. There's no personality and nothing that enhances the narrative. You could remove him completely and still have the exact same plot. That doesn't speak highly of his influence on the story. Even the "macabre business" just turns out to be funeral goods and services. A touch uncomfortable for people to dwell on, perhaps, but macabre? Doesn't that imply something a lot darker than 'mildly unsettling'?
Alright then, so it's pretty clear Bellman & Black isn't at all ghostly or supernatural. So how is it as it actually is-a character study?
Pretty bad too. The characters are flat, passionless cutouts. Bellman actually becomes less developed as the novel progresses on. There's a ton of overall aimlessless in the narrative, which doesn't help. Bellman & Black has an abundance of details that never end up going anywhere. Bellman's uncle Paul having feelings for his sister-in-law, Bellman's mother? Nothing. Bellman's dad who left them when he was a child? Zilch. The implication the seamstress Lizzie has a connection to Black? Goes nowhere. And how this story ends is a masterpiece in sheer pointlessness.
All in all Bellman & Black is misrepresentative, unfocused, dull, and has no message worthy of being imparted. There's good stylistic prose to be found, but it is so many pearls before the swine of a meaningless story and lifeless characters.
If you are super into Victorian cloth mill workings, you will adore this book. Otherwise, skip and use the hours of your life this book would have wasted reading something actually intelligent and meaningful.
Which oh-so-classily sums up my feelings on Bellman & Black. Good gods was this an aggravating book to read. Setterfield has a deft hand with her prose-atmospheric, descriptive, and elegant-and the base concept of a supernatural death debt is really interesting. And yet Bellman & Black was such a dull, pointless, meaningless novel, and one that barely had anything to do with its own premise.
When William Bellman kills a rook in a moment of childhood thoughtlessness, what guilt he experiences fades as he represses the memory of the incident. As he grows into a young man, Will has no reason to think of it, nor does he when he takes over management of his family's cloth mill in the British countryside, or when he becomes a husband and a father.
But not remembering isn't the same as not mattering, and Bellman realizes this when one by one everyone he loves starts to die off. Desperate men are willing to make equally desperate bargains, and William Bellman's deal with a mysterious stranger to save the last person he has left leads to the establishment of Bellman & Black.
I pretty much covered what I did like about Bellman & Black-the writing style. That's...it, really. It's good but seriously wasted.
As for the problems of Bellman & Black...where to even begin?
Above all the biggest one is the novel is not remotely what it purports itself to be. I know we've all heard of not judging a book by its cover (which honestly never made sense to me because the whole point of the cover is to indicate the nature of the contents), but what about judging a book by its summary? I feel that's reasonable.
Bellman & Black is a heart-thumpingly perfect ghost story, beautifully and irresistibly written, its ratcheting tension exquisitely calibrated line by line. Its hero is William Bellman, who, as a boy of 10, killed a shiny black rook with a catapult, and who grew up to be someone, his neighbours think, who "could go to the good or the bad." And indeed, although William Bellman's life at first seems blessed—he has a happy marriage to a beautiful woman, becomes father to a brood of bright, strong children, and thrives in business—one by one, people around him die. And at each funeral, he is startled to see a strange man in black, smiling at him. At first, the dead are distant relatives, but eventually his own children die, and then his wife, leaving behind only one child, his favourite, Dora. Unhinged by grief, William gets drunk and stumbles to his wife's fresh grave—and who should be there waiting, but the smiling stranger in black. The stranger has a proposition for William—a mysterious business called "Bellman & Black" . . . -GoodReads Summary, Bellman & Black
First of all I would like to state-and I read this book all the way through just so I could say this with 100% certainty-THERE IS NOT A SINGLE FUCKING GHOST IN BELLMAN & BLACK. When half of the blurbs for the novel literally call it Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story, it's pretty understandable readers would be put off. I've honestly never see a book blurb be technically accurate and yet so totally wrong as Bellman & Black's.
This sort of segues into the other big problem of Bellman & Black. Putting aside the no-ghosts thing for a second, every single description of this book emphasizes the supernatural aspect, the spooky, eerie, factor. It was these things that drew me to check out Bellman & Black in the first place. Just from a read of the summary, it sounded like some cool, gritty, dark fighting otherworldly forces deal. I would have LOVED to seen that.
And every single implication this is a very supernatural book is A FREAKING LIE. Bellman & Black is 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999% the ins and outs of cloth production in mid-to-late Victorian England, with every so often a rook making a 'spooky' appearance. That's it. If you handed this book to someone and didn't tell them it was supposed to have supernatural elements, they would never know.
Hell, the titular mysterious stranger "Black" appears for what amounts to maybe four pages worth of text throughout the book. His entire shtick is to show up, say something cryptic, be kind of creepy, and leave. There's no personality and nothing that enhances the narrative. You could remove him completely and still have the exact same plot. That doesn't speak highly of his influence on the story. Even the "macabre business" just turns out to be funeral goods and services. A touch uncomfortable for people to dwell on, perhaps, but macabre? Doesn't that imply something a lot darker than 'mildly unsettling'?
Alright then, so it's pretty clear Bellman & Black isn't at all ghostly or supernatural. So how is it as it actually is-a character study?
Pretty bad too. The characters are flat, passionless cutouts. Bellman actually becomes less developed as the novel progresses on. There's a ton of overall aimlessless in the narrative, which doesn't help. Bellman & Black has an abundance of details that never end up going anywhere. Bellman's uncle Paul having feelings for his sister-in-law, Bellman's mother? Nothing. Bellman's dad who left them when he was a child? Zilch. The implication the seamstress Lizzie has a connection to Black? Goes nowhere. And how this story ends is a masterpiece in sheer pointlessness.
All in all Bellman & Black is misrepresentative, unfocused, dull, and has no message worthy of being imparted. There's good stylistic prose to be found, but it is so many pearls before the swine of a meaningless story and lifeless characters.
If you are super into Victorian cloth mill workings, you will adore this book. Otherwise, skip and use the hours of your life this book would have wasted reading something actually intelligent and meaningful.