I was really surprised by The Keep. I had read several glowing reviews and thought I knew what I was getting into. A story about two cousins, bound by a traumatic childhood event, who reunite as adults to renovate a decrepit castle in Eastern Europe. I also read that there was a parallel story, which I thought was about the childhood event. But I was all wrong. The parallel stories (which, following in the footsteps of those reviews, I won't give away) are much more disparate. The Keep is one of those novels where seemingly dissimilar characters and stories are brought together by the end of the book, and I must admit, I love those, especially when done well. And Egan does it well. I also loved the unusual Gothic feel. Overall, a well-structured, surprising read.Monday, January 01, 2007
51. The Keep--Jennifer Egan
I was really surprised by The Keep. I had read several glowing reviews and thought I knew what I was getting into. A story about two cousins, bound by a traumatic childhood event, who reunite as adults to renovate a decrepit castle in Eastern Europe. I also read that there was a parallel story, which I thought was about the childhood event. But I was all wrong. The parallel stories (which, following in the footsteps of those reviews, I won't give away) are much more disparate. The Keep is one of those novels where seemingly dissimilar characters and stories are brought together by the end of the book, and I must admit, I love those, especially when done well. And Egan does it well. I also loved the unusual Gothic feel. Overall, a well-structured, surprising read.
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3 comments:
I'd give it two stars. I found the writing choppy, Danny utterly contemptable, the whole castle thing contrived, and the parallel story line an odd one. But it wasn't a total waste of time. I'd have been mad if I'd paid money for it.
Danny was contemptable, but once I realized he was the figment of someone's imagination, he became comical to me as a stereotype.
That was where she completely lost me. I see your perspective, and wish I'd been able to be less annoyed long enough to do that. By the time I suspected he wasn't real, I just wanted to call her up and ask her why she made me hate him first.
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