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joa8 's review for:
The Binding
by Bridget Collins
This book resembles the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as an idea, although they are quite distinct. The movie was about erasing past relationships that caused you pain. This book seems to contemplate when it is appropriate to erase memories from someone's mind by bindingt them into books. On the one hand, I'd say the proper, old binders insisted that it should only happen once in a person's life and that the books can never be sold. The new binders though have made a business out of it. They bind whatever and whomever for the right price. They sell books. But even though it's made clear that they cannot bind without consent, what is not foreseen is that once someone is bound they cannot remember from whom they should protect themselves. Thus, abusers make their victims ask for their memories to be bound (because who wouldn't want to forget trauma) and then it happens again and again and again. So lesson number one from the book: memory no matter how traumatic protects you in a way.
Nevertheless, no matter how interesting this idea for a book is, it is very obvious from the very beginning. The problem though is not that it is obvious, but that it is obvious to the reader, yet the main character is oblivious. And it is a little bit tiring to know what the character is trying to find out for 120 pages or so.
Yet it is worth it.
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
Once a book is burned, the memories return violently to its owner. That happens to Emmet (the main character) and all the middle chapters of the book are very well written, heartwarming, vibrant and also interesting as you try to guess why he would have all those memories erased. The reason is a good one. Anything else and it would be disappointing.
The third part of the book also keeps you wanting to read. There is a change of narrator which is successfully done, although Lucian (the character whose mind we visit) did not have as good a reason as Emmet to erase his memories that he ends up incessantly searching for. Nevertheless, he has a more vulnerable character than Emmet (as he has been psychologically abused/betrayed by figures that should only provide safety) so his choice for binding is well explained through his character even if I didn't like it. Again SPOILER ALERT! he gets his memories back and they quite possibly live happily ever after. A heart-wrenching ending might have been more satisfying if you like crying at the end of books, but I accept this happier ending.
I really loved the last two thirds of this book. It's worth reading. Lucian is a well fleshed out character. His background navigates all of his decisions. Emmet is more stable and angry and thus has more control of himself generally, but when his illness gets to him he doesn't seem as annoyed as he should have by it. It should have been maddening for a strong person to lose their physical and psychological strength. But again, these are minor comments. Good book! Recommend!
Nevertheless, no matter how interesting this idea for a book is, it is very obvious from the very beginning. The problem though is not that it is obvious, but that it is obvious to the reader, yet the main character is oblivious. And it is a little bit tiring to know what the character is trying to find out for 120 pages or so.
Yet it is worth it.
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
Once a book is burned, the memories return violently to its owner. That happens to Emmet (the main character) and all the middle chapters of the book are very well written, heartwarming, vibrant and also interesting as you try to guess why he would have all those memories erased. The reason is a good one. Anything else and it would be disappointing.
The third part of the book also keeps you wanting to read. There is a change of narrator which is successfully done, although Lucian (the character whose mind we visit) did not have as good a reason as Emmet to erase his memories that he ends up incessantly searching for. Nevertheless, he has a more vulnerable character than Emmet (as he has been psychologically abused/betrayed by figures that should only provide safety) so his choice for binding is well explained through his character even if I didn't like it. Again SPOILER ALERT! he gets his memories back and they quite possibly live happily ever after. A heart-wrenching ending might have been more satisfying if you like crying at the end of books, but I accept this happier ending.
I really loved the last two thirds of this book. It's worth reading. Lucian is a well fleshed out character. His background navigates all of his decisions. Emmet is more stable and angry and thus has more control of himself generally, but when his illness gets to him he doesn't seem as annoyed as he should have by it. It should have been maddening for a strong person to lose their physical and psychological strength. But again, these are minor comments. Good book! Recommend!