*Book Review*
*Author- M. L Rio*Genre- Murder mystery, dark academia
*Rating- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Seven thespians of an elite and exclusive performing art school witness the unfolding of a real tragedy after subtle change of power amongst them. So would they face it like the gang they have always been or cracks would run deeper?
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"𝕱𝖔𝖗 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖔𝖓𝖊 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖉 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉𝖘 𝖆𝖘 𝖒𝖚𝖈𝖍 𝖆𝖘 𝕴 𝖉𝖎𝖉, 𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖆𝖒𝖆𝖟𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖍𝖔𝖜 𝖔𝖋𝖙𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖞 𝖋𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖊𝖉 𝖒𝖊."
These are my exact thoughts as well after I finished reading this novel. And I wished I had read more of Shakespeare's tragedies to get a better understanding of the exchanges taking place and the importance of the characters they are playing in the act .
Coming to the novel, Richard, James, Oliver, Alexander, Wren, Meredith and Filippa have been a bunch ever since they took admission at Dellecher Classical Conservatory. And a fine balance of power existed among them, in both reel and real life.
Richard being the stoic and sharp tragic hero with the voice and physicality.
James, the handsome and popular prince.
Alexander, the resident villain.
Meredith, the seductive siren.
Oliver, the loyal sidekick. Wren ,the girl next door and Filippa , the every job girl.
But in their final year Halloween play, a small change in casting where the side players get to play the hero for once, creates a domino effect that ends in a tragic death.
And along the way reveals secrets that were protected for a long time.
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"An actor feels everything twice".
Something that has been emphasized too many times throughout the novel. And looking at how the protagonist, Oliver and his friends perceive and react to situations, these couldn't be more true.
They mess up their own thoughts with they are pretending to be and in the end lose touch with reality.
Like, even in their regular conversations, these people quote Shakespeare throughout, which sounds extremely snobbish and pretentious to laymen like me(🤧).
They talk in poetry and monologues, immersed in a collective obsession.
And this obsession of purity, literature, tragedies and Shakespeare turns out to be fatal , like every other.
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𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚- 𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙮.
I rarely feel sorry for any narrator of a psychological thriller because they are always without exception the most problematic individual of all.
But it broke my heart to see what Oliver had to go through. The only guy who had his heart on his sleeve without pretending to be any character from the books.
You could feel his struggles to come in terms with his true feelings, the confusions of his heart and his pain after the revelation of the truth.
Of 𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙚- 𝙖𝙡𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙮.
I rarely feel sorry for any narrator of a psychological thriller because they are always without exception the most problematic individual of all.
But it broke my heart to see what Oliver had to go through. The only guy who had his heart on his sleeve without pretending to be any character from the books.
You could feel his struggles to come in terms with his true feelings, the confusions of his heart and his pain after the revelation of the truth.
course, he's the only one to suffer the worst and by the end you'll be crushed under his grief. Oliver deserved none of that.
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Bardolator- One who idolizes Shakespeare is known as a bardolator.
And M. L Rio is definitely one without doubts. And so would be you to some degrees after reading this novel. Because The Bard of Avon would always leave you in awe, just like he did the first time.
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