The Binding by Bridget Collins

Star rating **** (four)

I have to admit, the cover of Bridget Collins’ The Binding is what initially persuaded me to purchase this novel. I remember seeing it all over Bookstagram last year and thinking how utterly breathtakingly the cover was. Of course, last year was a bad reading year for me so I didn’t really buy many books at all. So, when I saw this displayed so beautifully in my local Waterstones, I just had to pick it up.

As the UK’s bestselling debut novel in hardback for 2019, I was expecting great things from this book and it really didn’t disappoint.

The novel follows Emmett Farmer as he’s packed off to become a bookbinder’s apprentice. You see, he’s been sick. For months, he’s been seeing and hearing terrible things that no one else can and when his family receives a letter from a bookbinder, requesting him for an apprenticeship, he has no choice but to go.

Books aren’t what they are in our world; they’re dangerous. If you have something you want to forget—a secret, an event, or something so traumatic you can’t bear to think of it—then it can be bound into a book and you’ll no longer remember the pain it caused.

Life at Seredith’s workshop is interesting. He feels stronger and more like his old self. People from all walks of life come to have their memories bound, leaving lighter and more carefree than when they came. One man, in particular, stands out. Lucian Darnay’s face is hollow and he looks at Emmett with so much knowledge and familiarity that it makes his heart stutter. Though, like everyone else, he leaves with no memory of what caused him so much pain and Emmett is left to wonder who he could possibly be to have looked at him like that.

Then, one day, Emmett makes an astonishing discovery.

A book.

A book with his name on it.

Needless to say from my four star rating, I really enjoyed this novel. It’s a mixture of everything I look for in a good read; eloquent prose, endearing characters, historical fiction blended with fantasy.

The novel itself is split into three parts. In the first third, we learn about Emmett, the trade of bookbinding, and about those who seek to use it for their own gain.

The second details what I would call “the before”. What happened to Emmett that made him so ill? Why does Seredith’s workshop seem so familiar to him when he has never been there before? And what is enclosed within his book that he needed locking away forever?

The last part is different than the rest. There’s a point of view switch which I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about. There’s also not much I can really say about the latter third whilst keeping this review relatively spoiler free.

The synopsis of this novel is a little misleading. There’s so much more to the story than just Emmett’s journey as a bookbinder’s apprentice and, if I’m honest, there’s not a whole lot about bookbinding in the novel at all. This is one of the reasons I couldn’t give this novel the coveted five star rating. I have so many questions and would have loved to know more about the magic involved in binding oneself into the pages of a book. It’s also a romance novel which I didn’t get from the blurb. Not that I’m complaining because, y’know, I loved every second of it but it would have been nice to know what I was getting myself into.

I’d heard from other reviewers that the novel’s ending dragged and was disheartened to feel the same. I do feel like the last few chapters could have been condensed into something more concise.

Though, saying that, I still couldn’t bring myself to put it down and often found myself reading into the early hours which is a testament to how much I enjoyed it.

As I’ve mentioned, the prose of this novel are eloquent. You know me, the way a book is written is so important and Collins’ rich and vivid writing didn’t let me down.

Character wise, Emmett is a charming protagonist who can most definitely be a little dense at times but that’s what makes him so likeable. The mysterious Lucian Darnay is witty, snarky, and just a little bit infuriating and I loved getting to know him.

Overall, Collins truly deserves every word of praise that she’s received for The Binding. Her alternate world, where books are so much more than something just to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee, will stay with me for years to come.