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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tense, dark, tragic, ending a little of a let down
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief
Gave up on this because despite my love for The Thirteenth Tale I found this boring and pointless--it even failed to build a sense of foreboding while building up to something actually happening. Too bad.
When William Bellman was a child he killed a rook with a slingshot. This is supposed to be important later, but the importance of this event is never adequately explained. As an adult William starts working at the mill and proves himself to be such an able and willing worker that he eventually ends up running the mill. He is a fastidious and astute businessman and the mill becomes very successful. William is happily married with several children and his star is really rising in the world. But when an unexplained illness hits the town and his family, he finds himself making a deal (a deal which is never explained to the reader) with the mysterious Mr. Black. And then the book takes a sharp turn in a totally different direction as William leaves the mill and begins a new business venture, which is a shop devoted to death. His one-stop-funeral-shop provides mourning clothes, coffins, and everything a family would need to properly mourn their deceased loved ones. And there are many many chapters devoted to the building and running of this shop.
This book is basically one long description of William's life as a businessman. There is no suspense here and the story moves pretty slowly at times. This book definitely doesn’t follow a traditional story arc since there is never any climax towards the end of the book. It just…ends. And a lot of the elements of the story are never explained. What was important about the killing of the rook when William was a child? Who was Mr. Black? Why did William distance himself from his daughter? I thoroughly enjoyed the author's first book, The Thirteenth Tale. It quickly became obvious that this book wasn't going to be anything remotely similar to that first book, so I tried really hard not to make comparisons. But ultimately this was a disappointing follow-up.
This book is basically one long description of William's life as a businessman. There is no suspense here and the story moves pretty slowly at times. This book definitely doesn’t follow a traditional story arc since there is never any climax towards the end of the book. It just…ends. And a lot of the elements of the story are never explained. What was important about the killing of the rook when William was a child? Who was Mr. Black? Why did William distance himself from his daughter? I thoroughly enjoyed the author's first book, The Thirteenth Tale. It quickly became obvious that this book wasn't going to be anything remotely similar to that first book, so I tried really hard not to make comparisons. But ultimately this was a disappointing follow-up.
Full of foreboding and a little twist of magic. Setterfield creates a world I became completely immersed in. A great rainy-day, home in bed with a cup of tea read.
Find this review and much more at Read, Run, Ramble
Thank you Atria/Emily Bestler Books via Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book!
I’ll start by saying, I haven’t read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It has been on my to-be-read list for years, but I haven’t yet gotten around to it. I found this new tale (Bellman & Black) by Ms. Setterfield in either a Netgalley email or a pre-approval from Netgalley (sorry, I don’t remember which). I took a look at the synopsis and thought it sounded great so I added it to my queue and have been really looking forward to it ever since. However, it fell a little flat for me I’m sad to say.
The story begins with young cousins, including our main character, William Bellman, out with their catapults (for those who aren't familiar with the term think slingshot). Young Bellman makes an unbelievable shot that kills a rook and everything is off to a very intriguing start. The story continues with the rook offering much information about them and their ways of life - Setterfield definitely seems to know her rooks! And they are, of course, black. The story hinges on all things dark, black, mysterious, and death-related.
From here the story progresses through Bellman’s life – he’s handsome, he marries, has children, becomes the hotshot of the family business though he is not technically family and the elder Bellman actually doesn't want him around. Everything looks perfect for Bellman and readers may start to wonder, why all the good luck since the opening scene, the synopsis, and all that surrounds this novel leads one to believe that Bellman should be meeting some harsh times. Well, they do come and much happens to bring Bellman’s life into spinning chaos. And let me say, Setterfield's writing is artful and beautiful. She writes Bellman and his situations with wonderful clarity, but other than the writing, I just got lost.
At this point readers will be expecting the ghost part of the story to reveal itself and for things to take a very gothic and dark path. In some ways that is very much what happens, but it is all very subtle and anecdotal. I’ll admit the book makes readers think – what is the price of happiness? What is the cost of the decisions we make? However, it led to a rather boring read for me. The author spares no detail with rooks or the textile industry that’s for sure, but it doesn't make for much of a read. Other than Bellman, many of the other characters aren't very well developed so when hard times fall or deaths come to fruition, readers aren't too concerned. I kept waiting to feel creeped out or shocked or even invested in the story and it just didn't happen.
I’ll also share a little confession. I actually felt as if I missed something because the book fell so flat for me. So I read many reviews to see if I can find some nugget of what I might have misread or misunderstood, but nope, there was nothing. The novel is character driven, but the characters aren't given enough color, life, or development. Bellman does get developed and readers will see him pass through many stages, but again, he’s the only one and it simply wasn't enough to sustain the novel. The rook and his counterpart in the book, Mr. Black, also get some development, but I found it all to be vague and confusing. I never really saw the connection between Bellman’s first acquaintance with the rook (him killing one with a lucky shot off his catapult) and Mr. Bellman and his life – it never tied together in my opinion.
There were just a lot of undeveloped opportunities and holes left in this story (at one point in the story readers meet a young woman who is battling grief herself, but again, no development – she’s a minor character that readers will expect to make some difference; some statement, but after finishing, I was left wondering why even introduce her into the story). By the end I felt confused, underwhelmed, and like I’d missed out on a great story (because the premise has some serious promise).
I was provided with an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I am not compensated for any of my reviews.
I'm not sure why this is rated so much lower than Diane Setterfield's other books. I enjoyed it just as much.
Hmmm. Read it in one day and enjoyed it, though I am not sure I "got" it. Who was Mr. Black? Was he a ghost of the rook, or was he guilt, or denial, or death? What is the relationship between Mr. Black and Dora's recovery--is there one? What is the link between Bellman working so much harder and faster than everyone else and his turning his back on memory--is there one? Is the 'moral of the story' that we shouldn't wait until the last moments of our lives to relive all the memories--sweet and painful alike--that gave our days shape and meaning?
Ah well, either way, I was happy to read it and found the suspense subtle but taut. I look forward to her next book.
I really loved Setterfield's debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale. I had high hopes for her second novel, but this one didn't quite live up to my expectations. The writing is well done and the story is an original one, but after a strong start the story gets bogged down in unnecessary details and stays there. Fifty pages dedicated to the main character's obsession over facts and figures in his effort to run his businesses successfully is overkill. It takes away from the mythical elements she tries to create in the rest of the story. I got to the point where I just wanted the story to be over, which is never a good sign. I'd give this 2.5 stars, but I'll round up for originality.
I loved the Thirteenth Tale, written by the same author . I was really looking forward to this book Bellman and Black was OK but nothing more to me. I enjoyed the character of William and watching him move through his life but then when it came to the bellman and black part of the book I lost interest. The whole point of the book seem to drift off and I’m still left feeling a rather unsatisfied