This was just one of those stunning books that will stay with me for a long time. I can’t explain in enough words just how much I adored reading this book, and I really didn’t want it to finish.
The Binding follows the story of Emmet Farmer as he becomes a binder’s apprentice and learns the trade of locking people’s memories away in books – meaning their minds get wiped and they can continue their lives as normal. Whilst living with the mysterious Seredith, Emmet meets a man called Lucian Darnay – and struggles to identify with the huge range of emotions and dreams he keeps having regarding him. The story then follows the incredibly complex relationship that envelopes Darnay and Emmet and we see the huge consequences for many other characters, simply as a result of Darnay and Emmet knowing each other.
I thought that the whole story of The Binding had such a unique and fresh quality to it and it was quite simply beautifully written. The book is written in three parts and I particularly loved the second part where we found out how Lucian and Darnay properly met – I raced through the third part as a result, and instantly wanted to go back at the end and read the first part of all over again with a fresh new perspective. The descriptions were so vivid that I could completely imagine this intricate world that Bridget Collins describes and I found myself becoming so absorbed in it. I thought the way that Lucian Darnay in particular was written was so clever, I went from immensely disliking him at the start to wanting nothing more than for him to be happy and live the life he wants. I think for me that was why I loved this book so much, I was really rooting for the two main characters and I found myself caring about them.
The genre of this book could be said to be historical fiction, and for a genre that I may not usually choose I just thought it was simply outstanding. A definite 5 stars for The Binding.
The Book Believer 