What do readers think of Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield? Write your own review.

I was so looking forward to reading Setterfield's second novel, a long time in coming. But I'm sad to say it did not, for me, create that totally wonderful envelopment that happened when I read her first novel. The eerie foretelling of William Bellman's daunting future in the prologue grabbed me right off, but as I read on, and on, that grip steadily loosened its hold. I still respect Setterfield as a fine writer and one able to create strong atmospheric historical settings. And I found her "&" interludes on rooks sprinkled throughout the book delightful. But I never could forge a connection to Will Bellman and I confess I forced myself to finish her second book.

I still grant it 3 stars - for the writing, the gothic atmosphere and historical color. And I still have a niggling feeling that perhaps I overlooked the real core of this novel and maybe I will read it again.

The book is written with well-chosen words and descriptive passages evoking the industrial age in England. However, these passages do not tell a ghost story as promised by the jacket and cover blurbs. Instead we get a story of a man haunted by an internal demon, the memory of an event from his childhood. I enjoyed the book because of the author's narrative skill and the time period. I left it though with the lingering impression that she had an interesting idea for a tale but tried too hard to force it into the gothic supernatural category while forgetting to include the actual supernatural element.

The story immediately drew me in... but about half-way through the book, it started to really falter in terms of character development and plot. The book was well written but very dark and lost steam about half-way through. I also wouldn't call it a ghost story. Liked this authors' previous work much better

I'm not sure I would recommend the book, although I enjoyed reading it, for the most part. I was somewhat disappointed in the second half of the book and its predictability. I like books that are descriptive and this one was.

Fans of historical fiction will be much more likely to enjoy Bellman and Black than a reader looking for a good ghost story. The story moves slowly through a man's life and his experiences of handling great tragedies in his life while still managing to be a highly successful businessman. There is the occasional facts about rooks thrown in and some dealings with a "Mr. Black" which attempt suspense, but, in my opinion, fail.

If you are looking for a ghost story, please skip this book as the ghost could be named "L'Arlesienne" rather than Black. But if you are looking for a book on the industrial revolution in 18th century England, this book is for you.
The story made me think of Zola's Ladies' Paradise but for the location (London instead or Paris).
After reading The thirteenth tale, I was expecting a gothic kind of story: big was my surprise as I finished the last page, I was still waiting for the ghost to appear.

I have not read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, but heard good things about it and was looking forward to reading Bellman & Black. Although B&B is described as "A Ghost Story" on the book cover and title page, I didn't really see it as one. For me, ghost stories should be somewhat haunting and maybe a bit terrifying--Bellman & Black was neither.
B&B takes place in mid-19th century England and is the tale of William Bellman. It begins with an incident in his childhood and pretty much ends at his death. Bellman is a driven man who has experienced more than his share of tragedy. His single-mindedness and acuity lead to his success and wealth as a businessman, but at the same time do not allow him to appreciate that success or any of the good things that he has. Instead, he expends all his energy to maintain and improve his success and is obsessed with a perceived debt that he owes his absent partner, Black.
Bellman & Black is very readable and Bellman's story interesting, but I came away a little disappointed. Bellman & Black is a ghost story only in the loosest sense but, beyond that and more importantly, Bellman is a tragic character who is never able to see the error of his ways.

I was pulled in right away by the storytelling nature of the voice, and the underlying eerie quality of the prose. But after the first chunk of the book, I wasn't as hooked by the story or the characters as I wanted to be. I kept reading because the writing itself was lovely and I was interested enough to see what was going to happen.