‘Enter the players. There were seven of us then, seven bright young things with wide precious futures ahead of us. Until that year, we saw no further than the books in front of our faces.’
On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.
Ten years before: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But in their fourth and final year, the balance of power begins to shift, good-natured rivalries turned ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent.
Part coming-of-age story, part confession, If We Were Villains explores the magical and dangerous boundary between art and life. In this tale of loyalty and betrayal, madness and ecstasy, the players must choose what roles to play before the curtain falls.
Format: Paperback
Imprint: Affirm Press AUS
Publication date: 29/03/2022
If We Were Villains
By M. L. Rio
Review by Sophie
What do you get if you put Shakespeare obsessed thespians, and murder together? Drama, drama and more drama. All packed into a five act narrative that has you questioning what's real and what isn't from start to finish. If We Were Villains contains a cast of seven that are as dramatic as they are untrustworthy. Their lives are essentially a Shakespearean play, encapsulating all the genres, and the worst things they have to worry about is what role they'll get in their next performance.
We see the story through the eyes of Oliver Marks, who paints a romantic and often idealistic portrait of the group as they live and breathe Shakespeare at an elite arts academy. On the surface, their friendship is lively, fulfilling and comfortable. And yet as things unfold, there is a sense of something unsettling, leaving the reader constantly at odds with the apparent vibrancy of their lives. Are they playing themselves? Or is everything just theatrics?
Intriguing, revealing and full of Shakespearean witticism, this one is perfect for fans of dark academia, mystery and The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
