The Keep

Danny and Howard, cousins who have been out of touch since a cruel teenage prank ended in near disaster, are brought together again in their 30's when Howard offers Danny a ticket to come explore a medieval castle in Europe that is his latest business venture. Howard has made a huge success of himself, while Danny has been floating around, working clubs and restaurants in a state of arrested development. When Danny arrives at the castle, a place unconnected to the outside world in any way, he begins to see and experience things that border on the supernatural - an effect that Howard and his acolytes all seem to embrace. The gothic elements in the book are fun in these chapters, but not successfully carried through to clarity.

There is, however, a second major storyline that unfolds - a prisoner in jail who enters a writing program begins to lay out his own story - and we see before too long that the two storylines are connected. The clever plotting and changing narrative perspectives keep this book rolling toward a revelatory climax. After a somewhat slow start, it becomes hard to put down. The downsides lie in a certain lack of resolution and a `last act' plot thread development that disappoints.

This book had so much potential but it was as if the author herself lost interest in it as it went along. The relationship between the two main characters, Danny and Howie was never fully articulated. The final third of the book when the prison writing teacher becomes a prominent character meshes poorly with the rest of the book and has a rushed quality to it. On the other hand, the creepiness of the castle, the keep, the pool and the caves were described very well. The greatest strength of the book, however, was its critique of the hyper-connected society we live in. The subtle comparison of this disembodied, pointless communication we engage in on our cell phones and blackberrys to demonic and dark forces was quite original.

Danny and Howard are cousins, friends during childhood, who have their friendship destroyed when Danny plays a cruel trick on Howard. Howard as a child is the geeky fat kid and Danny is the popular athletic one, but as the boys grow into men, the tables turn.

Danny is surprised to hear from Howard who invites Danny to his new castle in Europe, a castle he is renovating into a hotel.

The story shifts back and forth between the cousins and a prisoner in writing class struggling to write his first book. I was never sure what was real and what was not real, but the story was captivating and the characters were compelling.

This book is quite complex with full and rich characters. It is a mixture of ghost story, gothic novel, love story and a suspense thriller. I think what I noticed about it was the way that Ms. Egan passes back and forth from an ancient castle somewhere in Europe and life back in the States. (In particular, life in a prison in the States). It is a sad story about how the past keeps coming back to haunt one, and how we never really atone for sins that we have committed. The story of Danny is poignant and sad. He is a mid-thirties technology junkie who has survived by his own wits all his life. But he carries secrets from his childhood that continue to haunt him. He faces his demons in the ancient castle that his cousin is trying to renovate into a hotel. This book deals with how he faces up to those secrets, and how he deals with them. I felt hollow when I finished reading this book because it drew me in so much. It was gripping!

I was really intrigued by the concept of 'The Keep' when I read reviews. Was it a mystery set in a medeval castle? A story of redemption for a former meth-addict writing teacher and/or the convicted murderer inmate?

As it turned out it's none of the above. Ms Egan starts with a tempting storyline, and lets it drift away. The reader leaves the E. Europe setting with a story far from complete - that we've spent most of the book building up. As we enter the parallel confines of the prison (which, itself, has an insubstantial - almost irrelevant - subplot), we aren't given enough time/pages to appropriately transition the well-earned suspense to the new setting/characters. One track ends before its ready - the other is never really allowed to begin. It would be one thing to leave the reader dangling if the story pointed back to us - daring us to self-reflect - but it doesn't.

All said, the story has unrealized promise. I'm left wanting more - wishing Ms Egan had finished the thought she started, rather than abandoning it in favor of a story she has no intention of taking to a satisfying conclusion.

This was one of those books that I had been intrigued by since it came out. I liked the idea of a good gothic novel, similar to the 13th Tale, instead I felt empty and cheated when I finished this book. The Keep, by Jennifer Egan, is not a very good book. There were so many different characters and plots going on; however, none of them were that good. I do not think there was one sympathetic character in this novel. There certainly was not one character that I cared about. There was one clever plot twist that turned this into a Two star book for me, rather than a One star novel. I would not recommend this book.

I really am not even sure why the term gothic has been used to describe this book. Much less as a Tag. The only thing gothic about the book is that there is a castle. Heck, you can get that from a variety of novel. This is the worse book I have read since Hawkes Harbor by S.E. Hinton.

I had always stayed clear of THE KEEP for some reason. Turned off by the idea of a gothic novel, I think. But I loved GOON SQUAD so much that it made me revisit all of Egan's books. THE KEEP is now my favorite of hers, and one of my favorites of all times. It is so wildly brilliant and strange and gripping. The characters are vivid and flawed. The structure of the book is perhaps its greatest triumph. Without going into too much story detail, if you even kind-of liked GOON SQUAD, then I beg you to pick up this book! You will be blow away by Jennifer Egan's talent and versatility.

In terms of story, The Keep, is largely entertaining, as two cousins, one who'd been victimized by the other once in their youth are reunited again in the undertaking of turning an Eastern European castle into a five-star hotel/adventure spot. In sense of style, The Keep is intriguing, as the story being told is written by a prisoner for his creative writing class. So, there's a lot of meta/dual narrative throughout Egan's novel which at times gets gimmicky but is generally quite interesting.

It took a while until I got into it, and by the end I was pleased with the story(ies), finding it generally compelling and pleased with its turns. One of the next books on my list is Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad, which I look forward to reading.

Jennifer Egan's "The Keep" was an easy read yet complex enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. I read this novel for an AP English class and five other students read it at the same time. We all agreed that the novel was a good read but it wasn't an absolute favorite. This novel is considered a Gothic novel but I do not agree with that. The only thing remotely gothic is the Castle and it's contents.

Two cousins, Howie and Danny are connected because of an incident that happened in their early childhood. Twenty years passes and Howie, now called Howard, creates the idea of a castle that includes no electronics and it is an escape from whatever a person may be dealing with. Danny hates the idea of not having any electronics because he believes his only way to be "connected" with people is through technology. When Danny is invited to stay with Howard he has many lapses in what is reality and what he is dreaming. It is never clearly stated what is truely happening or what is imagined which creates an eerie tone to the novel. The narrator of the novel, who is in prison for an unknown reason is named Ray. This adds to the complexity of the novel because you do not know how Danny and Ray are connected.

