Review of “If We Were Villains” by M.L. Rio
Read 5/19/20
To be honest, as I was reading this book, I was prepared to give it, at most, 3.5-4 stars. I wasn't too familiar with the intricacies of the Shakespearean references, and I was slightly put off by how the characters talked - sometimes with the true crudeness of college students, other times pretentious and caricatural. At the same time, the Shakespeare references were perfect, doing exactly what Rio intended: imbuing the actors and readers with the words and feelings of his work in parallel to the novel's events. However, while If We Were Villains had tight structure, easy readability with wonderful language, and this undercurrent of stories within stories within stories, it was still bogged down by how the characters only had slightly more depth than archetypes + the fact that I was absolutely sick of Oliver and Meredith's relationship. (Though I will admit it was necessary for the plot - but at some point, it just became ridiculous). But what elevated this novel to 5 stars for me was it's ending. The entirety of the novel balances great tension and flashy character moments, which made the book endlessly entertaining as I read it in one sitting. But Act V...I have not felt such dread and anxiety in so long. I am someone easily swayed by how a book makes me feel, so the author's ability to keep me so entertained and then emotionally drained made it easy for me to forgive the book's shortcomings.
The book provides this strange sort of literary sandwich as the layer of actor and character and the written word fold into the same murky space between author and audience, and I found myself drawn in by Rio's way with weaving these elements together alongside a well-paced, well-written narrative. At first glance, the playwright structure of the novel seemed gimmicky, but it truly did enhance the feeling that these characters, as they are representing other characters, are nonetheless placeholders for ourselves. I absolutely loved this quote from the book that expressed this sentiment:
"How could we explain that standing on a stage and speaking someone else’s words as if they are your own is less an act of bravery than a desperate lunge at mutual understanding? An attempt to forge that tenuous link between speaker and listener and communicate something, anything, of substance.”
It just captures so much of the essence as to why I loved even the ridiculously melodramatic way the 7 students lived, for I don't think Rio was going for realism so much as understanding. I had guessed the ending around the quarter-midway point of the book, but perhaps that knowledge only enhanced my distress - knowing exactly what was to come and seeing the events hurtle to such a conclusion. I had shivers all throughout the Epilogue, and I still sit trembling from the last line. It has been a long, long while since a book has been able to rise such a response from me. I only wish I was more well-read in Shakespeare to truly appreciate why Rio chose specific quotes, casted her characters in certain roles. Nonetheless, this was not a significant barrier to understanding the core feelings and themes of the book, for even with a passing understanding of Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth from high school English, I was still more than able to interpret some of the castings and scenes to find unique meanings for myself. Just, wow. Rio's knowledge, appreciation, and intricate understanding of Shakespeare's works is evident throughout the entire course of the novel. To expand more on what I mean by the characters feeling like caricatures/archetypes is the fact that Oliver's supposed "goodness" is not...really explored upon? Nor are the other characters' defining traits. They are told to us in Act I, given quick (though effective) examples, with weaknesses/strengths + family backgrounds doled out early on - it's just all thrown at you. It makes it easy for the reader to immediately know what these characters are like and make our own assumptions, but I think especially towards the second half of the novel, more insight into how they embody these traits would have made certain scenes hit harder.
If We Were Villains is a dark-academia thriller that takes Shakespeare's famous quote "All the world's a stage." and runs with it. While the main 7 characters come off as pretentious caricatures half the time, I found that this was easy to look over given how readable Rio's writing is and the fact that perhaps this enhanced the feeling that we are capable of inhabiting the spaces left by the characters to make our own meanings. Is this book perfect? No, of course not - not even close. It gets ridiculously melodramatic at times, to the point I have to admit I did produce an eye-roll or two while reading it. But - damn if this wasn't one of the most entertaining reads for me this year (and so underrated for a debut novel written when the author was in her early twenties. Age should not equal quality, but I am so beyond impressed at how Rio made me feel despite some of the book's shortcomings.) . If you like dark academia or are intimately familiar with Shakespeare's works, I would highly recommend you read this book.
