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chelseaj91 's review for:
Bellman & Black
by Diane Setterfield
While I liked the book, (to an extent) I have to say that it wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. Bellman & Black was well-written albeit a little slow. There was a lot of detail in both time and place for the setting which was on the one hand very nice and interesting but on the other hand it felt just a little...cluttered.
From reading the back/inside cover summary, I thought that the enterprise was going to be a little more sinister. Instead, it was just something that wasn't really the most popular, even though it was needed. I'll admit it was a little menacing, but not macabre, the way it was alluded to in the summary.
The story opens on William Bellman who, in a moment of boyhood competition kills a rook resting on a branch. After a while, the event fades into the background and William moves on and up in the world. He takes over running of his family mill from his uncle, marries and has children. Sitting on top of the world, tragedy soon strikes William, taking friends and family alike. At each funeral, he sees a mysterious man in black who eventually becomes his partner in Bellman & Black.
There was an undercurrent of a tense buildup to Black, and when he was finally revealed, I was just a little confused as I thought there was more to come. Figuring out who he was made sense although the buildup kind of fell flat. It was interesting to see William as he figured out who Black was.
I did like Dora's story line. She held herself high despite her health and it was nice to see that her future was in front of her. She seemed to have some good skills as an artist, but I was a little confused about her obsession with birds, especially seeing William's fear of them.
I did really like the various roles/tales of rooks that were talked about at various points throughout the book. It was all very interesting, especially when the mythology and lore got thrown in as well. Although, I have to say those were just a little more interesting than the rest of the book...There are numerous collective nouns for rooks
In exchange for my review, I received this book through an ARC giveaway held through Goodreads
From reading the back/inside cover summary, I thought that the enterprise was going to be a little more sinister. Instead, it was just something that wasn't really the most popular, even though it was needed. I'll admit it was a little menacing, but not macabre, the way it was alluded to in the summary.
The story opens on William Bellman who, in a moment of boyhood competition kills a rook resting on a branch. After a while, the event fades into the background and William moves on and up in the world. He takes over running of his family mill from his uncle, marries and has children. Sitting on top of the world, tragedy soon strikes William, taking friends and family alike. At each funeral, he sees a mysterious man in black who eventually becomes his partner in Bellman & Black.
There was an undercurrent of a tense buildup to Black, and when he was finally revealed, I was just a little confused as I thought there was more to come. Figuring out who he was made sense although the buildup kind of fell flat. It was interesting to see William as he figured out who Black was.
I did like Dora's story line. She held herself high despite her health and it was nice to see that her future was in front of her. She seemed to have some good skills as an artist, but I was a little confused about her obsession with birds, especially seeing William's fear of them.
I did really like the various roles/tales of rooks that were talked about at various points throughout the book. It was all very interesting, especially when the mythology and lore got thrown in as well. Although, I have to say those were just a little more interesting than the rest of the book...There are numerous collective nouns for rooks
In exchange for my review, I received this book through an ARC giveaway held through Goodreads