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Beyond Black: A Novel (John MacRae Books)
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780805073560
ISBN: 0805073566
Label: Henry Holt and Co.
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: May 09, 2005
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Release Date: April 14, 2005
Studio: Henry Holt and Co.
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Editorial Review:
Hailed as a "writer of subtlety and depth," Hilary Mantel turns her dark genius on the world of psychics in this smart, unsettling novel (Joyce Carol Oates)A paragon of efficiency, Colette took the next natural step after finishing secretarial school by marrying a man who would do just fine. After a sobering, do-it-yourself divorce, Colette is at a loss for what to do next. Convinced that she is due an out-of-hand, life-affirming revelation, she strays into the realm of psychics and clairvoyants, hungry for a whisper to set her off in the right direction. At a psychic fair in Windsor she meets the charismatic Alison.Alison, the daughter of a prostitute, beleaguered during her childhood by the pressures of her connection to the spiritual world, lives in a different kind of solitude. She cannot escape the dead who speak to her, least of all the constant presence of Morris, her low-life spiritual guide. An expansive presence onstage, Alison at once feels her bond with Colette, inviting her to join her on the road as her personal assistant and companion.Troubles spiral out of control when the pair moves to a suburban wasteland in what was once the English countryside and take up with a spirit guide and his drowned therapist. It is not long before Alison's connection to the place beyond black threatens to uproot their lives forever. This is Hilary Mantel at her finest- insightful, darkly comic, unorthodox, and thrilling to read.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Beyond Ennui
I wanted to like the book as it had a fascinating cover (the hardbound edition) and it seemed like an entoxicating plot. However, it was such work to finish the first three chapters that I started another book, which lead to five new ones. For a first-time Mantel read, I was underwhelmed at the prose in the book. It just didn't pull me in and the novel just seemed to drag. I tried to get through it again and still couldn't make it to the halfway point, so I just let it go. I didn't care about the ... Read More
Rating:  - Great book. Something to sink your teeth in
Hilary Mantel returns with her first novel for six years. The highly acclaimed author, in her tenth novel, Beyond Black, follows her memoir, Giving Up the Ghost. Set in the suburban dormitory towns around London's orbital motorway, the new novel follows a medium who makes her living by passing on the messages of the dead. Great book. Something to sink your teeth in!!
Rating:  - From the banal to the mundane - a quick overview of today's spiritualists
Well, I must say, after laughing my way through Mary Roach's wonderful "Spook," a non-fiction expose of early 20th century spiritualism, I was ready to give Hilary Mantel a try. I was certainly not disappointed. Mary Roach had me in stitches over cheesecloth nasal packing presenting itself as "ectoplasm." Mantel, on the other hand, gave me a spiritualist one could love, an overweight, insecure and tender-hearted medium who puts up with both worldly and supernatural nastiness until her own good ... Read More
Rating:  - A very challenginging read
I read Mantel`s "A Place of Greater Safety" a long time ago, and recall I found it a fabulous book. I remember it as a "conventional" historical novel, but one written with greater depth of characterization and tightness of plot than perhaps is usual. It suggested a very talented writer in the making
Beyond Black certainly showcases that talent. The book is incredibly well written and original. The prose is never beautiful, but it is biting in a way that befits the novel`s ambiance, setting ... Read More
Rating: - well written but not compelling
I have read a number of books by Mantel and admire her writing a great deal. She also writes wonderful book reviews for the London Review of Books. However I put Beyond Black down somewhere before the middle. While the unpleasant characters are portrayed with skill and and some sympathy, they remained essentially uninteresting -- small town psychics with small town ideas. The death of Princess Di thrown in didn't help the mix. I wanted something a little deeper or more exciting to wrap my mind around. ... Read More
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