Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield
OFF THE SHELF
“Bellman & Black” by Diane Setterfield
This month’s book was Bellman & Black a ghostly, gothic read written by Diane Setterfield.
When William Bellman was a ten-year-old child, in an act of bravado he killed a rook with his catapult. An act that he regretted, went on to forget, but was to impact on his future.
As he progressed to adulthood, William was blessed with increased good fortune, a successful career, a happy marriage with children. William began to experience a series of personal tragedies and at each funeral he attends, he sees a mysterious stranger in black, someone he thinks he should remember but can’t place.
This dark and atmospheric read was full of guilt and regret. William avoids dwelling on unpleasant memories and enters a bargain with the dark stranger whom he names Mr Black. William becomes gripped with building of a lucrative new business in the shape of an emporium selling everything needed to commemorate a loved one’s death. This connects William’s obsession with other’s death as a way of avoiding the mourning of his loved ones and evading the living of his own life.
As the author makes several references to rooks in myths and fables, William becomes increasingly unhinged and convinces himself that Mr Black was somehow related to the rook he killed years ago and that he was seeking revenge for this act.
Whether as a ghost or in the form of the grim reaper, Black eventually makes himself known to William who insists on paying Black his perceived debts. Black says that what he offered was an opportunity not a business partnership. The opportunity being thought and memory. Lost good and bad memories and the grief of his un-mourned loved ones’ deaths tortures William to his own death.
This was a beautifully written story based on memories and loss. Although many characters and events could have benefitted from further exploration and explanation from the author, most of us found it a good read. We gave the book a score of 8/10.