Close the book on suffering
Bridget Collins’ dazzling debut into adult fiction tells the story of Emmett Farmer, a young man whose bucolic life is interrupted by a mysterious and crippling illness. He is sent away from his family indefinitely when the bookbinder Seredith demands he be her apprentice. Seredith is an old crone, a witch, according to Emmett’s parents, yet they surrender their son to her for fear of what may happen if they refuse.
Collins, who has written seven acclaimed novels for young adults, has created a world in which bookbinding is a trade regarded with fear and suspicion, likened to black magic. As Seredith teaches Emmett the techniques of this ancient craft, he struggles to comprehend why books were forbidden to him growing up.
Yet there is an unshakable sense that Emmett is being kept in the dark and that the other characters know more than they let on. This builds throughout the book and draws the reader further and further into this fascinating tale, hungry for answers.
As Emmett is further initiated into this craft, he discovers the real function of bookbinding: the binding of a person’s painful experiences into a stunningly crafted custom-made book to erase traumatic memories.
People come to Seredith distressed and even hysterical, haunted by horror, heartbreak and tragedy. They seek to be relieved of their burdens by being “bound”, a mystical process that leaves them calm and somewhat vacant.
As trust grows between Emmett and Seredith, so does a mutual understanding, and Emmett begins to sympathise with her craft. However, we learn of other bookbinders, without Seredith’s values, and the danger of a book falling into the wrong hands.
The three parts of the book explore Emmett’s story, memories lost, and the mysterious yet familiar Lucian Darnay. Collins creates an absorbing and entirely believable world with rich complex characters and eloquent, lyrical descriptions.
The general tone is solemn but it is also a tale of forbidden and forgotten love in a dark, magical world. And though Collins has set this fable-like tale in an imaginary, distant past, she explores themes that are relevant today. The Binding is a book about books. It is as much about their magic as beautiful and finely crafted objects as the power of the words they contain.