It seemed like every magazine I picked up this summer (People, Vogue, Vanity Fair), wrote a glowing review of this novel, so I figured all these esteemed scribes must be on to something....right? Wrong. This book has been marketed as rather offbeat and creepy...well offbeat is true, but if your looking for creepy or scary this is decidedly not your novel. I won't belabor the plot here, suffice to say that the multiple narratives and constantly changing points of view became downright annoying after awhile. That and the "novel" way the author writes dialogue. I'm all for originality, just not when the story that goes with it is weak. The premise of this story was rather promising but the execution was sorely lacking I'm afraid. Poor character development, rushed plot-lines, story-lines that go no where, secondary characters that add nothing...oh yeah, did I mention the lame ending?? 3 stars for a story that could have been interesting in the hands of another author perhaps.

Excellent characterization through selected observation, selected details, and believable dialogue. The plot twists and turns with the changing character perspectives; sometimes it seems contrived but always interesting.

I began reading THE KEEP while riding Portland's light-rail line. My stop was 30 minutes away, but I ended up missing it and having to backtrack. (I think the technical term for that is "text engrossment.") And now that I'm done, I can envision reading the novel again sometime to appreciate its fiendishly innovative structure and wonderful language.

THE KEEP's ingenious narrative never falters, and Jennifer Egan pulls off a sleight-of-hand trick towards the end that actually made me exclaim aloud. I'm not going to recount the plot here for you, but the novel's distinctions are many; for example, although there are some fascinating narrator shifts, the story is generally and very convincingly told from a man's point-of-view (impressive, given the author's gender.)

Labeling this novel a Gothic/mystery/horror/speculative fiction pastiche is unhelpful and misleading, so let me just call it what it is: Extraordinary. (Oh, and do ignore the periodic reader reviews herein that lambaste the novel; given this book's quality, I wonder if these people like to read at all!)

I read an article about this writer a few months back---really expecting good things from this book. In fact, there seems to have been a lot of publicity from the lit. critics touting this one and I truly fell for it. I had this title on my list and finally got around to reading it.

Firstly, the writing itself comes off as amateurish. No wonder people are saying it doesn't merit Fiction 101 or even high school creative writing class stature. That was the first shock.

Secondly, the story itself is so implausible, and the premise never delivers, making your schlock gothic pulp read seem quite good compared to this. So sorry I believed the critics on this one. Which leads me to another thing--Egan must have some pretty impressive connections! How else can anyone explain the praise this so-so novel has received?
So much better to be had.

This book is well-plotted and intricately plotted. Yet, characterization is fairly strong also. It is quite engaging, and, actually, a fast read, which is good, since you won't want to put it down. It moves a little slower in the first half, and speeds up considerably in the latter half. I don't want to give it away, but I will say it's about a writing class in a prison - both the novel one of the prisoners is writing, and the interactions of students/teacher in the class.

Can't believe I wasted my time on this one. I really wanted to like this book...and I even tried to like it. The first part of the book was good, but then it fell apart toward the middle and it was a chore to keep on reading it as it became just so plodding with nothing happening except for the ramblings of the unlikeable main character, Danny. The ending picked up a bit, but had a disappointing conclusion. On the whole, it was mildly interesting, but did not really come together for me. I would not recommend this book.

The first section of the book sets up an interesting situation and some engaging characters. Then she uses some sophomoric writing techniques to trash any interest you may have built up. This may have been a good short story or high school creative writing project. I'm sure it impressed her teacher and her writing buddies, but as a novel it's a ripoff for the reader.

As a Peter Weir fan, I can't help but wonder why one of the best film directors of our time just signed on to make a movie of this mess. I was heartened to hear that he is writing a new screenplay from scratch, and I hope it bears little resemblance to Egan's book.

I was so disappointed in this book. A Visit From The Goon Squad was top of my favorites list for last year. This book held my attention up until the last part. I found the writing teacher to be an unnecessary and frustrating character. She chose the murderer over the crack addict? I'm confused, which one is better? Perhaps this would be a book for book discussion, because I don't understand why Egan made the teacher a major player. She added nothing, but a ruinous ending to the book.

After reading other reviews, I expected an erudite, flowing novel which would connect multiple worlds. What I discovered was a complicated plot that does not make it easy for the reader to understand. I do believe that if writing is too difficult to comprehend, then is not clear writing, and I wonder if the author really knows if she is presenting a ghost or love story of both. If it is both, it is confusing to me. The action is wrapped around two cousins, one successul and the victim of a childhood prank of the other loser adult cousin. We are transported to a castle near Prague where we imagine the successful cousin will finally have retribution, Egan spins a tale of blood lore based on family pride. From this narrative, she shifts to a maximum security prison where the characters are similar to the castle folk. The creative writing teacher, Holly, becomes a main character, who has her own demons and finds a commonaility with a prisoner who is the same, we are to believe, as the loser cousin. She does prove that escape is impossible, and I wish I could have found some sanctuary if I understood what she really wanted to tell us.

I wanted to complain about a lack of continuity, but truly her way of jumping around isn't any worse than other writers using flashbacks. So my dissatisfaction can only be attributed to her lack of completion to either story line. I'm all about leaving the reader wanting more and letting their imagination take hold, deciding for themselves what happened to the characters after "The End" but there was no end. She literally dropped us off in the middle of one plot and at the three-quarter mark in the other.
If you have trouble finishing things, read this book. It will cut off before your attention span wanes.

This book was full of promise, the elements for a great novel were there, the background of the cousins, which included a childhood prank that almost caused the death of one, the crumbling castle in a foreign country, the ghostly twins, the msyterious Baroness, the fiercly loyal and protective best friend of the millionaire cousin but unfortunately the elements never come together to produce a great novel, instead it was fractured and disjointed, I felt like I was reading a series of short stories and the story within a story involving a prisoner in a maximun security prison writing the story that was supposedly the novel "The Keep" was unneccessary. It just caused further fracturing of the story. I was disappointed that the author chose not to wrap up any loose ends and left so much unanswered, it would have been nice if she had chosen to let us know the relationship between the prisoner and The Keep. Was the prisoner that was writing the story, the best friend of Howard? As much as I would like answers to the questions I would not read another book by Jennifer Egan to find them out.

