An alternate reality, in a world where people’s painful and treacherous memories are contained in books, put there by Binders. Some choose, and some are forced, to wipe the slate clean.
Unable to keep up with his farm chores, Emmett Farmer is sent to the workshop to become a Binder’s apprentice. He spends months marbling, tooling and gilding desperate to find out what takes place in the locked room where the binder disappears with visitors. Then one day the lordly Lucian Darnay visits and Emmett feels drawn to him by some invisible connection.
When circumstances beyond his control, lead Emmett to the Darnay family home and finding a book with his name on it, he begins to unravel the story…
This book was recommended to me, and it wouldn’t normally be my first choice. Magical realism is not really a genre I go in for. However, I have seen the praise and rave reviews this book has received and decided to give it a go.
After only a few pages I was hooked, dragged into this world by beautifully crafted and immersive prose. A world where books are feared, and never read and Binder’s are thought of as witches.
The characters are so vividly real, endearing protagonists and detestable bad guys dealing devastating blows and thwarting the main characters at every turn. Every description paints a true picture of the surroundings, every sight and every smell was as clear to me as though was there.
I don’t want to give away a single part of the plot, but this book was not what I had expected at all. It made me laugh, but it also made me cry, huge shoulder shaking sobs. I highly recommend.
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