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burtini 's review for:
The Betrayals
by Bridget Collins
I wasn’t a huge fan of The Binding but the design of this book seduced me and I wanted to give the author another crack, thinking maybe I missed something with that book because it was so popular and just missed me. Unfortunately I didn’t love The Betrayals either and I could have easily DNFed the book if I didn’t need to review it for NetGalley. This book is all about the Grand Jeu, an archaic, traditional game at Monterrey that will never be explained to you as a reader, despite being constantly referred to. As a reader this made me feel like I was on the outside of this book, peering in at something as opposed to being immersed in it. I even tried googling it, which isn’t a great start when you have a book in front of you already about it.
The book follows Léo Martin, a former student at Montverre and now a disgraced ex Minister of Culture, sent back to Montverre, and Claire Dryden, the (first female) Magister Ludi for the Grand Jeu. Claire has Léo’s diary from when he was a student, so the story goes back and forth from Léo’s school days where he must work with his rival Carfax in creating a joint Grand Jeu to present day where Claire must create this year’s Midsummer Game and Leo is still finding himself drawn into the corrupted politics of his Ministerial past.
Other than the vagueness of the Grand Jeu despite the pages talking about people planning theirs, my main issue with this book is that the characters are just awful, more specifically, Léo is awful,. I fully appreciate a protagonist doesn’t have to be likeable but this man, particularly reading as a woman, is just detestable and yet I never felt the book condemned his behaviour, making him almost the hero at times. As a student he is weak willed, a bully who cracks to pressure, hot headed, competitive and only steps up occasionally, the majority of his ‘good’ qualities are secret. As a grown man he isn’t much better, only an utter misogynist to boot. I get this is probably a key part of the character of ‘middle class white man in politics’ and yet a romantic storyline with Claire is pushed ahead. We have to read him referring to her as plain, “just a woman”, referring to her weakness and inferiority to him, him grabbing her to kiss her, him being rather repulsed by his attraction and thinking she should be grateful, he truly does not value or respect women so why did I have to read this ‘romance’?? It just enraged me. To add to this, Claire read his diary and saw, again, his thoughts and behaviour towards Carfax and yet it still continues?? Léo is made out to be an intelligent man and yet he consistently acts naive, immature and selfish throughout the book, he consistently makes mistakes and yet we keep getting told how clever he is. I genuinely wished nothing well for this character and only endured/tolerated his involvement in this book right to the end. Claire I liked more, she had more substance and fire to her. Carfax though is the heart to this book and really shows the talent Collins has a writer, his struggle and turmoil on the page is heartening, he’s fascinating, loveable and you so badly wish him well.
Another thing I didn’t really understand was the persecution element of this story, throughout this book we understand Christians are being persecuted, the government is corrupt and hateful and has started to condemn Christians, capturing them and taking them away and forbidding them from education. And yet, religion is also referred to during the classes and the Grand Jeu, the religion itself there not explained. Similarly there is a character called The Rat, a mysterious girl who hides in the shadows of the school, and you start to learn her story. While it helps add to the misogyny of the school, it doesn’t feel explored enough, as does mental illness/suicide also referred to.
Collins is an excellent writer, the atmosphere of the school is captured brilliantly, and her style is brilliant, I just didn’t enjoy this, in fact it made me regularly angry and I need to stop being seduced by beautiful covers.
The book follows Léo Martin, a former student at Montverre and now a disgraced ex Minister of Culture, sent back to Montverre, and Claire Dryden, the (first female) Magister Ludi for the Grand Jeu. Claire has Léo’s diary from when he was a student, so the story goes back and forth from Léo’s school days where he must work with his rival Carfax in creating a joint Grand Jeu to present day where Claire must create this year’s Midsummer Game and Leo is still finding himself drawn into the corrupted politics of his Ministerial past.
Other than the vagueness of the Grand Jeu despite the pages talking about people planning theirs, my main issue with this book is that the characters are just awful, more specifically, Léo is awful,. I fully appreciate a protagonist doesn’t have to be likeable but this man, particularly reading as a woman, is just detestable and yet I never felt the book condemned his behaviour, making him almost the hero at times. As a student he is weak willed, a bully who cracks to pressure, hot headed, competitive and only steps up occasionally, the majority of his ‘good’ qualities are secret. As a grown man he isn’t much better, only an utter misogynist to boot. I get this is probably a key part of the character of ‘middle class white man in politics’ and yet a romantic storyline with Claire is pushed ahead. We have to read him referring to her as plain, “just a woman”, referring to her weakness and inferiority to him, him grabbing her to kiss her, him being rather repulsed by his attraction and thinking she should be grateful, he truly does not value or respect women so why did I have to read this ‘romance’?? It just enraged me. To add to this, Claire read his diary and saw, again, his thoughts and behaviour towards Carfax and yet it still continues?? Léo is made out to be an intelligent man and yet he consistently acts naive, immature and selfish throughout the book, he consistently makes mistakes and yet we keep getting told how clever he is. I genuinely wished nothing well for this character and only endured/tolerated his involvement in this book right to the end. Claire I liked more, she had more substance and fire to her. Carfax though is the heart to this book and really shows the talent Collins has a writer, his struggle and turmoil on the page is heartening, he’s fascinating, loveable and you so badly wish him well.
Another thing I didn’t really understand was the persecution element of this story, throughout this book we understand Christians are being persecuted, the government is corrupt and hateful and has started to condemn Christians, capturing them and taking them away and forbidding them from education. And yet, religion is also referred to during the classes and the Grand Jeu, the religion itself there not explained. Similarly there is a character called The Rat, a mysterious girl who hides in the shadows of the school, and you start to learn her story. While it helps add to the misogyny of the school, it doesn’t feel explored enough, as does mental illness/suicide also referred to.
Collins is an excellent writer, the atmosphere of the school is captured brilliantly, and her style is brilliant, I just didn’t enjoy this, in fact it made me regularly angry and I need to stop being seduced by beautiful covers.