I agree wholeheartedly with those reviewers who said that this book had a great concept that was poorly executed and not developed. I had high hopes for this book, but as I read, I kept waiting for the author to connect the separate plotlines and characters. Although a connection was made toward the end, it felt contrived. The book does not tie up loose ends, but kind of trails off; there is no real "ending." If you're looking for a great book with an unpredictable twist, I highly recommend "The Thirteenth Tale," "Fingersmith," or "The Stolen Child" instead.

A compelling, vivid, funny read from Jennifer Egan. I was amazed at how clearly I could visualize the world(s) she created. It is a true talent who can paint such an intricate, detailed picture. And the humor! Without giving it away, there is one scene in particular that is so laugh-out-loud funny that I want to study it as an example of comedy in otherwise serious novels. Truly a modern day gothic novel with all the elements. Kudos to The Keep!!

If you've heard of Jennifer Egan it is most like because you've read her debut novel, The Invisible Circus, or her 2001 novel Look at Me, a brilliant, biting social satire that merited a place on the short-list for the National Book Award. But if you've heard of The Keep, it's probably because you've been inside the bookstore where I work and made the mistake of asking me for a recommendation. The Keep was featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Review in August. But after a brief appearance at the bottom of the extended bestseller list, it has all but disappeared. It's frustrating as a bookseller to discover such a glorious book as The Keep and not be able to make any converts. I find myself tongue-tied and sputtering when I attempt to foist it on someone. How do I explain this strange Gothic novel? The book has such an intricate plot structure that's nearly impossible to articulate without resorting to some sort of visual aid. So I'm left saying, "Well, it's about a guy who goes off to Europe to help his cousin fix up his castle. But it really isn't about that guy. It's about the guy telling the story and that guy's in prison. But it's not about that guy either. It's about the creative writing teacher in the prison. . ." A pathetic effort, I know, but meta-narrative is just so darn hard to blurb.

By the time I'm done with my spiel my customers have decided to go with a book by one of those brand-name authors who have an assembly line in their office instead of a desk. At this point I'm curled up on the counter in the fetal position, clutching a copy of The Keep and keening, "But, but, but. . .it's so pretty."

This is what I should say: In The Keep Jennifer Egan creates a dark world inside a darker world, a secret inside a mystery, a story within a story within a story. It opens with Danny King, a 36-year-old refugee from New York trudging his way up to his cousin Howie's castle in an area of Europe so remote not even the owner knows what country it's in. As teenagers, Danny was party to a prank that left Howie traumatized, changed, and determined. You've barely settled into this storyline when you discover that you're reading a work-in-progress, a book being written by Ray, a prisoner, a murderer who signed up his prison's creative writing class just for the temporary respite from his crazy cell-mate. And Ray is fixated on his writing teacher Holly who is haunted by crimes of her own.

Anyone buying yet? Because there's also the mad 98-year-old baroness, a set of dead twins at the bottom of the castle's Imagination Pool, an impenetrable keep, secret lairs, underground caves, prison fights, prison breaks, love and death, and prose more magical than all of it put together. I can't go into more detail than that. How can you explain the spider web without explaining the spider? The craftsmanship is extraordinary. Egan drops secrets and clues on the ground and they shimmer like evening dew. It's only upon the second reading you realize you've been stepping over diamonds.

With just a line of dialogue or two, Egan captures the essence of a character with photographic clarity. Ray, our ostensible storyteller is trying not to have a conversation with his half-crazy cell-mate Davis who wants to know what is looking at when he stares out their cell windows. Ray says, "My answer is nothing. I'm looking at nothing." "No one looks at nothing. I'm looking at nothing." "No one looks at nothing," Davis counters. "No, you don't look at nothing , Davis. But I do look at nothing." "Well," says Davis. "That's a poor use of your time." Later on the reader discovers why Davis is so concerned with not wasting time.

Danny's loneliness, his isolation is captured in one brief exchange with Howie's young son Benjy who, with the typical ferocious curiosity of children, badgers Danny with personal questions: Do you have a wife? No. Do you have a dog? No? Do you have a cat? I don't have any pets, okay. Do you have any children? I don't have any children. Thank God. What DO you have? I don't have anything. Nothing. Are you sad to have nothing? Are you crying? Benjy's last question-Are you a grown-up?

It's devastatingly precise characterization. Everything about the book is economical, stripped own to it's purest essence. One line form Egan is worth a chapter from a more florid writer. The book is concentrated penetrating like a needle, getting into your blood.

I did manage to convince one customer at my bookstore to buy The Keep. An older gentleman from somewhere in Middle East, he asked in his wise and gentle accent, what was the book about. I started in on my spiel-Danny, castle, cousin, Europe. . .No, no, no, he interrupted me. What is it about? What does it mean to you? I took a deep breath and thought. "Imagination," I said. "It's about how important imagination is, especially in a world designed to keep our imaginations locked up away from us." Ahh. . .good, he said. Very good. Yes, I will read this.

I kept waiting for this book to be scary or mysterious like some the reviews said, but this was purely a literary novel. The answer to the big mystery was fairly obvious. The characters were the best part. I particularly liked the last part, told from the POV of the writing teacher/meth addict. However, by this last part, the climax of the book has taken place. I kept waiting for something else to happen plot-wise. It never did. Still there was some brilliant writing and characterization. Read this book for the characters, not for plot.

They say that John Updike was a writer who could write a perfect sentence and I think the same can be said for Egan (although, to a lesser extent; I'm not saying she's Updike). Some of her very simple sentences, especially once you get to the meat of the story, are heartbreaking. I actually found three quarters of this book compelling, but somewhat - what's a good word? Irrelevant? Trivial? Much Ado About Nothing?- and then I got to Part Three. What I realized then is that this is one of those oddly structured books in that almost all of it is really just a prologue for the tiny "short story" at the end. She's no James Joyce either, but once I finished this book, "Dubliners" was the first thing that came to mind. The second thing that came to mind was that I wanted to read more Jennifer Egan.

