Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Every character loves hearing their own voice and was going on without getting to a point and I got very bored.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(Forewarning: As an impression of my thoughts, this review will likely be very rambling, so I apologise in advance!)
Like Bridget Collins's previous novel for adults, 'The Binding', 'The Betrayals' is beautifully written (seriously, the prose is exquisite!) but, to begin with, though I was enjoying it, I did wonder whether I would love it as much as 'The Binding'. But though I didn't, intially, race through it (this is not a book to rush through), the narrative exerts an undeniable pull, so that you're turning the pages with the increasing inevitability of water being drawn down a drain.
The world of the book is well drawn. The main "world" of Montverre is, of course, presented with more detail than the wider world, but what we do see/hear/intuit of it suggests a world autonomous from the main story, not flimsy (the story appears to be set in, or a world analogous to 1930s Europe, in an un-named country that appears to have a fair bit in common with pre-WW2 Germany: a severe economic depression has given way to prosperity, brought about by the ascendence of a ruling political party (only known throughout as "The Party") but with a censorious and oppressive stranglehold on cultural life, with growing religious intolerance and intolerance for "undesirables" in general.)
In publicity for the book, and in an author's note, Collins has stated that a lot of the inspiration for the book, particularly the 'game' the characters take part in - the "grand jeu" - from The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse. The nuts and bolts of the grand jeu, as it were, are deliberately elusive and obscure, so you never quite get a crystal clear picture of how it's all acted out. But I feel this is deliberate, because the game itself is about striving for beauty and perfection, a communion with the divine, the transcendental, or, at least something outside of ourselves (as isn't all art in some way?), a game that by its very nature you can't and will never "win", and because the story is less about the game itself than the relationships formed by shared creativity.
The main characters are compelling, even if I did frequently want to shake them (particularly Claire, for always seeming to assume the worst in everything all the bleeding time ^ ^' ). And although I've not read the book I'm about to mention, the relationship between them, & aspects of the story itself, strongly reminded me of the synopsis for Joanne Harris's Gentleman & Players.
'The Betrayals' is quite different from 'The Binding', though of course, being written by the same author, they do have motifs in common, (Collins seems to have a thing for setting libraries on fire, for example ;D), but it's just as good and deserves just as much praise!
Like Bridget Collins's previous novel for adults, 'The Binding', 'The Betrayals' is beautifully written (seriously, the prose is exquisite!) but, to begin with, though I was enjoying it, I did wonder whether I would love it as much as 'The Binding'. But though I didn't, intially, race through it (this is not a book to rush through), the narrative exerts an undeniable pull, so that you're turning the pages with the increasing inevitability of water being drawn down a drain.
The world of the book is well drawn. The main "world" of Montverre is, of course, presented with more detail than the wider world, but what we do see/hear/intuit of it suggests a world autonomous from the main story, not flimsy (the story appears to be set in, or a world analogous to 1930s Europe, in an un-named country that appears to have a fair bit in common with pre-WW2 Germany: a severe economic depression has given way to prosperity, brought about by the ascendence of a ruling political party (only known throughout as "The Party") but with a censorious and oppressive stranglehold on cultural life, with growing religious intolerance and intolerance for "undesirables" in general.)
In publicity for the book, and in an author's note, Collins has stated that a lot of the inspiration for the book, particularly the 'game' the characters take part in - the "grand jeu" - from The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse. The nuts and bolts of the grand jeu, as it were, are deliberately elusive and obscure, so you never quite get a crystal clear picture of how it's all acted out. But I feel this is deliberate, because the game itself is about striving for beauty and perfection, a communion with the divine, the transcendental, or, at least something outside of ourselves (as isn't all art in some way?), a game that by its very nature you can't and will never "win", and because the story is less about the game itself than the relationships formed by shared creativity.
The main characters are compelling, even if I did frequently want to shake them (particularly Claire, for always seeming to assume the worst in everything all the bleeding time ^ ^' ). And although I've not read the book I'm about to mention, the relationship between them, & aspects of the story itself, strongly reminded me of the synopsis for Joanne Harris's Gentleman & Players.
'The Betrayals' is quite different from 'The Binding', though of course, being written by the same author, they do have motifs in common, (Collins seems to have a thing for setting libraries on fire, for example ;D), but it's just as good and deserves just as much praise!
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really enjoyed this. The writing is excellent and has a good plot twist. Great backdrop of an authoritative facist society, with allusions to Weimar Republic Germany and the rise of Hitler with the foreground of school time rivalry. Don’t know why it’s in the “magical realism” genre as there’s no magic, but it is definitely dark academia vibes. Definitely would recommend to others!
First, I went into this book pretty blind—ironically the books keeps things pretty vague too, haha— and I'm not familiar with the author or her previous work. It was a "oh this sounds interesting and got the audiobook from the library.". Really loved the writing style and how that set the mysterious, obscure, vague, weird vibes of this book set in a seemingly familiar but undisclosed location in an unknown European county in some time period - fyi - you will still not fully understand aspects of the book or the world/alt-history after finishing it. The audiobook with different narrators for the different characters was well-done. All that being said, it is good to know going in that it is slooow paced and lots of description/time spent in character's thoughts. But I can see how it might have been done to good effect to create this tense narrative and dangerous environment leading up to some big reveals and events. I'm not sure if I can say if I liked this book or not, but it was very intriguing and interesting execution.
dark
emotional
mysterious
This book is gorgeously written and Collins makes such good use of the dual timeline to move the plot forward. Honestly I would've rated this much higher if the game had been explained a little bit more, I didn't quite understand what a grand jeux was meant to look like and that made me a lot less invested. The other shortcoming for me was that the Catholic oppression felt a little tone deaf in today's political and religious climate, and it also lead to a lot of religious and cultural inaccuracies within the book itself.
I can't read English -French books I don't know why, I just can't (the only exception is the three musketeers)
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This gave me Thirteenth Tale vibes in places.
The first quarter of the book, it was interesting, but I wasn't certain how I felt. The second quarter I was interested. The third quarter had a lot of movement. The last quarter was a rollercoaster. I'm not sure how I feel about the book overall, it might be one I think a lot about and grows in reflection.
The first quarter of the book, it was interesting, but I wasn't certain how I felt. The second quarter I was interested. The third quarter had a lot of movement. The last quarter was a rollercoaster. I'm not sure how I feel about the book overall, it might be one I think a lot about and grows in reflection.
slow-paced