Hilary Mantel

Alison Hart, a medium by trade, tours London with her sidekick, Colette. Behind this persona, Alison Hart is trying to conceal a secret…

Beyond Black

Deepika Ramesh

My first Mantel held me in prolonged suffering. It was so dark — the reviews call it funny but I don’t remember laughing even once while reading the book, let alone smiling — that steering myself back to the book needed a lot of energy and courage. 

This year, I found in my heart the grace and generosity to drop books if I can’t focus or if they create a vortex of anxiety in my stomach. Beyond Black is of the second type but I couldn’t abandon because looking away didn’t seem like a choice. The impulse to keep going was wordless. 

There were spirits on all the pages — good, nasty, lost, depressed. . . And then there was Alison Hart, her empathy that embraced all the spirits, even the ones which wronged her, but it had no room for herself. And then there were women, looking out for each other, doling out comforting platitudes. And then men, revelling in acts of abuse even on the other side. Alison needed love; she needed to be told that her powers helped people heal. And that her big body was just that; it didn’t deserve to be shamed. 

I was wrong. I smiled a little when the book ended because Alison was told by someone that she was a good girl. Several hours later, I think of that passage again, and the darkness recedes a little bit. 🖤

Beyond Black

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