Other reviewers have described the characters and plot, so I'll just say that I was captivated by this book. It pulled me in and I couldn't stop reading. I enjoyed it so much that I was sorry when it was over, yet I was satisfied with the ending. So many things in this book are hinted at but never completely explained, unlike some books which explain everything away and leave you disappointed by the explanations. I got this from the library, but I want to buy it so I can read it again. Even better than Look at Me, which I also loved.

A young man stumbles through the entrance to a mysterious castle now owned by his cousin. Both are hiding baggage from a cloudy past, a childhood ordeal that once threatened to overwhelm them. Amongst the broken and collapsed cluster of castle buildings, the relationship becomes strained when Danny King arrives at a sinister medieval castle in Eastern Europe where he has been given the offer of helping his cousin Howie renovate it into a luxury retreat.

Burdened with his mistakes of long ago and seeking to escape the randomness and chaos of New York, Danny becomes frustrated by this strange and inscrutable place, with its rock walls, ruined rooms, claustrophobic underground passage ways, and a mysterious round swimming pool, it's water black and thick with scum, stinking with something from deep inside the earth.

Whilst the castle seems to be conspiring to drag the young Danny down, the sights and sounds, and even the smells of the place seem to excite and thrill Howard, it's as though he just can't get enough of it. Whilst Howard, and his wife Ann and young son, are thrilled with the delights of the castle, Danny continues to be haunted by his memories of how he tricked Howie and left him for dead in a cave when they were kids; it was a terrible error in judgment, which he is unable to forget.

Determined to stay connected to the outside world, Danny brings along a portable satellite in order to link to "his 304 instant messaging surnames and a buddy list of 180," along with his girlfriend. As he tries to feel "connected to his connectedness," nothing can assuage the feeling that Danny is miserable. With the sinister atmosphere of the castle encompassing him, he decides he wants to get away.

But it is the Keep, the mysterious tower that ultimately seduces Danny. Here he meets with an enigmatic woman called the Baroness " an ancient hag who looks more dead than alive" who clams that the castle and all the land around it in every direction is hers. She despises Americans, calling them mongrels and resents the intrusion by Howard into her solace. When Danny finally meets her, sees a ghost who turns into a young girl with long blond hair.

What exactly is the Keep? Howard isn't allowed near the tower because the Baroness has threatened him. But is the Keep something more metaphysical, a path perhaps to Danny's own inner-keep, his tortured soul? Plagued by the sudden visions he has by the pool, a scene of a boy and girl, Danny determines that the inside his head that will blow a whole right through the middle of Howard's life.

Forbiddingly atmospheric and steeped in secrecy, the Baroness calls to Danny, but is she just a part of a dream? Only later, when Howard, Danny and the rest of the renovators are trapped in the underground tunnels, facing the torture chamber below the Keep, are the cousins under pressure able to come to terms and bring closure on their past.

As author Jennifer Egan layers her maze-like plot, the narrative shifts to a man called Ray incarcerated for murder in a maximum-security prison taking a creative writing course, and careful to make sure that a manuscript he has written stays in safekeeping. He's got a crush on his teacher Holly, an ex-meth addict who is struggling to keep it together, she doesn't want him to see that she's vulnerable and overwhelmed pure sadness - a sadness mixed up with guilt, responsibility and loss.

The Keep is part modern gothic novel, and part disturbing suspense thriller and also part morality play where reality spins out of control and where imagination is intermingled with tunnels and dungeons and torture chambers with skeletons. It is wise not take any of the characters at face value, but they are certainly all tortured and are even ordained to collide, their futures hopelessly intertwined. It is to Egan's talent as a writer that she can so thoroughly convince us of their fears in a world that is almost dreamlike in its intensity. Mike Leonard September 06.

I hate to waste my time reading a great book that ends leaving me hanging. This book is a perfect example of that kind of book. You keep turning the pages looking for some information as to what happened at the end. It was one of the best books I've read until the last page. Very disappointing. I have little time to read, and I wish I had not wasted my time on an author who can't finish her book.

This is one of those books it's near impossible to describe. Not because there isn't a plot--there is, and a compelling one--but because there's so much more going on than what's explicitly happening. It's a novel in nested circles, ripples that spread from a single inciting incident in the childhood of the the main characters.

But where that kind of description makes it sound gloomy, the book is anything but, rich in wit and insight. It's written with an easy grace that seems effortless but isn't, and the characters manage to function both as symbols and as people. This is one I suspect would reward a second read, but it's a joy the first time too.

Well one thing's for sure: you won't forget this one in a hurry. It has some of the most exceptional prose, and beautiful language phrasing I've ever read. And it is actually QUITE scary, creeped me out sitting here alone reading at night and my cat jumping up beside me nearly made me flatline. I can't really be in danger of revealing the ending cause I'm not quite sure what it was. Which is precisely one of the reasons why you won't forget it any time soon cause it will drive you nuts trying to figure it out. I took one star away for my confusion on that point. A very fast read, entertaining, page-turning and amusing in equal parts. I don't want to appear stupid but would welcome points of view on the ending.

Compare Jennifer Egan with Kazuo Ishiguro. He has a flaw but uses it as a device, making his cardboard characters' lack of development significant to the plot. In THE KEEP, Ms. Egan creates real human beings as if nothing could be easier. They are what they are and do what they have to do, with only one exception. Here, she offers us an important person in shockingly unfinished form. One could argue that this, too, is a device -- who is supposed to be the real creator of this character, after all? -- but that argument is not consistent with any of the possible "authors" Ms. Egan has invited us to consider. Style is one thing and characterization another.

Reviewers and Ms. Egan herself have talked about the tradition of the Gothic novel and Gothic elements in THE KEEP. I suspect that a more immediate influence has been the Harry Potter books. There is no sign of borrowing; it is as though she had absorbed them perfectly and then had her own burst of insight.

Finally, I am surprised that so many people don't like or understand THE KEEP's ending. I think it shows the author's faith in us. She has handed her readers the key and it's made of pure gold.

The Egan book is unconvincing -- and lacking in entertainment value -- from early on. I usually don't finish a book so poorly written, but a friend encouraged me to pursue to the surprise ending. I do not know why my friend is so taken with the finale (much less the middle) of the book, but it is worth a pass. The central characters are so unlikely and the situation so otherwordly that reader involvement is tough. One word to Ms. Egan on her stylistic choices: Quotation marks were created to help us discern exactly what words each character is speaking; use them. It matters for the reader to know if you are saying something, your character is saying something aloud or merely thinking it.

