If We Were Villains

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio has all the ingredients to make an English-teacher-theatre-nerd-true-crime-clown (quite) happy: an elite Hogwarts style arts school, big chunky-chunks of Shakespeare and MMMMUUUUURRRRRDDDDDEEEERRRRR.

As the blurb states, Oliver Marks (a nice guy) has just been released from prison after ten years for a crime he may or may not have committed. The detective who put him away is approaching retirement and wants to know the truth. This premise serves as the framework in which Oliver can tell his story from ten years earlier (pretty simple literary device). Upon his release they return to the exclusive Dellecher Classical Conservatory in Broadwater, Illinois. There they retrace the steps of his fourth year as one of only seven acting students (studying and performing exclusively Shakespeare – have you ever heard of such a thing?) who are all friends and good-natured rivals. As readers, we go back in time to the charmed life these students led until tragedy strikes.

Instead of chapters, the book is divided into acts and scenes (ah yes, like a play, very clever) and the words of Shakespeare are shrewdly woven into the plot and dialogue. I loved the descriptions of performances of Macbeth and Julius Caesar, and the set design of King Lear is stellar. The story moves along nicely and despite some unnecessarily poncey language, it is an accessible and compelling read that is vividly written. At times I found the Shakespeare dialogue a bit heavy-handed and long-winded and the symbolism the tiniest bit forced (which I recognise is RICH coming from an English teacher, but well, it be what it be).

This novel explores intricate rivalries amongst friends, the age-old theme from the bard himself – appearance versus reality and what it is to love and be jealous. It is fascinating, thrilling at times, somewhat pretentious and carefully crafted – well worth a read.