Perhaps because it is a first novel, Harmonica's Bridegroom suffered from flaws that a more seasoned author may have avoided.

I was ready to overlook the fact that all the characters, who incidentally are nicely fleshed out, end up discovering that somehow they all knew of each other but the biggest problem of novel is its second part and it's impossibly confused and confusing mix of three or four different timelines. This, in no small way contributes to a screeching slowing the pace of the narrative, which is otherwise momentous enough in the other two parts of the book.

The premise of Binding's effort is that slowly but surely some catastrophic events come to light that explain how and why the lives of his characters have been turned upside down, and risk further upheaval.

I am not a great fan of books where the author dangles the prospect of some big secret to be unveiled, while drop tidbit after tidbit. However, apart from the fact that said events, when finally revealed, don't seem quite as terrible as their aftermath might suggest, I must admit that Binding's way of keeping his cards close to his chest was quite as irksome as it could have been. The pacing of the discovery felt about right.

The writing on whole is quite good despite a few mangled sentences and a tendency on Binding's part to assign an order to his words unusual.

Beyond the story of the feud in a close world that drives the narrative, Binding brings together themes and situations that are similar or related. He could have used it to make some interesting points but he doesn't seem to have pushed his thinking that far and in the end those parallel fall rather flat.

Not a great success as a book but not unpromising either, for a first attempt.