Egan's book might be a little too "meta" for readers looking for a literal-minded gothic tale, but don't be fooled by some of the negative reviews here. The Keep is an excellent read, full of twists and turns both in story and in structure. Egan's writing rings true and clear throughout, and the parallels between characters and other elements fill the story with resonance. All in all, a deft demonstration of how the stories we tell, both to others and to ourselves, can override our realities...for better and for worse. Good stuff. Can't wait to check out Egan's other books.

Really really loved Look at Me but this just doesn't cut it. I didn't care for the characters, and found the layered storytelling frustrating. The castle passages just felt trite and the relationship between the two cousins is not fleshed out. I wish she had just stayed in the castle, with a little backstory and some more original detail. Sorry, I really wanted to like it.

I so wanted to love this book. Even the cover art had me drooling over the wicked story I thought rested within. The beginning is enticing and you become sucked into the story but then it goes no where fast.

The castle plot had so much going for it. I kept waiting for ghost, and the dead twins to cause havoc and her descriptions of the abandonded pool really took me there. Sadly that is where the author lost her audience. What happened to the barroness?? Why introduce such a delicious character only to have her poof out?

Even the castle fizzled once the story left it and joined Ray at the prison writing class. The author lost her focus and tried to intertwine too many stories.

I'm bummed because I was so longing to get lost in a creepy gothic book.

I so wanted to love this book. Even the cover art had me drooling over the wicked story I thought rested within. The beginning is enticing and you become sucked into the story but then it goes no where fast.

The castle plot had so much going for it. I kept waiting for ghost, and the dead twins to cause havoc and her descriptions of the abandonded pool really took me there. Sadly that is where the author lost her audience. What happened to the barroness?? Why introduce such a delicious character only to have her poof out?

Even the castle fizzled once the story left it and joined Ray at the prison writing class. The author lost her focus and tried to intertwine too many stories.

I'm bummed because I was so longing to get lost in a creepy gothic book.

I found this book in a thrift store. Having always loved stories about old castles and keeps, I was immediately drawn to it, and it was well worth every penny. It is really two stories, seemingly unconnected. One is a gritty tale of prisoners taking a writing class. The other is a peculiar tale of two cousins who reunite years after a castrophic incident, in an crumbling castle compound. The author keeps the reader guessing whether the story of the castle is true or only the imagination of the prisoner writing the story; and if it's true, which character portrays the prisoner.

It is a fascinating and unique story, well-written, and full of wonderful descriptions of both setting and characters. I look forward to reading more of Jennifer Egan's work.

If you're expecting a conventional gothic you'll be disappointed, but if you enjoy literary fiction that plays with genre expectations, check it out. I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable read, especially the sections describing Danny's experiences and memories (most of the book). I haven't read anything else by Egan, but this definitely made me want to read more.

I was truly impressed by the utter emptiness of this new novel. But I have no one else to blame but myself, since I knew nothing about it before shelling out over $24. I should have been more on guard, but I wasn't. What I found when I opened the cover and turned the pages was something like a tribute to the cliche, a celebration of lame, flabby banality, a festivel of mediocrity, nicely tarted up as a "brainy cultural commentary" (an actual review quote). The only brainy thing about this book was the slick con job pulled off by the Knopf marketing department. They deserve five stars.

The "characters" in this brainy cultural commentary all seem to have stopped growing around the age of 12. The dialogue is agonizingly weak and it is not resurrected by the use of punctuation oddities or tinkering with the margins. She ain't no e.e. cummings. I kept wondering if I had left the television on as I was reading this brainy cultural commentary. But it was not on, that was the tinny sound of the two dimensional nonentities who populate this book yakking at each other.

This is surely on my top ten list of truly bad novels, up there with The Historian by Whatshername Kostova. Do yourself a favor and move away from this section of the bookstore with "intelligence and velocity" (another quote from inside the dust jacket.

Such a shame. The story outline was so promising, and the author so well spoken of that I was looking forward to a good read. Sadly, I was disappointed. Very disappointed.
This book has no depth, no real dialogue (unless you count banal locker-room quality talk), and no sense of a story being woven. There is nothing for the reader to explore. It is a veneer of a story, and a poor one at that.
I was never able to get a real sense of the surroundings or characters, except that they were adults living as 14 year olds who had just discovered the "F" word and impressed themselves by saying it as often as possible - regardless of the lack of context.
This just seems lazy to me. It is also boring. Maybe her other works are better; I don't know and am not motivated to find out. If this were her only attempt, I'd recommend that she spend some quality time with books of the genre with a command for descriptive art, character dimension, and a facility for making the most of the power human language has to offer.
The number of review-stars is surprising, and a bit worrisome. Perhaps the author has a large devoted family (?)...according to our local library, the book is most often brought back partially read and with disparaging comments from those who were taken in by the flap description - as I was.

There is no suspense. There is no thrill in this "thriller." It's truly awful.

I actually saw this book at the library and picked it up because I thought the cover looked interesting. I read the jacket and decided to check it out. Wow I'm really glad I did. Rarely do I read a book without first checking out the reviews on the store. I actually couldn't put the book down once I got about half way through. It's a great read. I will definitely read more of J Egan's work.

This book was not what I expected -- in a good way. The story-within-a-story concept can get annoying, but Egan does a good job of keeping the narration and the second plotline interesting and suspenseful. The style is engaging, intelligent, and contemporary. The last 30 pages get a little weak, but the ending is great. A perfect weekend read.

Meh. I also recently read the other The Keep by F.P. Wilson. It's about Nazi's vs. Vampires: Egan's book is better, but only a little. Egan's book also more fantastical. Not because it may (or may not) feature ghosts, but because everyone in the book is a fantasy: rich 35-year-old who owns a castle... former rock-star meth addict... intellectual, romantic prisoner... and so on. Books like these are supposed to be high literature, but they are just as silly as the genre fiction and comic books read by, well, genre fiction and comic book readers.

