Talk about a book with some major hype. I feel like last year I was really reading some hyped books just to see what it was about. If We Were Villains is compared to the atmosphere of The Secret History. I didn’t love that one, so I had high hopes for this one! Keep reading this book review of If We Were Villains for my full thoughts.
Summary
Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail – for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.
As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
Review
With a classic frame narrative, If We Were Villains is entrenched in theater and this line between fiction and reality. If you like books where the characters aren’t sure if they’ve embodied the role they’re playing or not, this is for you. These characters are so engrossed in their roles, in the tragedies and dramas, the betrayals and death, they aren’t sure where the line ends. When the curtains close, who will be taking the final bow?
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
If We Were Villains explores the archetypes we play, the roles we always were, and the way they chafe. The fears which hold us back and what happens when we rip away that veneer. While I enjoyed If We Were Villains, I feel like if I knew more Shakespeare the experienced might be better? I’d be more familiar with the lines they reference and the plays. While If We Were Villain was different than I thought, it feels unfinished in certain places. I enjoyed it more than The Secret History, but there were a very wriggling worms of thoughts that haven’t been put to rest yet. I was engaged, but I almost wonder if not being a Shakespeare afficianodo meant I was missing out?
Find If We Were Villains on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.