#BookReview The Binding by Bridget Collins

About the Book

Imagine you could erase your grief. Imagine you could forget your pain. Imagine you could hide a secret. Forever.

Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a letter arrives summoning him to begin an apprenticeship. He will work for a bookbinder, a vocation that arouses fear, superstition and prejudice – but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse.

He will learn to hand-craft beautiful volumes, and within each he will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, he can help. If there’s something you need to erase, he can assist. Your past will be stored safely in a book and you will never remember your secret, however terrible.

In a vault under his mentor’s workshop, row upon row of books – and memories – are meticulously stored and recorded. Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of them has his name on it.

Format: Hardback (448 pages) Publisher: The Borough Press
Publication date: 10th January 2019 Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

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My Review

Although I’m not often drawn to books with a fantasy element, the inventive premise that unpleasant memories can be erased by being bound within the pages of a book kept me captivated for the first section of the story. The book is set in an undisclosed period that at times, with its talk of persecution of bookbinders, conjures up the feel of 17th century England and at other times seems set much later, perhaps in the 19th century. It didn’t really matter because both had a great sense of atmosphere.

I liked the way, in this imagined world, books are a not just a repository of memories but also become manifestations of power – as a means to erase evidence of abuse or crime, for example – or as a way to exercise control. They are also items of value, collected or traded by wealthy individuals. Playfully, in this world novels are regarded as ‘fake’. As one character observes, ‘They’re not real books. They’re written, like magazines. They’re not actual people, or actual memories. They’re invented.‘ Another character wonders who would write a novel: ‘People who enjoy imagining misery, I suppose. People who have no scruples about dishonesty. People who can spend days writing a long sad lie without going insane.’ Ironically, for some people bound books have become a source of titillation with readers meeting in secret to consume the dreadful experiences of others. Some are even copied and openly traded.

All this was brilliant but I confess as the plot became more of a romance – and a young adult romance at that – with a bit of mystery thrown in, I began to lose interest especially as this is a long book and events move quite slowly.

The Binding is a dark story in places with scenes that may be upsetting for some readers. I liked that it ended on a hopeful note even if I wasn’t completely engaged by the romantic storyline. However, the author is clearly a great storyteller and there are some brilliantly eccentric secondary characters who introduce elements of menace, magic or humour to the storyline.

I received a digital review copy courtesy of The Borough Press via NetGalley.

In three words: Imaginative, atmospheric, romantic

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About the Author

Bridget Collins trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art after reading English at King’s College, Cambridge. She is the author of seven acclaimed books for young adults and has had two plays produced, one at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Binding is her first adult novel. (Photo: Goodreads author page)

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