The Binding

Product Information

Tracy Chevalier has compared Bridget Collins’s adult debut to a slice of dark chocolate cake and this is a very good comparison; in fact any dark, rich, dense confectionery (Gothic Literature’s food equivalent) is an apt comparison. Set in alternative nineteenth century, The Binding is a gorgeous love story – as steamy and as full of anguish and sweetness as any of the best Gothic Romances – and a meditation on memory. In a piece for the Foyles online blog, Collins states that one of the inspirations for The Binding was her time volunteering with the Samaritans: So what happened after this point that had me feeling disappointed in this book? In parts two and three, the relationship between Emmett and Lucian dominated the story. I felt this was detrimental to the story at large and to the premise it was built on. I enjoyed their relationship, but the details of it became repetitive and drawn out, and very little about bookbinding was explored outside of their lives. The morality and philosophy of bookbinding would have made for an interesting discussion among the characters who might question their world a little more and get the reader thinking along with them. Instead, I was a bystander in the story, able to sympathize with the characters, but not able to fully immerse myself in all that was happening after part one. I wanted to see more of that world and have the peripheral characters better developed such as Emmett’s sister who only had one thing on her mind. Villainous characters, likewise, were one dimensional. It was as if the author had used all her energy on Emmett and Lucian and had little left over for much else besides describing the environment around them. In this, the writing is highly descriptive and often poetic, which is both a compliment and a complaint. On the positive side, the author is an expressive and extremely observant person who details her story in beautiful and surprising ways. I also wish there had been more world-building. The existence of crusades in this Victorian setting is fascinating but not built on. Neither is the Binding trade, which is central to the novel. A slow start, but I'm so glad to have continued The Binding, as I ended up really enjoying the rest of the story! The readers perhaps twig before Emmett, but that might partly be because we have the benefit of the blurb to guide us. Visitors come to the house, meet with Seredith, then leave. When they arrive they’re fraught, distraught or tortured; when they leave they are glassy-eyed and blank, they seem hollow. Emmett is suspicious and unhappy – he remembers his father’s anger when he was caught with a book as a child, and he hears what the people say about binders. When Lucian Darnay appears at the door, for some reason he causes a relapse of Emmett’s illness. Lucian is bound, and Emmett expects to never see him again, as he comes to terms with his new life as a binder.

But while Seredith is an artisan, there are others of their kind, avaricious and amoral tradesman who use their talents for dark ends—and just as Emmett begins to settle into his new circumstances, he makes an astonishing discovery: one of the books has his name on it. Soon, everything he thought he understood about his life will be dramatically rewritten.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. Collins was born in 1981 in Kent, England. She earned a degree in English at King's College, Cambridge, then trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and started her first novel when she was not working. In a vault under his mentor’s workshop, row upon row of books – and memories – are meticulously stored and recorded. My reasons for focusing on this is because this romance is essentially the plot. The relationship between Lucian and Emmett is what drives the entire story. The first third of the book is just set up, positioning Emmett to be reunited with Lucian. Without it, the plot would instead perhaps focus on Emmett’s journey and development as a binder. That is mostly not in the book.

En «El Encuadernador» nos encontramos con Emmett Farmer, un joven granjero que es obligado a partir de su hogar para ser aprendiz de encuadernador, un oficio que teme. Muchos son los secretos y misterios que se ocultan detrás de esta profesión que nuestro protagonista desconoce y poco a poco irá descubriendo.⁣⁣ There’s a clever ambiguity surrounding the notions of good and evil in The Binding. Bridget Collins constantly plays with our first impressions and I was caught out several times. Nothing is ever as clear cut as it seems and one villain turns out to be truly hideous. If you are hoping for a gentle read, then be warned that this book contains extremely dark themes, particularly in the last third. But there’s incredible beauty too. The central romance is full of warmth and passion (and no I can’t say more about this!). It’s a shining light in a unforgiving, corrupt world. There are times in life we all go through painful things, things we wish hadn't happened, and which make us sad and anxious, or worse, to remember. What if you could have those memories removed? What if you could choose what you remember, to keep the good and get rid of the bad?But there are certain Binders who sell books, who treat the trade or its patients with zero respect. When Emmett sees a book with his name on, he wonders what secrets it holds. But the only way to unbind a person is to burn their book if you begin to tell someone their secret it can cause awful pain. Me ha resultado mágica la manera en la que a través de los ojos de Emmett conocemos los enigmas que hay detrás del oficio que deberá ejercer. El poder del ser humano y el sufrimiento que hay en la gran mayoría de ellos. Todos aquellos que están traumatizados o marcados tienen la opción de encuadernar en un libro sus recuerdos tormentosos de un pasado sombrío que necesitan olvidar. I loved this book. The way she writes about delicate details of even smallest sensations and surroundings is amazing. Also, it’s the first time a book’s meaning kindof shifts suddenly mid-book, which was actually very interesting (in this case from just a story of Emmet to suddenly a love-story).

Bridget Collins has written seven books for young adults and has had two plays produced, one at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This book is my life. I am stunned by how incredible the writing was, how incredible the characters were, how incredible the storyline is. The Binding is such a unique and interesting book, and as are the ideas that fuelled this book. A book about books, and what amazing books they are. Memories, captured and preserved and taken from a person forever. To be used for good or used for evil, this idea is stunning and I loved reading about it.

About the author:

La autora nos sorprende con algunas cosas que no esperas, y aunque hay ocasiones en las que la historia pierda un poco de intriga, Bridget Collins te deja con ganas de seguir devorando el libro. It was essentially a retelling of a well-known theme of initial aversion that becomes affection and eventually turns into love. I wasn’t surprised to discover later that Bridget Collins had previously focused on young adult fiction and The Binding is her first foray into adult fiction. I would happily have traded this romance in for more time in the company of Seredith, serene amid the russet and ochre- tiled workshop smelling of saffron and glue. Throughout the novel, one can’t help but feel that Emmett is trapped. Trapped and manipulated, frequently by those close to him. We too are kept in the dark for much of the story. Wisps of the truth tease us deeper into the book, as The Binding slowly unravels. I do not know if Bridget Collins intends to do a sequel to this. I am not sure it really needs one, or what would be a natural plot to follow it. The things I wanted to see more of were either expansion of the world, or just loose ends that I felt were left untidy. I will be interested to see how it fares in the world, and if Collins intends to spend any more time with Emmett and Lucian. I can’t say I would mind spending more time with them either, but otherwise I can easily imagine my own happy ending for them.