The Betrayals

Author: Bridget Collins
Published: 2020
Target Audience: Adults (appropriate ages 16+)

Tonight the moonlight makes the floor of the Great Hall into a game board...

Léo Martin is in disgrace. A rising politician, he has been forced to resign after accidentally speaking out against a powerful Party member. Léo is ordered to 'retire' to his old school of Montvarre - an exclusive institution dedicated to studying the mystic art of grand jeu. Here, he must contend with the memories of his time as a student at Montvarre, and the secrets and shame that he has fought hard to leave behind.

Léo has built his life on lies, but he is not the only one. Magister Claire Dryden, the first and only female scholar permitted at the institution, is hiding secrets of her own, and will do whatever she can to keep it that way. As the highly anticipated Midsummer Game, the climax of the year, draws closer and the country teeters on the precipice of political upheaval, one question demands an answer: What really happened at Montvarre ten years ago?

Excerpt:

The road up the mountain is as steep and bumpy as he remembered. A tune goes round and round in his head, almost but not quite keeping time with the potholes. The Bridges of Königsberg, again...

The tune pauses, and resumes with a new venom. Léo stays where he is. In a moment he'll turn and smile at the gatekeeper, allow one of the servants to take him to his quarters, show himself to be charming and humble and achingly enthusiastic about the grand jeu. But this is his last moment of freedom, and he wants to make it last.

Then he realises why, out of all the games in the world, it's the Bridges of Königsberg that's got stuck in his head. It's not only his subconscious making him a snide present of a game he's always despised. It's because of the theme of the game: the impossible problem, the way it brings you back to the same bridges over and over, the way you never escape.

Review:

Bridget Collins' 2020 novel 'The Betrayals' is a story about the lies people live, and the regrets and consequences of their deceptions. From white lies and small capitulations, to self-inflicted falsehoods rendered inescapable over time, until the intrusion of external forces necessitate change. 'The Betrayals' blends the past and present-day perspectives of Leò Martin, Magister Claire Dryden, and a young girl known as the Rat to allude to events that happened at Montvarre ten years ago. It examines how the fallout of these events have shaped them into the people they are today, all set against a backdrop of increasingly fascist government policies fueling social and political unrest both across the country and within the school. As previously demonstrated in her debut novel 'The Binding', Collins excels at creating fully-realised, believable worlds and revealing them through fascinating character-driven stories. With each new hint of past deeds and present conflicts, Collins expertly shapes an enthralling mystery that asks, at what point is a game no longer a game, where idealism becomes dictatorship, and personal truth becomes indeterminable to the individual?

'The Betrayals' is a beautifully written story, but it does possess a particular characteristic that makes it a difficult book to review, and which may influence an individual's reading experience. This curious, yet crucial, aspect is that this book does not initially appear to have a clear, definable plot. Instead, the story's appeal is rooted in the mystery of a strange setting and personal misfortune, drawing readers into a tale of characters at a crossroads in their lives: Leò, who is in political disgrace and risks being ‘disappeared’ if he leaves Montvarre; Claire, whose livelihood is being threatened by an increasingly controlling government; and the Rat, a girl who will soon grow to big to remain hidden in her sanctuary of darkness and crawlspaces. Through a combination of flashbacks, diary entries, and present-day conversations, the past secrets and tragedies of Montvarre binding these three will be revealed, forcing them to choose their paths forward into the tenuous future. It is an intricate, slow building, character-driven mystery, of which the reader's enjoyment will be dependent on their willingness to engage with plot progression doled out in subtle hints, indirect worldbuilding, and even the abstract nature of the grand jeu game itself. This narrative approach will captivate and delight many readers, yet may leave those who prefer more straight-forward tangible plots frustrated, bored, or dissatisfied.

If this storytelling style appeals to you, then I absolutely recommend you give it a read. Bridget Collin's 'The Betrayals' is a magnificently crafted book populated by intriguing characters, enchantingly descriptive prose, and fascinating twists that will leave you wanting more long after the book has ended.