The Betrayals - Bridget Collins

 

After absolutely loving The Binding I was so excited to get my hands on Collins’ second adult novel, The Betrayals. I pre-ordered the signed hardback edition (the edges of the pages are pink!) and definitely don’t regret it - the physical book is just stunning and a real keepsake. This one even has additional bonus material with a ‘deleted scene’ at the end, which is a nice extra touch. 

I have to be honest, although I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, I don’t think I loved it quite as much as The Binding. That isn’t to say it wasn’t great, though, and it is certainly unique. The novel is set at an elite school, Montverre, hidden away in the mountains, which admits only the smartest and most high-achieving students. Pupils are trained there for a mysterious contest called the ‘grand jeu’- a sort of dance which encompasses maths, music and philosophy as well as performance. The ancient tradition of the grand jeu remains elusive throughout the novel and is never entirely explained, rendering it all the more mysterious. 

Our protagonist, Léo Martin, was once a student at Montverre, and achieved the accolade of a gold medal (almost unheard of for second years) - but after a violent tragedy he lost his love for the art of grand jeu and ended up pursuing a career in politics. Ten years later, where our story begins, he returns to Montverre in exile with his political career in tatters. He finds the academy much changed and struggles to escape the ghosts that haunt him there. Once upon a time, Montverre only admitted males and employed exclusively male Magisters (Masters), but now a familiar-looking woman, Claire Dryden, has assumed the most prestigious role of Magister Ludi. Léo cannot figure out why he recognises this woman but she certainly knows a lot about him...

The novel is extremely cleverly written and the concept is unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s quite complex at times and requires concentration, but it’s worth the attention. Collins credits Hermann Hesse’s The Glass Bead Game as influence for the novel, so perhaps it would’ve helped to have prior knowledge of this before reading The Betrayals. Once you get used to the terminology this is an absorbing and gripping read, full of mystery and a sense of haunting. I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoyed Collins’ first adult novel!