Review: Bellman & Black

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This fabulous story has all of the outfittings of A Christmas Carol with that long, dark Dickensian shadow of comeuppance. In Bellman & Black, Setterfield develops her protagonist, William Bellman, with eerie skill. You will want to forgive his shortcomings and you will admire his diligence in all things.

Bellman’s father is rich, but he dumps the newborn baby and his mother. Sadly, William and his mother are not accepted by his father’s family, so they struggle. Never a victim, William is a successful kid and a very capable one, too. At the beginning of the story, William kills a rook (a crow) from a great distance, with a sling shot which he had fashioned himself. It was a miraculous feat; his friends were stunned. It was a cringey moment but impressive nevertheless.

As the story unfolds, we watch William grow in his business ventures. His hard work produces great wealth; he is the Elon Musk of the mid-19th century! With feverish pitch, he studies and experiments and takes time to learn every single task of every single job – one cannot help but admire his pluck and his drive. But something begins to feel wrong about his stunning progress, when tragedy after personal tragedy do not seem to slow him down. And around every single corner, there is a darkness, a presence - usually a rook. And there is a man who appears at every funeral William attends. William attends MANY funerals; he loses everyone who is close to him except one child.

The reader has the singular belief that because William killed a rook when he was 10, William is being haunted. The reader also has the singular belief that the one daughter who does not die is spared because of this mysterious man who haunts the graves and because of a shady deal that Bellman made with this man, the details of which are very vague.

William has worked himself nigh unto death. He is possessed by work and thus ignores a great deal of what humanity and the world have to offer. He is very wealthy but doesn’t seem to enjoy his money much. It is hard not to have your mind travel to Ebinezer (although William is not stingy). And there is a Scrooge-like reckoning at the end, which I won’t detail except to say … it confused me and was the only weak part of the book.

This final disappointment can be likened to a long trip. The scenery and conversation along the way are truly beautiful and enjoyable, but you don’t end up in the place you thought you were going. Not such a big deal when the trip there was so solid.

Great story!

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