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neriine's review against another edition
1.0
Nothing about this narrative sat right with me at all.
[EDIT] In the months since I posted this tiny review, I've been going back and forth on whether I should elaborate. Well! I've decided that I'm finally going to.
I began feeling strange about the way this book was written at about the time when Claire started mentioning her womanly womanly ways and how she bleeeeeds like a woman because she's a woman and women bleed. It initially felt like a very heavy-handed method of highlighting her otherness. Useful, perhaps, in smaller doses, but the way this was written felt like being constantly smacked over the head with a hammer with the venus symbol painted on it.
Also, Bridget Collins, are you okay? Is this really your lived experience of menstruation? I would consider going to a doctor if so. This poor character must be anaemic by now! This is the kind of description of menstruation I would expect from somebody who has never experienced it nor had the wherewithal to ask anyone who has experienced it (or even just googled it!).
The whole plot of the book, also, gave me pause. Spoilers ahead!
When the pieces started to be put together, the image the reader has for a while is that Claire is the sister of Carfax, Léo's schooltime love. The ever-constant comparisons between Claire and Carfax in these scenes felt extremely uncomfortable on a first read through. It seemed very... odd, to have a bisexual protagonist fall for a female character on the basis that they heavily resemble their male sibling. I don't necessarily think that a plot with that premise is inherently an issue, but the way it was handled in this narrative left a bad taste in my mouth. It felt questionable.
Of course, though, the twist in the tale is that Claire IS actually the Carfax that Léo fell in love with, having disguised herself as her bipolar brother to attend his elite school. Thank you, by the way, Bridget Collins, for the delightful handling of a mentally ill barely-a-character who commits suicide to further his sister's personal angst-fest. A charming decision, honestly. Really sensitive.
The decision to have Claire BE Carfax sat very strangely with me. The way it was handled felt very off. The trope of 'woman disguises herself as a man to attend something she wouldn't be able to as a woman' is as old as time, and in this scenario felt extremely trite and uninspired. Perhaps if there had been any nuance whatsoever in regards to how the narrative interacted with gender, instead of the heavy-handed mess that we got, this plot line could have worked better.
Imagine my surprise (ha) when, on the hunch I picked up from the phrasing in this book, I checked Bridget Collins' 'following' page on Twitter, to find it rife with TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists). Of course, I am familiar with death of the author, and separating the art from the artist. Heaven knows, one learns enough about that reading classical literature. But can that be successful when the dogwhistles of gender essentialism and transgender exclusion have seeped through a work like a viscous, oily stain? I would argue not. Perhaps for some people it is possible to ignore the blatancy of this, but unfortunately for me it was the final damning nail in the coffin of a book that had already gone far beyond the limits of my taste.
It's a shame, as The Binding was a book with a fascinating premise, and the complexity of the plot in The Betrayals was still interesting to read, but there is unfortunately no way I will be considering reading any new Bridget Collins books in the future after this mess.
[EDIT] In the months since I posted this tiny review, I've been going back and forth on whether I should elaborate. Well! I've decided that I'm finally going to.
I began feeling strange about the way this book was written at about the time when Claire started mentioning her womanly womanly ways and how she bleeeeeds like a woman because she's a woman and women bleed. It initially felt like a very heavy-handed method of highlighting her otherness. Useful, perhaps, in smaller doses, but the way this was written felt like being constantly smacked over the head with a hammer with the venus symbol painted on it.
Also, Bridget Collins, are you okay? Is this really your lived experience of menstruation? I would consider going to a doctor if so. This poor character must be anaemic by now! This is the kind of description of menstruation I would expect from somebody who has never experienced it nor had the wherewithal to ask anyone who has experienced it (or even just googled it!).
The whole plot of the book, also, gave me pause. Spoilers ahead!
When the pieces started to be put together, the image the reader has for a while is that Claire is the sister of Carfax, Léo's schooltime love. The ever-constant comparisons between Claire and Carfax in these scenes felt extremely uncomfortable on a first read through. It seemed very... odd, to have a bisexual protagonist fall for a female character on the basis that they heavily resemble their male sibling. I don't necessarily think that a plot with that premise is inherently an issue, but the way it was handled in this narrative left a bad taste in my mouth. It felt questionable.
