Bellman & Black

A Ghost Story

By: Diane Setterfield

Narrated by: Jack Davenport

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

As a boy, William Bellman commits one small, cruel act: killing a bird with his slingshot. Little does he know the unforeseen and terrible consequences of the deed, which is soon forgotten amidst the riot of boyhood games. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to be a man blessed by fortune - until tragedy strikes and the stranger in black comes. Then he starts to wonder if all his happiness is about to be eclipsed. Desperate to save the one precious thing he has left, William enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner, to found a decidedly macabre business.

And Bellman & Black is born.

©2013 Diane Setterfield (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

A 'Slow Burn' Gothic Tragedy

I loved Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale, and I was eager to devoir her next work. What Setterfield has produced here is, in my opinion, a work less enjoyable to read and yet similarly well worth reading.

Let me explain.

This is not a mystery in any sense, but rather a classic Gothic novel, working out its dark message with all the unflinching inevitability of works such as Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables. From the moment 11-year-old William Bellman pointlessly kills a young rook with his slingshot, the reader knows things will go badly for him. As he labors to build his adult life -- with loving wife, healthy children, and thriving business -- the reader realizes he will rise to heights only to fall. Not once was I surprised at what befell Bellman. That is not necessarily a criticism. We don't watch the proverbial train wreck because we think the tracks will mysteriously reroute themselves at the last minute; we watch the proverbial train wreck for the edifying and horrifying majesty of the collision.

For that matter, there is something hauntingly reassuring in the idea -- even as it damns all of us -- that actions, however small and thoughtless, have consequences.

Just as, in the proverbial train wreck, watching the long lead-up to the tragedy has a certain oppressive inevitability that frustrates and wears at the nerves, so too does the bulk of Bellman and Black. This is why, despite Setterfield's gorgeous prose, it is not an enjoyable read. Once the reader completes the work and gains a bit of distance, though, it comes into full focus.

Drawing from folklore and legend about rooks, Setterfield stresses thought and memory as the two most terrible costs of Bellman's childhood act of murder: for the last long portion of his life, Bellman thinks only of death as he painstakingly builds Bellman & Black's to be London's premiere mourning emporium; he loses all memory of the happy home he knew with his family and the satisfying work he accomplished at the mill. His daughter, his sole remaining tie to humanity, grows to adulthood without his attention or awareness.

Setterfield expertly twines the narrative around different aspects of the mysterious, wise, and vengeful rook, using the various collective nouns for the birds -- a parish of rooks, a clamor of rooks, an unkindness of rooks, a parliament of rooks, and ultimately a storytelling of rooks -- as both an underlying theme of and a commentary on various sections of the story. The chilling final note of the book, that we short-lived and fallible humans are an entertainment, puts Bellman and his fall in proper context from a rook's perspective.

I appreciate Setterfield's artistry in the organization and symbolic depth of her tale, as well as her admirable restraint in the supernatural aspects of the story. If you're looking to fall in love with charming characters or be caught up breathlessly in an unfolding mystery, look elsewhere. But for a sobering, bleak, and carefully crafted tale about the human condition written in the great Gothic tradition, you need look no further.

Jack Davenport provided a solid narration for this novel.

I'd read Diane Setterfield's grocery lists

Would you consider the audio edition of Bellman & Black to be better than the print version?

I think they're comparable. I'm one of those readers who can flip between the two media easily. In this particular case, I would say that between Jack Davenport's voice, and Diane Setterfield's writing, you really can't lose.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the way Setterfield tied the Rook in. After reading The Thirteenth Tale and now Bellman & Black, I'm confident that her next book will be worth reading. I do also love that she doesn't throw profanity and sex around as if they are the only way to write a good adult novel.

Ghosts and Rooks

I feel like I'm incapable of reviewing the story without blabbing spoilers left and right. And it's really too lovely to spoil. A modern Victorian, maybe? A little dark, a lot mysterious and a hopeful kind of sad.

What I can say with confidence is Jack Davenport's narration is flawless. He never bungles a line reading. The voices are appropriate, even when he goes cross-gender. And the narration passages are like warm molasses running over your ear. And I hope to the Powers That Be that Neil Gaiman snags him soon.

Beautifully written!

I loved following the sweeping arc of the main character's life.
The narrator was excellent.
I gave the story 4 stars only because I think fate judged our main character too harshly. I was on his side the entire story. I feel he did what he had to do to survive.
One minor lapse of judgement as a child should not condemn a person for all eternity.

Good book, fabulous performance

Any additional comments?

Jack Davenport has a smooth, deep, silky voice that is perfect for creating an air of menace and foreboding, which is perfect for this story. He does a first-rate job.

Not a ghost story.

I appreciate very much the beautiful style and story telling of this author, however, this fell way short of The Thirteenth Tale. I found it hard to focus on the underlying meaning and symbolism.

just incredibly fabulous

Diane Setterfield is now one of my favorite authors. each of her books is transporting and thought- provoking. She has such patience with the unfolding of the story- and I am riveted to every gorgeous word.

A different feel, but the same breathtaking writing style

With her powers of storytelling and description, I would read Diane Setterfield’s instructions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Bellman & Black is certainly a different feel from the intricately woven mysteries that are The Thirteenth Tale ( which will forever and always be my favorite book) & Once Upon a River, but that is hardly a bad thing. With her masterful storytelling, she is a credit to any genre she chooses to write. Just like Vida Winter’s Thirteen Tales of Change and desperation, Bellman & Black is a classic gothic tale told from a new and poignant perspective. (!!!Spoiler Warning!!!:) You do not simply read about William Bellman’s rise and fall, you live each triumph along side him and before you know it, have fallen into the same descent to obsession and isolation, only to come out of it as death himself points out what you have been missing. It makes you appreciate, all the more, what loss can do to a person. Thank you, Diane Setterfield, for another masterpiece!

huh?

Would you try another book from Diane Setterfield and/or Jack Davenport?

I loved the thirteenth tale so I probably will give the author one more try.

What could Diane Setterfield have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

this book tried too hard to be mysterious but the story was so bogged down with the minutia of bellman's daily life. halfway in I didn't care what happened to anybody.

What does Jack Davenport bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think he did a great job with a bad book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

boredom, apathy.

SADLY DISAPPOINTED

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I was so looking forward to this new release from Diane Setterfield as The Thirteenth Tale was so very good...but sadly this book was boring and predictable. I kept waiting to find out what "the point" was to this tale, but that's the problem, there isn't a point. It was dark, but without an interesting storyline. I kept falling asleep. After The Thirteenth Tale, I just could not make myself give up on the story, but I never felt the satisfaction that I understood what the story was about other then a sad and depressing tale of a man's sad and depressing life.

Would you ever listen to anything by Diane Setterfield again?

Yes, and I am hopeful that she'll thrill us with an intriguing and complex story such as she did with The Thirteenth Tale.

What about Jack Davenport’s performance did you like?

The highlight of the book! His voice was perfect for the character and that alone was the only thing that was done right.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The narrator