Book Review: "Bellman & Black" by Diane Setterfield

The blurb on the back of Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield hints at a debt to be paid for a thoughtless act. One summer, four boys were witness to a rare perfect moment in time: an impossibly far target, a slingshot, and the arc of just the right stone as it sailed through the air. A rook fell from a tree, dead, and the fate of all four boys was decided. But something special awaited William Bell, the boy who had killed the rook.

William, despite immensely humble beginnings, becomes the most prosperous man in his small town, taking over the mill and settling down to have a family. Meanwhile, the other boys who were with him on that long-ago day in the woods struggle and die. Bellman can't escape his own misfortune forever, and when disaster threatens to take away everything that he loves, he makes a dubious deal with one Mr. Black, a mysterious man known only to Bellman. His luck turns again, and he embarks upon another endeavor that will make him even more successful. But the deal he can't quite remember, the one he made with Mr. Black, haunts him and could be the very thing to finally bring about his downfall.

While the blurb and publicity made Bellman & Black sound like a ghost story or a tale of supernatural dealings, that's not what this novel felt like when I actually read it. It was more like a cross between a slice-of-life historical novel and a suspenseful Poe-inspired classic horror story. Bellman's shift in focus from family to business, his obsession with paying back a debt he can neither remember nor define to a man he can't remember, transforms him completely. But this book was much more psychological than fantastical, which in this case made for some slow reading.

From a writing perspective I understand why Sutterman took so much time describing in detail everything wonderful that happens to Bellman, the fruits of his immense capacity for industry. But the buildup to the fate that ultimately awaits Bellman is so slow that sometimes it seems to have stopped completely. While the writing itself is elegant and distinctive, and the relationships that Bellman does - or doesn't - form with other characters helped to emphasize his downward spiral, this was not a particularly gripping novel.

If you enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell or other books that sacrifice intensity for a wonderful subtlety of both story and language, pick up a copy of Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield at your local independent bookstore. It's available right now.