Available Formats
Paperback
Published: 16th December 2019
Hardback, Large Print Edition
Published: 7th August 2019
Paperback, Borough edition
Published: 18th November 2024
The Binding
By (Author) Bridget Collins
HarperCollins Publishers
The Borough Press
18th November 2024
6th June 2024
Borough edition
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Metaphysical / philosophical fiction
Magical realism
Narrative theme: Identity / belonging
Narrative theme: Love and relationships
Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary
Paperback
496
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 35mm
420g
A NEW EDITION WITH EXTRA MATERIAL FROM THE AUTHOR
SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR
Spellbinding Guardian
'Utterly brilliant' Joanna Cannon
'A stirring, highly original piece of storytelling and world-making' Sunday Times
Imagine you could hide a secret. Forever.
Emmett Farmer is a binder's apprentice. His job is to hand-craft beautiful books and, within each, to capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory.
If you have something you want to forget, or a secret to hide, he can bind it and you will never have to remember the pain it caused.
In a vault under his mentor's workshop, row upon row of books and secrets are meticulously stored and recorded.
Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of the volumes has his name on it.
The Binding is a dark chocolate slice of cake with a surprising, satisfying seam of raspberry running through it. It is a rich, gothic entertainment that explores what books have trapped in them and reminds us of the power of storytelling. Spellbinding TRACY CHEVALIER
'A real treat gothic, imaginative and dark' THE TIMES
Truly spellbinding readers will sink gratefully into the pleasures of its pages Like a wonderful meal made from a few simple ingredients: the feeling in your chest when you hold someone in your arms for the first time; the sight of a host of bluebells. In recent years, the state of the world has threatened to make us forget the simple pleasures of kisses and bluebells and thick novels that tell stories of heartbreak. Here is a book to help us remember GUARDIAN
Intense, immersive A stirring, highly original piece of storytelling and world-making SUNDAY TIMES
With a twisting narrative that explores humans darkest moments and morals, Collins has created a fascinating fantasy world that evokes the atmosphere of Sarah Waters books with a nod to Philip Pullman. And, with a love story holding much of the storys emotion together, this is definitely a book youll want to lose yourself to for hours on end STYLIST
Part fantasy, part faux-history, part heart-in-your throat love story, its Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets The Miniaturist GRAZIA
More of an experience than a book, written with such grace and wisdom. Utterly brilliant JOANNA CANNON
Pure magic. The kind of immersive storytelling that makes you forget your own name. I wish I had written it ERIN KELLY
An original concept, beautifully written. Collins prose is spellbinding LAURA PURCELL
Bridget Collins trained as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art after reading English at King's College, Cambridge. She is the author of seven acclaimed books for young adults and has had two plays produced, one at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Binding is her first adult novel.