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Beyond Black (Paperback)

by Hilary Mantel (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £5.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Beyond Black + A Place of Greater Safety + Wolf Hall
Total RRP: £37.97
Price For All Three: £21.44

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  • This item: Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel

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  • Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

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Product details

  • Paperback: 480 pages
  • Publisher: HarperPerennial; paperback / softback edition (3 Oct 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007157762
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007157761
  • Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.8 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 10,983 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #6 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > M > Mantel, Hilary

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Product Description

Review

'As a piece of prose it's magnificent, but as a work of imagination it comes right out of the heart of the cold uncanny depths. It's one of the greatest ghost stories in the language, but it's far more than just a ghost story -- it's a novel of desperate truthfulness -- a majestic work, truly.' Philip Pullman 'Laceratingly observant, a masterpiece of wit, heavy with atmosphere. It is also gloriously insolent and slyly funny: full of robust, uncluttered prose and searing moments.' Independent 'Pins elusive middle England to the page in all its creepiness: a place blank and disconnected, yet fatally self-absorbing.' Rachel Cooke, Observer 'An elegant, atmospheric tale and a nuanced portrait full of ironies.' Tatler '"Beyond Black" is chilling, creepy and endlessly inventive.' Kate Saunders, The Times 'Hilary Mantel has done something extraordinary. She has taken the ethereal halfway house between heaven and hell, between the living and the dead and nailed it on the page.' Fay Weldon, Guardian 'A deep, disturbing, violently amusing and subversive work. It is Mantel's compassion for the ordinary people who live and die in such unlovely places that illuminates this dark book and creates its black lustre.' Ruth Scurr, Daily Telegraph

Independent

'Mantel critiques Blair’s Britain with delightfully hellish results...A clarion call to the living dead.’
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Beyond Black
48% buy the item featured on this page:
Beyond Black 3.4 out of 5 stars (52)
£5.49
A Place of Greater Safety
21% buy
A Place of Greater Safety 4.8 out of 5 stars (14)
£6.46
Wolf Hall
21% buy
Wolf Hall 3.9 out of 5 stars (207)
£9.49
Fludd
5% buy
Fludd 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£4.99
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Customer Reviews

52 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (14)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (9)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (52 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars I like a bit of pickled beetroot.. make a nice sandwich out of pickled beetroot. , 28 Sep 2006
By Mr. Shaun Kelly "theonlykel" (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I bought this book after much deliberation - All the papers loved it - but most of the reviews I read on this site were less than favourable. I decided to make my own mind up.

The plot of this book concerns Alison, a gifted but troubled psychic, with a horrific past - touring lacklustre psychic fairs on the ring road around London, offering comfort to the bereaved, passing on messages from the departed - All the while, coming to terms with her squalid, abusive upbringing and dreadful treatment at the hands of her prostitute mother and the squaddies and lowlifes who populated her early life and still torment her after their passing. Morris, her seedy spirit guide, is her departed link to the past she would rather forget.

Colette, her thorny assistant - plays a major part, sceptical and indifferent to her spectral tormentors - she grounds Alison firmly in reality with diets, timetables and a complete lack of sympathy. A host of sardonically characterised mediums and mystics give some comic relief and balance the intense horror of her childhood.

The key to this book is that it's not a thriller or a ghost story - its a beautifully written tale of facing up to your demons - alive or dead, Mantel writes with confidence and her prose is, at times, breathtaking. Her characters are well observed and she breathes life into the dead - Morris and his cronies are believable - horrible small time crooks, with nothing to talk about but the old days and why they can't get a good savaloy anymore. You also realise that the world that Alison inhabits is as dead as the one she can tap into.

My only criticism is a slightly slow 3rd quarter - that being said, once you read the last page, you will miss Alison - you might even miss Morris.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Creepy and inventive, 16 Sep 2007
By Wynne Kelly "Kellydoll" (Coventry, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
Alison is a medium who earns her living by taking part in psychic fairs along with a sundry group of other practitioners. She is overweight and outwardly confident but she is soon revealed to be surrounded by spirits of men from her childhood. These all seem to be malevolent and a sad, abusive and neglected childhood is gradually revealed. She is joined by Colette, a rational and controlling woman, and a love-hate relationship ensues.

The writing is terrific. Alison's past is shocking and the book is very dark in parts, contrasting sharply with the humour which is frequently "laugh out loud" funny. Even though the subject matter is not one that I would usually care for I found I was swept along by the narrative and in particular by the relationship between the two women and the other psychics.

It is creepy and inventive but not sure if I actually enjoyed it!
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Literature, 6 Sep 2006
By E. Buckley "Sadeyes57" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I really enjoyed this book as, unlike so many these days, it had depth and something to sink my teeth into. The reviews here are disappointing and I wanted to give another view. There were points during this book that were laugh out loud funny, as well as very, very sad. Alison is a wonderful character who struggles with what life has thrown at her. She is seeking to remember her past traumas and come to terms with her reality. Colette has hidden depths, but cannot find the heart to find out what they are. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-written and well-planned novel, not just to those who have a vested interest in the 'mystical.' Heart-warming and touching. I was truly sorry to leave Alison behind
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars tiresome..
I enjoyed the first few hundred pages of this book when the two characters meet and start their business relationship together. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Quim

5.0 out of 5 stars Mantel is Magic
This was my first *proper* Mantel book. Although not my favourite of hers (so far it's Vacant Possession), I found this book amazing, the writing breaks new ground and Mantel is... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ms. Moushka Dickens

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent value
As a member of a village book club sometimes we have to share our books or find copies ourselves at charity shops etc. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. J. Collins

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting
Alison Hart is a plump medium who can really contact the dead. Colette is a thin, hard-hearted woman whose dissatisfaction with her marriage to IT consultant, Gavin, leads to her... Read more
Published 3 months ago by quippe

5.0 out of 5 stars How come Keith got his bollocks cut off?
Alison is a medium - she has a spirit guide, Morris, and she is successful with a certain kind of audience. Read more
Published 4 months ago by E. Shaw

1.0 out of 5 stars Vile
I didn't enjoy this book one bit, although I did finish it. I didn't like the characters, and it was a horrible story - I felt very ill at ease after I finished it.
Published 6 months ago by Rosemary McKenzie

3.0 out of 5 stars Unsettling
I have just finished reading this for the book group. We recently read Mantel's "Wolf Hall" (which I didn't enjoy). I didn't enjoy this book either, but for different reasons. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lucia Tilling

3.0 out of 5 stars Great atmosphere and wit, atrocious plotting
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of thie book. A wise and witty approach not just to the "other side" but also to relationships between women. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Silver Moon Sailor

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant characters
I loved the character of Alison Hart; she is completely believable unlike some of the more sinister characters in this book. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Dot

3.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Black?
I found this book more grey than black - well written but, somehow, not particularly enjoyable and a bit dull. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mrs. J. K. Berry

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