Beyond Black
 | This article possibly contains original research. (December 2016) |
 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | Hilary Mantel |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Gothic novel |
| Publisher | Fourth Estate (UK) Henry Holt and Co. (US) |
Publication date | 2005 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 384 pp |
| ISBN | 0-00-715775-4 |
| OCLC | 57382720 |
Beyond Black is a 2005 novel by English writer Hilary Mantel. It was shortlisted for the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction.[1][2]
Plot summary
[edit]The book's central character is a medium named Alison Hart who, along with her assistant/business partner/manager, Colette, takes her one-woman psychic show on the road, travelling to venues around the Home Counties, and providing her audience with a point of contact between this world and the next. On the surface, Alison seems like a happy-go-lucky woman, but this persona is only a mask she wears for her public. In truth, she is deeply traumatised by memories and ghosts from her childhood, and a knowledge that the afterlife is not the wonderful place her clients often perceive it to be. She spends much of the story trying to exorcise her demons, and by the end is ultimately able to overcome them.
Reception
[edit]It was generally well-received. On Metacritic, the book received a 75 out of 100 based on 18 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3] In Bookmarks Sep/Oct 2005 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a 
(3.5 out of 5) with the summary saying," A story that normalizes clairvoyance shouldn’t work this well, but it does". [4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Beyond Black | Hilary Mantel | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Mantel, Hilary (2005). Beyond Black. Harper Perennial. ISBN 9780007157761.
- ^ "Beyond Black". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "Beyond Black By Hilary Mantel". Bookmarks Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- Mantel, Hilary (2005). Beyond Black. Fourth Estate Press. ISBN 0-00-715775-4.
External links
[edit]- 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction
- Profile of Hilary Mantel in The New Yorker Archived 27 July 2005 at the Wayback Machine
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