A review by mayas
The Binding by Bridget Collins

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars, rating TBC

Fuck, I don’t know what to think. I really loved this book, particularly at certain parts. I loved Emmett’s narrative voice. I loved how he noticed the little things like the way light passed through a window or the stitches on a quilt. I loved his character as a whole too. 

I loved the slow, gentleness of the first part, of his time apprenticing Seredith. The first ~30 pages felt like a Ghibli film, which was lovely.
I loved Seredith too and was very sad (and shocked!!) to see Emmett’s time with her end.


I enjoyed the second part too, I read most of it in one sitting and really struggled to put it down. I kept just wanting to read what happened next, when something specific would happen, etc.
And, at the end of it, my heart ached for Emmett and Lucian.


I enjoyed the third part too. But I didn’t love/connect with Lucian’s voice/pov. He did need to be the narrator of the third part. It made so much sense to the story. But idk,,, I missed Emmett’s voice and his thought processes. I wonder how much of me not connecting is the traumatised part of my brain trying to distance myself from Lucian’s experience though. 

And then the ending.
The lack of concrete ending felt like an unhappy one in some ways. I don’t think I really like uncertain endings in stories, I guess I never have. I remember, as a child, feeling upset and confused and unsatisfied when a film ended and I had to decide what it meant or happened next. But I want to remind myself that, at face value, it really was a happy ending. Right? (Please don’t answer this if you think otherwise.) I just hope everything works out for Emmett and Lucian; that they get away safely and have a fresh start. God, why was there a cliffhanger at the end!!!! :((((


It was interesting exploring how binding was used to exploit different people (especially women and the working class).
But I wish Lucian’s father was stopped and punished. He wasn’t. I guess it wasn’t that sort of story. And that’s okay. I’m just sad to see someone like that still be able to inflict such pain and exploit people like that. Horrible fucking man.


I also did feel a bit bored here and there but this was minimal.
I also thought Emmett really did bring on the rain but it seems it really was a coincidence.


Overall, this was a beautiful book. I loved it. My favourite parts were the slow gentleness in the first part, the language/writing, the romance (esp in Part 2), Emmett, and the concept of binding. I’m very happy I finally read this!!
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