I picked up this book at the library with about ten other books that I hoped to get through in my three-week check-out period, and after giving them a second look at home, this was the first book I chose to read. A very smart choice on my part, I must say. I absolutely loved this book. I've read some of the other reviews on the store and I'm shocked by how many negative reviews there are; I can't believe we were reading the same book! I found it to be suspenseful, exciting, surprising - and very cleverly crafted. It's always a thrill when I find a book that is literally hard to put down; I'm an avid reader and the books all tend to run together after awhile. Needless to say, this is one that will stand out from the others. I highly recommend this book.

I was in the middle of this book before I realized that it wasn't going to get any better, but I finished it anyway. Like other reviewers, I thought I would be reading a richly detailed gothic novel. Instead, I felt that the author set up all kinds of intricate themes that readers were supposed to "get", but forgot to write an engaging story around all of the themes. I have not read any of Ms. Egan's other books, so I'm not able to compare this to her other work.

This book wasn't one of the best I've read nor one of the worst, so I gave it three stars because it's just ok. I didn't really develop a feeling for any of the characters. I acutally found them kind of annoying in a way, and maybe it's due to them not being fully developed in my opinion. I also got the impression this was more along the lines of a gothic ghost story and it really isn't it. I think this could have been a much better book than it is and I have to admit to being dissapointed as the plot was pretty flat. As I stated it isn't a bad book, it just wasn't what I had expected it to be.

I wanted it to be longer because there were some intriguing plot threads that were dropped and never picked back up (the drowned twins, the Baroness, what they found in the dungeon, etc.) But other than that minor disappointment I enjoyed the novel and especially admired the unique narrative style.

Others have covered the subject matter so I don't need to go into that.At the end of the day and to put it quite simply, I was endlessly fascinated and cared about the characters. I think you might be better off if you keep an open mind while reading this and not assume or even try to know where it is going. Enjoy the ride. One more thing, what an eternal joy it is to find an author who can tell a story in a reasonable amount of time. I am soooo tired of bloated literature.

I'm disappointed, almost to the point of being offended. It's obvious the author is exceptionally talented at creating characters and keeping the plot moving so that I just had to stay up late in the night to finish. But she left so many loose ends and wrote uneccessary diversions. It seemed as if she tried to pack in far too many plot devices of various genres which left her novel without cohesion. All action in a novel should have a point -- what was the point of Danny's rendevous with the Baroness? And what was the point of her changing ages? And was that town a made-up place? We're just meant to believe that Howie and his family run their hotel now? And the motivation for the murder? Come on, to stay number 2? That's just not believable. I can think of so many more instances of loose ends (and who really cares about Holly or wants to? That tacked on ending was uneccessary). I was completely ready to recommend this book to all of my friends, but after finishing, I'll spare them the disappointment.

I read a lot of books, in almost every genre, but this book is one I wish I had not wasted any time on. I am shocked by the 5 star reviews. I do not wish to tell you the whole plot, as other reviewers do, but to give an opinion. There was one surprise/shock/twist in the story that allowed me to give it 2 stars, but beyond that, it is a mystery to me why the book was even written. It is so disjointed. None of the characters are even remotely likeable. The ending is pointless in every way. If you are really looking to read a good book, save yourself the time because this is not it.

As other reviews have said, this book had many interesting aspects to work with: the baroness, dead twins, the history of the castle and surrounding towns, the fractured relationship of the two cousins, a cellmate who listens to the dead. It all ends up being completely dropped for...the uninteresting story of a secondary character in a secondary tale. The author's other books are apparently popular, but I'm not sure I'll give them a chance after the disappointment of this one.

I was expecting a M. Night Shyamalan type of Sixth Sense tale, but instead I received a tale that never fully developed. While I like stories that don't 'follow the rules' this book spent time traveling from genre to genre without giving the reader a reason to continue along without a guide.

Go to the library for this one, it's not a Keeper.

I am really torn between 2 and three stars, maybe 2-1/2? I was very excited to read this book, the description was exactly the kind of story I usually enjoy reading. It started off OK, then got better, then ended....I think I wanted more. I haven't read any of Jennifer Egan's other books, and if they are similar to this one, I don't think I will.

On the basis of a sparkling review in the NY Times Book Review, which compared aspects of The Keep to The Magus (John Fowles), I started this book with enthusiasm. The writing was clever at times and the structure, which cut between three or four venues and characters, was somewhat original. But the main characters - a cyber-punk loser, a hard-core criminal and a junkie/mother - were hardly appealing, the "magic" was minimal, and the story ended with a whimper. I felt the book needed another 100 pages or so to complete the story. Perhaps, like Fowles, Egan will rewrite and augment the ending at a later date. In short, this writer has talent but this is not her best work.

I found the writing somewhat confusing. The author jumps around between different characters and different times and sometimes it's difficult to re-orient. I found the hero, Danny, to be unsympathetic and self-absorbed and didn't care what happened to him--at least until near the end, when he redeems himself.

To me, it seemed not a whole lot was really going on until about 3/4ths of the way through. I guess I was waiting for more "action" and exploration of the castle, but that never really happens. They do finally get into the caves only to have that trip cut relatively short.

I found myself thinking, FINALLY, I'm on page 196 and things are getting really interesting... and then the book ends a short time later. And on a very weird note, so you're not really quite sure exactly HOW it is supposed to be ending.

Interesting book if you stick with it; ending is a bit unsatisfying in that it leaves a little TOO much to the imagination as to how things turn out.

Note: this review is for the audiobook version of the novel.

This book fell flat on so many levels, but as an audiobook it was even worse. The author uses a scene play like way of doing dialog, seemingly to show the narrator's poor grasp of writing, it may not of been so bad in print, but as a recording it was impossible to ignore and ruined the audiobook.

Example:

Danny: blah blah blah

Howard: blah blah blah,

But as a recording it was "Danny, Howard, Danny, Howard, Danny, Howard, Danny, ... It was damned annoying.

This was a very poor choice for an audiobook (as was switching the voice actor for the last few minutes)

The pages flew by. Very suspenseful. Still trying to process how I feel about the story. Not sure how some of the pieces fit together...don't really get the purpose of the seduction scene. That was weird. Other than that, I enjoyed it.