Of course, though, the twist in the tale is that Claire IS actually the Carfax that Léo fell in love with, having disguised herself as her bipolar brother to attend his elite school. Thank you, by the way, Bridget Collins, for the delightful handling of a mentally ill barely-a-character who commits suicide to further his sister's personal angst-fest. A charming decision, honestly. Really sensitive.
The decision to have Claire BE Carfax sat very strangely with me. The way it was handled felt very off. The trope of 'woman disguises herself as a man to attend something she wouldn't be able to as a woman' is as old as time, and in this scenario felt extremely trite and uninspired. Perhaps if there had been any nuance whatsoever in regards to how the narrative interacted with gender, instead of the heavy-handed mess that we got, this plot line could have worked better.
Imagine my surprise (ha) when, on the hunch I picked up from the phrasing in this book, I checked Bridget Collins' 'following' page on Twitter, to find it rife with TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists). Of course, I am familiar with death of the author, and separating the art from the artist. Heaven knows, one learns enough about that reading classical literature. But can that be successful when the dogwhistles of gender essentialism and transgender exclusion have seeped through a work like a viscous, oily stain? I would argue not. Perhaps for some people it is possible to ignore the blatancy of this, but unfortunately for me it was the final damning nail in the coffin of a book that had already gone far beyond the limits of my taste.
It's a shame, as The Binding was a book with a fascinating premise, and the complexity of the plot in The Betrayals was still interesting to read, but there is unfortunately no way I will be considering reading any new Bridget Collins books in the future after this mess.
marnieluna's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Really didn't vibe with the early holocaust imagery (It is just a weird literary technique that I don't agree with) and making the victims Christians. Also no explanation ever why The Party is so anti Christian.
There was a part in the book that just dragged and nearly made me DNF
Also what time frame is this book in, can't tell?
Also felt alienated by the whole talk of the Grand Jeu as wtf is it? I don't understand how it work so it makes no sense how you play it.
Really unsatisfying ending.
Also you can tell the writer is a TERF by the way she writes her female characters, that the female experience is limited to menstruation. And the bisexual portrayal is weird, you liked the male version of a sibling so sure you will like the female version.Surprise, they are the same character, way to invalidate bisexuality
There was a part in the book that just dragged and nearly made me DNF
Also what time frame is this book in, can't tell?
Also felt alienated by the whole talk of the Grand Jeu as wtf is it? I don't understand how it work so it makes no sense how you play it.
Really unsatisfying ending.
Also you can tell the writer is a TERF by the way she writes her female characters, that the female experience is limited to menstruation. And the bisexual portrayal is weird, you liked the male version of a sibling so sure you will like the female version.
jazdono's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I really enjoyed the writing style of this book, and I think the seemingly pensive nature of it is what kept me reading.
The story seemed to have promise—an overbearing government driven by an obsession of controlling the country’s “culture” and education could have led to some amazing societal commentary—and the whole time, I was excited to see what exact commentary was being made. Instead, it felt like the author was afraid to commit to a “moral of the story”, and at the end, this book was just a love story with vague world building and a clumsy attempt at discussing sexism, homophobia, and classism. At one point, I even had to pause to look up whether this was a Christian/ religious book (ie, propaganda) that I had accidentally selected, but then later in the book, it felt distinctly anti-religion.
The other subplots, especially “The Rat”, were painfully boring and underdeveloped, and the ending was especially disappointing, leaving everything feeling unresolved. It feels like the author had no idea where any of the plot was going aside from the love story, and this book wasn’t even a romance.
The story seemed to have promise—an overbearing government driven by an obsession of controlling the country’s “culture” and education could have led to some amazing societal commentary—and the whole time, I was excited to see what exact commentary was being made. Instead, it felt like the author was afraid to commit to a “moral of the story”, and at the end, this book was just a love story with vague world building and a clumsy attempt at discussing sexism, homophobia, and classism. At one point, I even had to pause to look up whether this was a Christian/ religious book (ie, propaganda) that I had accidentally selected, but then later in the book, it felt distinctly anti-religion.
