Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Beyond Black
Beyond Black | Hilary Mantel
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
review
AnneCecilie
Beyond Black: A Novel | Hilary Mantel
post image
Pickpick

About a medium who has dead people talking to her and she can talk to them. This is more a curse than a blessing especially when it is people from her childhood that shows up. And there‘s a lot of unanswered questions about her past, like who is her dad, what harrowing her mother‘s friend, why where there always men coming and going at her mum‘s.

Dilara Oh I really liked this novel! 11mo
Ruthiella I loved this one! Definitely more a curse than a blessing! 11mo
57 likes2 comments
review
Maeve1
Beyond Black: A Novel | Hilary Mantel
post image
Pickpick

Audiobook - 10/10 👻
24th May 2023

blurb
Aimeesue
Beyond Black: A Novel | Hilary Mantel
post image

I like Mantel, but haven‘t read much outside of the Cromwell books. This one was highly recommended on the Backlisted podcast, which has led me to some excellent stuff, so I have high hopes. Perfect subject for the season.

vivastory I loved this one 5y
batsy I like that cover! I've been meaning to read more Mantel, too. This one and the one about the French Revolution are high on the list 5y
Tanisha_A Wolf Hall has been lying on my shelf since forever. I haven't read any Mantel! 😭 @batsy 5y
See All 9 Comments
batsy @Tanisha_A I've only read Wolf Hall so far, I think. It's a great big treat of a book that will be patiently waiting for you until the time is right 🙂 5y
Aimeesue @vivastory It's very good so far! 5y
Aimeesue @batsy I will say that this one is PEFECT for the run up to Halloween! 5y
Aimeesue @Tanisha_A She's very, very good! I hope you enjoy her books when you get to them! 5y
Ruthiella I loved this one. Sad and kinda creepy. 5y
Aimeesue @Ruthiella I can't even I angine living like that! I have enough people going through my head as it is. 5y
26 likes2 stack adds9 comments
blurb
TrishB
Beyond Black: A Novel | Hilary Mantel
post image

Lovely #litsybookmail thank you Cindy and Caroline 😘 they arrived after I‘d gone out yesterday and then I left my phone at my nieces last night and she‘s only just brought it back!
The books are great and I love all the goodies, beautiful book marks ❤️
Caroline - reviews just aren‘t the same without your comments 😁

Cinfhen Yay!! Glad it arrived xx 5y
Caroline2 Glad it arrived ok and be interesting to hear what you think of The Wife, it seems to be a bit of a love/hate, I liked it! 👍🏻 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen @Caroline2 will post reviews when get to of course ❤️ 5y
See All 8 Comments
Caroline2 @TrishB yeah no worries, no rush! 👍🏻 5y
Cinfhen I bailed on this one so I‘m curious what you‘ll think but of course, no rush 👉🏼 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen I thought I hadn‘t seen a review! Wasn‘t it a book club read? 5y
Cinfhen Yes and we all unanimously decided to bail!!!!! That‘s a bookclub first 😂😂 5y
TrishB @Cinfhen low ratings on Litsy, but quite high on amazon! 5y
103 likes1 stack add8 comments
review
Tonton
Beyond Black: A Novel | Hilary Mantel
post image
Pickpick

Beyond Black is a brilliant portrayal of a damaged psychic, Allison, who has a grubby petty criminal as her spirit guide. She works the suburban circuits outside of London, in gatherings at what in the US would be strip malls along highways, hotels, and pubs. The world is permeable; the dead are restless and the living as well. She takes on an assistant/manager who hopes to make money from a tell all book and begins to tape conversations.

Tonton The lives of modern psychics and their strange understanding of the real,the fake,and need to make a living while weathering psychological and physical repercussions is fascinating. Alison‘s childhood torments grow clearer, and the nightmarish reasons for why she does what she does are revealed. Bloody brilliant! (edited) 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook Sounds awesome. I really love Hilary Mantel's scope of writing. 6y
KateFulfordAuthor Great review 6y
38 likes4 stack adds3 comments
review
zsuzsanna_reads
Beyond Black: A Novel | Hilary Mantel
post image
Pickpick

A wonderfully written book. Brilliant commentary on contemporary British suburbia and small-minded people. But, oh my goodness, the last two chapters are dark. Lots of trigger warnings about childhood abuse. The ending, however, is as happy as it can be.

This is my #booked2019 #RelatedToPodcast read. I listened to an interview about the book on CBC's Writers and Company. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2178638241

Cinfhen I‘m not sure if I like when dark books end happy or when dark books stay dark 🧐😜Tagging my cohosts so we can track your posts for the quarterly drawing @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage 6y
alisiakae Hilary Mantel is one of those authors that has been languishing on my TBR for quite some time. Excellent review! 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I had such a struggle with her first Cromwell book (tagged at the end of my comment). Despite its darkness, this sounds like one I‘d try. (edited) 6y
zsuzsanna_reads @Cinfhen I think for this one the main character, the author and the reader all deserved a good ending! Now I'm doing #IrishAuthor with 6y
Cinfhen I just read Normal People!!!! It was good but not what I was expecting at all!!! I can‘t wait to hear your thoughts. 6y
54 likes1 stack add5 comments
review
Graywacke
Beyond Black: A Novel | Hilary Mantel
post image
Pickpick

The Backlisted podcast led me to this. It‘s both remarkable and extraordinarily difficult to push through. Mantel is writing about the soullessness of suburbia through the life of a medium who really can speak with the dead, but not really in a way anyone wants to hear. People come to her for meaning so she has to come up with it. Mantel is powerful and will drag you through this so you can feel it. Finished earlier this month (#reviewbacklog)

RaimeyGallant Sounds really interesting actually. 7y
Graywacke @RaimeyGallant it was both a really difficult book and one that left me wanting to read more Mantel. (Wolff Hall, which is really good in a different way, didn‘t do that). Just note, if you try it, she hits hard. So maybe be ready to push through a bit or start and stop and come back (which is what I did). Reviews are mixed...I think some readers find it just too negative. 7y
RaimeyGallant I like negative. I'm going to hold off for now though on adding it to my tbr. I have very specific reading goals right now, related to the book I'm finishing. 7y
See All 6 Comments
Graywacke 👍 7y
zsuzsanna_reads I have read that Mantel said we weren't meant to be sure Alison could really talk to spirits or was just imagining it, which is the impression I've been getting too before I read this comment. 6y
Graywacke @zsuzsanna_reads I was just thinking about this book, going over my year of reading. This was a highlight, a brutal one, but still. I think that Alison as a real medium is worth thinking about as much as not. But, regardless, enjoy! It‘s, I think, a bit of a masterpiece. 6y
13 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
dearelina
Beyond Black: A Novel | Hilary Mantel
Pickpick

A fun, dark read about the relationship between medium Alison and her no nonsense assistant Colette. The storytelling is evocative and atmospheric from the outset, there is a real sense of building suspense as we find out who these women truly are.