A keep is a fortified place or a stronghold at a castle. It is a safe place in case of danger. Each character had a personal stronghold or secret;a mental keep.
This unusual book is two stories intertwined. One is the prisoner, Ray. He is writing a gothic tale about two cousins meeting in Europe to renovate a castle with a keep.
His story, their story and his writing teacher's story knit into a good read.

The story started out great and I was really excited to get into it, but then the story kept changing focus and characters, it was almost like the author was trying to put 3 stories into one novel. Too bad, the original concept was a good one.

This novel has all of the elements of a great book: well written, gripping, and laced with fascinating ideas that you might skim over the first time (you're too busy furiously reading to find out what's going to happen next). The best part is it leaves you thinking about the nature of reality, the demands of the information age and the modern world, and connectedness among friends, family and history. This extraordinary book works on so many levels that you will need to pass it on: you'll want your friends and book club to read it so you can pick it apart together.

I was very impressed with Ms Egan's writing. This was my first book by this author and it won't be my last.

I feel this story left a lot to my imagination-and I liked that.As I read each page I could picture the characters forming and taking shape in my mind. I don't get this with every book.
I was completely taken in with this story and would recommend it.

I don't know what all the hype is about this story - you could guess the "secret" from the beginning. I really hate stories that I can see where it's going early on in the book. Also, the ending really wasn't an ending.

As another reader mentioned, this book was a welcomed relief from the bloated books out there. Too bad it wasn't better.

The book does a remarkable job of keeping you enthralled as the layers peel back and the truths emerge. I haven't read anything in a long time that felt this fresh and contemporary. I found the voices of the characters clear and distinct, I found the metaphors all worked with the simple elegance of a perfect card trick, and I found the story built to a completely satisfying and cathartic conclusion. Can't ask for much more than that. It was just such a treat.

Or rather, one pay off. But after a couple hundred set ups (ghost twins, halucinatory sex, some underlying importance to the place that no one ever names, Howie's physical changes, on and on and on and on....)I was hoping for one or two clever answers.

I bought this one after having read a well crafted and creepy tale (The Harrowing by A Sokoloff, Balantine Books) and was in the mood for more.

Unfortunately, the cover was the only lasting gothic thing in the book. I gave it two stars primarily because the set-ups were somewhat promising. Just don't read past them expecting any resolution.

Total waste of my time, and precious paper.

What a great read. With its playful metaphors and luxurious imagery, its nonlinera construction and interwoven plot lines, this is a book that is fun to read and savor. Although I don't enjoy supernatural elements, those incorporated in this book work and add to its appeal.

The Keep has many strengths, but unfortunately also a lot of flaws which make it somewhat of a frustrating read as past the halfway point you realize how much better it could have been. Luckily, its best part are toward the latter third or quarter, so the final feeling you have about it is almost fully positive as the flaws have receded into the background.

The novel has a double-plot strand. The first involves two cousins with a bad childhood moment behind them. One, Howard, has prospered and is now renovating an old castle into a hotel/retreat whose theme is leave the modern trappings behind so as to free your imagination--live like our ancestors did when witches and goblins and religious visions were real. Howard has invited his cousin Danny, currently on the lam from a brush with the mafia in NYC, to help him, seemingly having forgiven Danny for leaving him alone in a cave for three days when they were kids (though Danny, and the reader, sometimes wonder if this is all an elaborate payback). The second strand is meta-fictional, as we learn that the modern gothic story (the castle has a strange pool, a pair of decades-dead children, and an old baroness who refuses to leave the inner keep) is being written by Ray, an inmate enrolled in a prison creative writing class being taught by Holly, who has issues of her own to deal with. The book mostly cuts back and forth between the two, though Ray sometimes intervenes fully in the gothic strand for a few lines.

The book was a hard go at first and I almost put it down for good several times in the first few chapters for several reasons. The first was simply that I found Danny an unlikable and unbelievable character. Danny is addicted to information and modern telecommunication--he needs to have access to millions at all times, so much so that he's sprung the big bucks to lug a satellite phone all this way with him. The concept itself didn't bother so much as how much it was hammered in--eventually I wanted to yell out "I get it already!". It was just a bit overplayed. Part of this was Danny supposed near-magical ability to "feel' an internet connection nearby. It was an unnecessary piling on and made me wonder how much of that sort of thing was going to pop up the rest of the way. The same was true of his descriptions of how he and his friends made up their own words and concepts such as "Alto" and "the worm" which were then slathered liberally throughout the first chapter or two "Danny felt Alto" or "He had to make sure the worm didn't eat him from the inside" (not actual quotes)--I found it all implausible (it sounds like a lot of thirty-year-olds want to believe they sounded as philosophizing twenty-year olds--so smart and literary and oh so deep that they need create their own vocab). And again, I wondered how many of these vocab lessons I'd be facing. Finally, his action themselves felt contrived--arriving at the dead of night to the castle where his cousin and a workcrew are and when he can't find the entrance rather than yell out or look for lights he climbs rough walls, tries to sleep outside, scrapes into tiny holes, etc. As I said it was a rough start.

Things pick up with the introduction of Ray and the prison writing class. The characters in these sections are much more human, much more believable, their thoughts and actions and concerns much more moving. This holds true throughout the book and I found myself repeatedly wishing for more Ray and less Danny.

The Danny chapters do improve. The gothic elements are handled nicely, as is the tension between Howard and Danny. The old baroness is a great character and these sections spring to life when she appears, which like Ray isn't often enough. The small domestic subplots didn't work so much for me, and Howard's vision is nicely evoked the first time he describes what he's looking for, but it, like Danny's addiction to information/communication gets a bit overplayed. It wasn't until a bit past the halfway point though that I would say I actually enjoyed this section or was all that interested in it. Had I not been allowed to break away and visit with Ray and Holly now and then I'm not sure I would have continued.

The themes of the book, though at times overplayed, ring strongly throughout, as do the images: imprisonment, the keep, the past, hauntings/ghosts, the impact of modern technology, human connections, addiction, love, and power (this is the least subtle and weakest played of the major themes) and one wishes that half of the book had lived up a bit more to these. But the final quarter redeemed the novel so much that I find it easy to recommend it strongly, despite its rough start and few flaws.

