The Binding

A Novel

De: Bridget Collins

Narrado por: Carl Prekopp

Proclaimed as “truly spellbinding,” a “great fable” that “functions as transporting romance” by the Guardian, the runaway #1 international bestseller arrives in America.

""A rich, gothic entertainment that explores what books have trapped inside them and reminds us of the power of storytelling. Spellbinding.” — TRACY CHEVALIER

Imagine you could erase grief.
Imagine you could remove pain.
Imagine you could hide the darkest, most horrifying secret.
Forever.

Young Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a strange letter arrives summoning him away from his family. He is to begin an apprenticeship as a Bookbinder—a vocation that arouses fear, superstition, and prejudice amongst their small community, but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse.

For as long as he can recall, Emmett has been drawn to books, even though they are strictly forbidden. Bookbinding is a sacred calling, Seredith informs her new apprentice, and he is a binder born. Under the old woman’s watchful eye, Emmett learns to hand-craft the elegant leather-bound volumes. Within each one they will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, a binder can help. If there’s something you need to erase, they can assist. Within the pages of the books they create, secrets are concealed and the past is locked away. In a vault under his mentor’s workshop rows upon rows of books are meticulously stored.

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.

An unforgettable novel of enchantment, mystery, memory, and forbidden love, The Binding is a beautiful homage to the allure and life-changing power of books—and a reminder to us all that knowledge can be its own kind of magic.

Satisfying if a little slow

Overall I liked this book for the well developed characters, the sense of mystery and classic ‘story tale’ motifs w/in a LGTBI framework. The love part of the story is quite lovely. However, the final third drags on interminably towards a forgone conclusion.

SpellBINDING!

I absolutely loved it! Captivated from beginning to end! If you're searching for a book to read or listen to, this is it!

Only a bit let down by the ending

Before that headline scares you away, let me assure you that it's not a tragic ending! (Though many tragic things do happen in this book)

First and foremost, let me just say that the performance of this was mind-blowing. Carl Prekopp is absolutely enchanting tp listen to and does an astounding job at performing different characters and truly acting out the parts. Absolutely amazing.

Next, the story itself is wonderful and kept me constantly drawn in and wanting to hear more, and for those wondering, yes, this book is within an LGBT framework, so if that is or isn't what you're looking for, then now you know! The criticisms I have, though, are two things in particular. The first is that not enough time is spent actually exploring the element of the world that the fantasy stems from, the binding, how it works, and the deeper framework of it.

The second ties in with my headline; so much in this book is left unresolved, and without spoiling too much, there are several awful individuals and events that never see comeuppance. I realize that this is somberly reflective of real life; the monsters often go unpunished while the victims are often forced to just keep running and hiding. But it's not the kind of thing I typically hope to get out of my book experiences, you know?


Now, to get a little further into spoilers (skip this paragraph if you wish to avoid): What are Emmet and Lucien going to do now? Why do we never get firm confirmation that Seredith must have been murdered? What of Lucien'a father and the monsters under his employ, murdering, raping, killing animals? We're meant to just be alright with the fact that no justice is coming to them, and Lucien and Emmet will likely be running from his father the rest of their lives? And this is to say nothing of Emmet's family and the hateful way they see him. These are the things about the ending that leave me unsatisfied. It's too much left unresolved and when I've been through as many depressing trials with these two characters as the book put me through, I'd hoped for at least a bit more than that.

Ultimately though, even with my misgivings, this book remains thoroughly incredible in my opinion, and I can 100% still recommend it if only for the performance alone. Would listen again.

slow at first

I really liked this book. I wasn't sure at first because it was slow in the beginning but it picked up after a while. There wasn't a huge amount of action building suspense but it had lots of interesting dynamics that were interesting to imagine between the characters.

Great Surprise

Really loved this book. Had no clue what I was getting into a welcomed surprise.