The other subplots, especially “The Rat”, were painfully boring and underdeveloped, and the ending was especially disappointing, leaving everything feeling unresolved. It feels like the author had no idea where any of the plot was going aside from the love story, and this book wasn’t even a romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent and Classism
Minor: Homophobia
ecdereus's review against another edition
4.0
Een bijzonder verhaal dat zich afspeelt ergens in Europa, in 1926 en ca. 1936, hoofdzakelijk op Montverre, een in de bergen gelegen exclusieve kostschool in een kloosterachtige omgeving waar de meest intelligente en talentvolle jonge mannen door magisters worden onderwezen in het z.g. Grand Jeu, het nationale spel. Het Grand Jeu is een lastig te bevatten begrip, een soort compositie met elementen van muziek en beweging, maar ook wetenschap zoals wiskunde, filosofie en religieuze aspecten, en bevat persoonlijke gevoelens van de componist. Een uitgevoerd Grand Jeu kan toeschouwers/toehoorders een ervaring van goddelijke schoonheid laten beleven.
In 1926 is Léo Martin tweedejaars student op Montverre en wordt gekoppeld aan Aimé Carfax de Courcy voor een gezamenlijk te schrijven Grand Jeu-project. Carfax ligt niet goed binnen de groep en wordt voortdurend gepest. Ook Léo mag hem in eerste instantie niet, maar gedurende de samenwerking verandert dit...
Tien jaar later, bekleedt Léo een politieke functie als Minister van Cultuur, maar als hij zich uitspreekt tegen een in te voeren wetsvoorstel dat vervolging van christenen beoogt als uitvloeisel van het beleid van de premier en de politieke partij om tot "glorieuze welvaart, eenheid en zuiverheid" te komen, wordt hij verbannen naar Montverre "om daar het Grand Jeu verder te bestuderen". Op Montverre wordt de rol van Magister Ludi (meester van het spel) nu vervuld door Claire Dryden, de eerste vrouwelijke magister, en haar benoeming was nogal omstreden. Léo kent haar naam niet, maar ze doet hem in bepaalde opzichten sterk denken aan Carfax...
Er wordt heen en weer gesprongen in de tijd: naar 1926 via Léo's dagboekaantekeningen van destijds en terug naar het 'heden' via hoofdstukken die afwisselend over Léo en Claire gaan. Claire blijkt Léo beter te kennen dan zou mogen worden verondersteld...
In 1926 is Léo Martin tweedejaars student op Montverre en wordt gekoppeld aan Aimé Carfax de Courcy voor een gezamenlijk te schrijven Grand Jeu-project. Carfax ligt niet goed binnen de groep en wordt voortdurend gepest. Ook Léo mag hem in eerste instantie niet, maar gedurende de samenwerking verandert dit...
Tien jaar later, bekleedt Léo een politieke functie als Minister van Cultuur, maar als hij zich uitspreekt tegen een in te voeren wetsvoorstel dat vervolging van christenen beoogt als uitvloeisel van het beleid van de premier en de politieke partij om tot "glorieuze welvaart, eenheid en zuiverheid" te komen, wordt hij verbannen naar Montverre "om daar het Grand Jeu verder te bestuderen". Op Montverre wordt de rol van Magister Ludi (meester van het spel) nu vervuld door Claire Dryden, de eerste vrouwelijke magister, en haar benoeming was nogal omstreden. Léo kent haar naam niet, maar ze doet hem in bepaalde opzichten sterk denken aan Carfax...
Er wordt heen en weer gesprongen in de tijd: naar 1926 via Léo's dagboekaantekeningen van destijds en terug naar het 'heden' via hoofdstukken die afwisselend over Léo en Claire gaan. Claire blijkt Léo beter te kennen dan zou mogen worden verondersteld...
cecerachel's review against another edition
DNF, would give it 1⭐️
There were a lot of descriptions about 101 different plot points that were just not explained enough. Things are discussed but not thoroughly explained. I don’t know what the ‘party’ is, or the ‘grand jeu,’ or any of it, but it is described as if I should already know it—which I don’t, because it had never been explained to begin with. This just kept happening over and over, which left me very confused and bored at the same time.
Fourteen percent in, and I was still no closer to figuring out what the story was actually about.
