Emmett Farmer is not allowed to be near a book. His parents forbids him and they only tell him that he’s been ill, but refused to tell what he’s done, and they send him to a binder named Seredith. At her house, Emmett finds out that he’s had a “binder fever” and that he’s a gifted binder.
To clear any confusion, in this world, book is not something to read, as what we’re used to. But it’s a tool to let you forget a specific memory of any bad event in your life. Bookbinders are seen as some kind of a doctor, a healer, and there are two types of bookbinders:
- Those who genuinely help people get rid of their bad memory.
- Those who have a commercial purposes with the books they have bound.
So, if your book is burnt, your bound, past memory will be remembered back.
The first act is about Emmett finding out about who he is. His parents send him to a binder.
The second act is about the relationship of Emmett with his sister, Alta and his parents, and also about the relationship of Lucian Darnay with his family and Emmett’s.
The third act is about Lucian Darnay who is on mission to find his book.
The first person I in the first two parts is Emmett Farmer, and in the third part, although it’s still about Emmett, the first person I is Lucian Darnay.
When I started reading it, I had a mixed feeling about the book as it would be my first fantasy book again after so many years of not reading any fantasy book. In fact, I still can count by hands how many fantasy books I’ve read last time:
- Blackwood Farm – Anne Rice
- The Interview with the Vampire – Anne Rice
- Wicked – Gregory Maguire
- The Amulet of Samarkand – Jonathan Stroud
- Harry Potter – The Order of Phoenix – J. K. Rowling
I had a mixed feeling because I knew I would be confused if it got too fantasy. I only get it visually and not in words. But I find this book to be more of a romance with a spark of fantasy. I love how beautifully Bridget Collins has written.
The synopsis, however, made me think that the book is about how Emmett binds people’s memory. Don’t expect it to be more fantasy. Although I don’t usually read fantasy nor romance, this book has drawn me into their world, I could feel how both Emmett and Lucian must have felt in the entire story.
This book is my first book of Bridget Collins, but it won’t be my last. I’ve enjoyed reading it from the start to finish.
