“We take memories and bind them. Whatever people can’t bear to remember. Whatever they can’t live with. We take those memories and put them where they can’t do any harm. That’s all books are.”
I picked this book up mainly because I had heard it compared to The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, which is my favorite book. That was probably my main mistake going in, because I just don’t think anything will ever actually live up to it. I should just reread The Starless Sea instead. This book also had a beautiful cover, and a really interesting premise. It reminded by a lot of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is one of my favorite movies.
In The Binding, we meet Emmett Farmer, but he isn’t the person he once was. Something has happened and he suffered from a mysterious illness, and is sent away from his home to be the apprentice to a book binder. Emmett thinks of this as punishment, but he soon learns that book binding is a skill only some people are born with, and he starts to learn the trade. In this alternative 19th century England, book binding is a seemingly magical art of binding peoples memories into books.
The story explores interesting ideas about the moral obligation that comes with power, and directly questions the meaning of identity and consent. The plot ends up being very different from what is expected, and it’s truly best to go in blind*.
One thing I loved about this book was the romance as the center, a beautiful queer relationship that is compelling and flawed. I don’t want to say too much about this at the risk of spoiling anything, but it really is the emotional center of the story.
This book did have some things that left me disappointed. The main issue was the world building. I was drawn in by the concept of magical book binding, but I was left with way more questions then answers about how it works. There is very little information given about what makes someone a binder, and the conflict of using the power for good vs. bad comes off as very binary and uncomplicated. Complicated histories between characters were hinted at, and I found myself wishing they were explored further.
Almost all of the secondary characters come off as one dimensional. They only exist to move along the plot for the main characters. Any villain introduced is never given any motives or reasoning. They all seem to be evil for the sake of it. Of course in the real world there are people who are just horrible, but they’re also people with way more to them.
At the end of the day, I still really enjoyed it and would recommend this book. It’s definitely a slower paced, and I wouldn’t expect to have every question answered by the end. The story on its own is still wonderful, and I enjoyed the small amount of time I got to spend with the characters.
*Content Warning: This is a very dark adult book. Warnings for mentions of rape, sexual assault, suicide, animal abuse.
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