There were a lot of descriptions about 101 different plot points that were just not explained enough. Things are discussed but not thoroughly explained. I don’t know what the ‘party’ is, or the ‘grand jeu,’ or any of it, but it is described as if I should already know it—which I don’t, because it had never been explained to begin with. This just kept happening over and over, which left me very confused and bored at the same time.
Fourteen percent in, and I was still no closer to figuring out what the story was actually about.
_courtneyyy's review against another edition
2.0
I have no idea what I read, but I literally couldn’t stop.
playertwo0o's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
2.5/5 - the book fell flat for me.
firstly, who exactly is the old man and what are the ideals of the ‘party’?? The ‘party’ name and the hating on religion sounded like communism but then there was something about banning that so im very confused as to what the government views are. Everything was quite abstract which did fit the context of the grand jeu, but I like a more concrete setting.
secondly, léo martin is a misogynist cow and being queer should not distract from that. his change up of his perception of claire before and after revealing she was infact carfax was inexplicable, and his stereotypical man thoughts about women was tiring. tbf that was a plot twist i was not expecting.
the whole hating on christianity thing confused me as well because the point of the grand jeu is to connect with the divine, is it not? so what is the divine in this case, what revelation are you meant to have with a grand jeu? my fav chapters were the old diary entries; i think the whole rat subplot was poorly executed and boring. one can only read about scared scuttling before it gets boring.
the grand jeu for me is logic woven into art that evokes such a response of admiration that you feel elevated.
sarahforster's review against another edition
4.0
I fell in love with Bridget Collins after reading The Binding and had been looking forward to The Betrayals since it was announced.
It did not quite live up to the standard of The Binding, that being said, I still loved it.
I loved the plot twists, the characters and the setting. There were 4 povs, I found each one interesting, but I was mainly interested in one of them and found myself reading some of the chapters just to get back to that story.
The entire novels revolve around the games, however, we never learn what the games are or how they are played. It is music and maths and that is all I know. I wish we were told more about them. I found it frustrating to read about something ALL THE TIME and not understand it. Considering the plots of 3 character's revolve around the games, it would have been nice to be told what it is. I assume Bridget knows what it is and planned in great detail how it worked. If not, then that would explain the lack of information.
After reading I was left with a sense of loss. I couldn't understand whether I was blown away by the novel, or disappointed.
It was a page-turner, I loved the characters and world, but I needed something else. I can only put that down to the absence of information about the games.
I would rate this book a 3 - 4 star book. I did enjoy reading, I couldn't put it down and I would recommend it to someone, but I just felt it lacked something that The Binding had.
It did not quite live up to the standard of The Binding, that being said, I still loved it.
I loved the plot twists, the characters and the setting. There were 4 povs, I found each one interesting, but I was mainly interested in one of them and found myself reading some of the chapters just to get back to that story.
The entire novels revolve around the games, however, we never learn what the games are or how they are played. It is music and maths and that is all I know. I wish we were told more about them. I found it frustrating to read about something ALL THE TIME and not understand it. Considering the plots of 3 character's revolve around the games, it would have been nice to be told what it is. I assume Bridget knows what it is and planned in great detail how it worked. If not, then that would explain the lack of information.
After reading I was left with a sense of loss. I couldn't understand whether I was blown away by the novel, or disappointed.
It was a page-turner, I loved the characters and world, but I needed something else. I can only put that down to the absence of information about the games.
I would rate this book a 3 - 4 star book. I did enjoy reading, I couldn't put it down and I would recommend it to someone, but I just felt it lacked something that The Binding had.
_aurelia_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Einerseits war das Buch total spannend und die Charaktere so interessant, besonders die Interaktionen zwischen Carfax und leo. Andererseits war ich zwischendurch auch sehr verwirrt. Das grand jeu hätte man ein bisschen besser erklären können.
Schade fande ich auch, dass die anfangs queere Geschichte am Ende doch nucht so queer war. Ich fand diese chemistry zwischen carfax und leo einfach besser. Ich hätte gefreut, wenn Claire eine nicht binäre person wäre und dey dann auch sich damit auseinandergesetzt hätten. Das würde in meinen Augen einfach mehr sinn machen. Aber die Atmosphäre und qeer angst, women going against the system, einfach wunderbar