If We Were Villains
"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 farther 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. A decade ago: 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, good-natured rivalries turn 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: convince the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent."
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio is, in the words of Emily St. John Mandel, a "rare and extraordinary novel". I would like to preface this review by emphasizing that I am not a connoisseur of Shakespearean literature, but one doesn't need to be to understand this novel. In this world, poetry and romance in the flavor of Shakespeare is just as animate and living as reality. The students at Dellecher are obsessed in their rigorous studies of the history and performance of their art. It is inspiring, and admittedly a little terrifying how utterly consumed they are in this practice. The students quote the great artist in everyday conversation and spend their time memorizing lines, enjoying the occasional alcohol-ridden party, and surviving amidst cutthroat competition with one another. I did, however, enjoy the delivery of Shakespeare here. As someone who finds his work to be difficult to understand and digest, receiving it in well-contextualized and bite-sized pieces really brought it into perspective.
In the beginning of the novel, it is no secret that Oliver has been guilty of a great crime for some time now. Over the course of his recollection, however, we learn how complicated things really were. This story is one of scandal, forbidden love, friendship, and great treachery. Oliver was actually the most tame of his counterparts, the level-headed and kind mediator of the group. So, the question looms throughout the novel's entire history: how in the hell did he end up here?
Finding that particular fact out is a painful, haunting journey. At the conclusion, the reader is met with an ambiguous and frustrating ending that somehow manages to carry closure and pain at once. This tragic murder-mystery had me on the edge of my seat the entire way. Bravo M.L. Rio, exeunt omnes.