Death & Dying | Book Chatter

Bellman & Black
By Diane Setterfield
(Atria/Emily Bestler Books, Hardcover, 9781476711959, October 8, 2013, 224pp.)
*No Spoilers*

The Short of It:

Highly anticipated but absolutely NOT what it appears to be.

The Rest of It:

The Thirteenth Tale, published in 2006 was one of those sleeper success stories that you hear about. A quiet tale, well written and haunting with vivid imagery. It was a book to cozy up to and I loved it. I think I told everyone I knew about it and they all agreed that it was fabulous. We could not wait for her next book, but year after year passed and no word on whether she’d ever write another.

Enter, Bellman & Black.

The book officially comes out on October 8th but when I received the ARC, I literally jumped up and down and stroked the cover no less than three times. First, I received the e galley which was great, but then I received the gorgeous paperback and it took my breath away. Such a gorgeous cover. I couldn’t resist it. Who could? I dove right in.

As a young boy, William Bellman shoots and kills a young bird with his slingshot. This act comes back to haunt him as an adult as the image of the bird, falling to the ground, is replayed over and over in his mind. Not sure of its meaning, Bellman makes a conscious decision to push it out of his mind and forge ahead with business which is where his passions lie. At one point, he has it all, a loving wife and family, the success of his business and the promise of more good things to come.

But then, everything changes. What was once good, becomes tragic as Bellman slowly loses those around him. In a desperate attempt to save what he has, he makes a deal. One that cannot be reversed and has horrible consequences.

As a story, it’s ALL been done before. The parts about his business, funeral wear, were somewhat novel in nature, but Setterfield never explores the grief felt by the town as Bellman cashes in on the unfortunate death of others. His love for his daughter is a tad superficial and as a reader, we never get to know Dora all that well. Her role is to be the constant reminder of all that’s gone wrong and little else. Yawn.

With every page, I kept waiting for the ghost story to begin and when I hit those last thirty pages, I realized that it would never happen. Is it a ghost story? Technically, yes, but while you’re reading it you will argue that it’s not because it doesn’t feel like one. It’s not chilling, or haunting or suspenseful in any way. There is no real “setting” and if you read The Thirteenth Tale, you may recall how very atmospheric the writing was. Well, you won’t get that here no matter how hard you look for it.

I thought carefully about how to say this, but this book was a huge disappointment. Forget that I had high hopes for it. The blurbs that I saw early on really made me think this was a classic ghost story. I’ve since checked the blurbs again and now they seem much more on par with what it’s about, but still. If you are looking for a classic ghost story this fall, this is not it. However, I highly recommend her first book, The Thirteenth Tale as it still remains one of my faves to this day.

I am including this read as part of the RIP VIII challenge.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Benediction
By Kent Haruf
(Knopf, Hardcover, 9780307959881, Feb 2013, 272pp.)

The Short of It:

A large, yet quiet novel on life and death.

The Rest of It:

This is probably one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever written for this blog because this book was both huge (on many levels) but at the same time almost too quiet for me to even remark on.

The story takes place in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado. Dad Lewis is 77-years-old and has just been diagnosed with cancer. He hasn’t much time left, so his wife Mary is tasked with keeping him comfortable. On the surface, she handles this news the way any good wife would but when she faints from stress and ends up in the hospital for a few days, Dad Lewis is left to fend for himself. During this time, he is looked in on by the neighbor across the way and her young granddaughter. The girl, only 6-years-old is curious about him but also scared of someone as old at him. Especially someone who is dying. But Dad Lewis takes a liking to her. Perhaps it’s her wide-eyed innocence or that she reminds him of his own kids. Nevertheless, he welcomes her visits.

Once Mary is released from the hospital, their daughter Lorraine comes to help but the absence of the estranged son Frank, is felt by everyone, most notably Dad Lewis. Frank’s homosexuality proved to be too much for Dad Lewis to accept but as his days dwindle, Dad Lewis regrets his past actions, only to realize that it’s too late to do anything about them. His emotional pain is most evident during his quiet conversations with the young girl.

There are other players in this story but I was most interested in Dad Lewis and his immediate family. A man coming to terms with his own death is a pretty heavy topic. It’s both sad and enlightening, heartfelt but lonely. As a reader, it’s easy to get caught-up in the day-to-day aspects of pain management, the intake of food, etc. But in between the minutiae, is the fact that this man is spending his last hours appreciating what he has but also regretting what he lost. The loss of time is tragic and it leaves you with a heavy heart, to say the least.

I recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned their past actions. It’s definitely a book that will make you think and the writing, is at times, breathtakingly beautiful.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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