I read this book based upon an NPR interview and newspaper review. It was odd, bizzare, and a waste of time. I wish I hadn't kept wasting time waiting for it to 'get good,' it never did. I enjoy and appreciate different writing styles, but the weird "colon" approach to defining who is speaking, thinking, or being discussed, not only was hard to get past, but constantly reminded me I was reading a story and prevented me from becoming fully absorbed into the plot. When people say the book is 'weird,' I took that to mean "creepy-scary weird." This book is just weird- odd, strange, hard to read.

The Keep is a really solid read - entertaining, suspenseful, eerie and engaging - but the narrative felt cumbersome at times and the ending was a bit of a letdown. I found some of the reviews too harsh, but I do agree that the individual parts were ultimately greater than the sum.

This book promised a 7-course "dinner" but only delivered a plate of pasta, so to speak. I never feel as if I got to the steak, or heart, of the story. It seemed that she was always dancing around it with suggestion and then switching over to the other story. I felt as if I was getting the diet version, and that the book good have been twice as long, with many more details and depth of history, etc. It seemed that we got certain character traits over and over rather than explore new ground.

Too much of the story was described from within the characters' heads rather than from their actions. I wanted more!

Wow, lots of raves for this novel which I found extremely disappointing. The author obviously has talent but I thought her intent was confused. I get that she was making a parallel between the prison and the castle but the plotting and action at the castle felt arbitrary and, in the end, sort of superfulous. Really, what did setting the action in this remote castle bring to the novel? A little atmosphere but hardly any suspense -- the one creepy and potentially suspenseful sequence (everyone getting trapped in the tunnels) is resovled in a matter of pages. I didn't believe the castle setting for a moment or the Baroness character. In fact, I assumed it was all part of Danny's paranoia/craziness but then the ending belied that. I was so hoping for a good, creepy summer read. After this and "The Ruins," I give up.

The tightest writing is the two-word title, which got me to buy the book. From there it's downhill. Egan's incredibly sloppy prose nearly insults the reader. The story-within-a-story-within-a story feels like a cop-out. It's not quite "and then he woke up" -- but almost. Despite the intricate plot mechanications, nothing much happens. That's partly because her main characters are drugged or being operated on so much of the time. Such cheesey devices echo the worst of episodic television. How this book got an agent and got published is anybody's guess.

I was very disappointed in this book. I too felt that it started off well and had promise as it navigated through various characters but there just wasn't enough. I wanted to know more about the characters (Howard, how did he change so much...). We find out that the castle really exists but who is the guy running it and how is he related to Dobbs' story. Where did Dobbs escape to??? What's the relationship with the town? There's too much left out.

I just finished reading this book and was utterly disappointed.
At the beginning of the novel, the story holds your attention because you're waiting for some sort of pay off. You want to find out how all of these characters and places fit together. Egan never delivers that to the reader. She leaves the reader hanging and feeling as if they just wasted their time and the money they spent on this book. Many characters are only developed on a surface level. Plot lines are put forth and never followed through on. The ending is far from brilliant; it's cliched and expected.

This book grabbed me from the very first page and did not let go as I read it from start to finish in nearly one sitting, pausing only to sleep for several hours. The story is filled with very very clever twists and turns that add to the intrigue as the novel progresses. And, in addition to being a really great story, the characters themselves are deliciously complex. All of this combined with highly witty and insightful writing makes this book truly a brilliant read.

I marveled at the astounding writing style of this book. It was natural, original, creative and I am sure there are many other adjectives one might use. I finally realized I was reading the book for the style of the writing. Plot was wonderfully imaginative. But I just had to know how the author was going to express herself in the next line! A day or two after I finished The Keep, I thought whoa, what was this book about? I felt a sense of hopelessness as I remembered the array of sad men and woman. There WAS a theory, a purpose, maybe, but I wasn't particularly moved by any overall meaning in the novel.

Several people have written a synopsis already so I won't rehash the plot points. It is original and engrossing without being obvious. Jennifer Egan handles the narrative switch deftly. I loved this book, a compelling commentary on the age we live in.

THE KEEP

By Jennifer Egan

"... A brilliant mystery; a spellbinding psychological thriller that gets under your skin and keeps you guessing. Egan has brought together the past and present in a seamless manner, offering her readers a glimpse of centuries long gone and a present that is just as haunting as its past. Her characters are rich, deeply developed, and just as complex as the stories they are associated with. Startling crimes, buried emotions, truth that cannot be ignored: Jennifer Egan brings to the forefront the importance of discovering one's own personal sanctuary: a place to run to when the rest of the world is crumbling, a haven...the beauty in finding and accepting your own, individual keep. You will not put this book down."

Ranya Fattouh

I was very much looking forward to this book. I was highly disappointed after finishing it. It had the potential to be something great but Miss Egan decided to take the story in ten different directions and lose her reader completely. Please don't waste your time with this campy and confusing piece of fiction.

It had, by far, the worst ending to a book I've ever read.

Jennifer Egan's third novel opens with neo-punk cyber-junkie main character Danny arriving at his cousin Howie's dilapidated European castle. Howie couldn't even pin down which country the castle is in--Austria, Germany, or the Czech Republic--"because the borders are constantly sliding around." Howie's dream is to create the ultimate spiritual retreat, a place to escape from modern conveniences and telecommunications and commune with higher powers. Lost soul Danny is not receptive to this idea; at least until he spots a young, blonde apparition in the Keep, the inaccessible tower of the castle that serves as "the last stand, the final holdout. It's what you protect, and where you run to when the walls are breached." Danny accepted plane tickets from his cousin as an escape route from his troubles with mobsters back in New York, but he rejected the physical isolation of the castle by bringing along his own bulky satellite phone.

Howie and Danny have a tumultuous past relationship, ever since Danny played a childhood prank that went terribly wrong. Danny has nagging doubts about Howie's motives for summoning him to his castle-in-transformation, and as strange events unfold, he's not sure who to trust and what is authentic. (It doesn't help that he's naturally predisposed to paranoia, of course.)

Early on, Egan tosses in another aspect to the story: it is actually a creative writing task for a hardened prisoner. Our author, Ray, only joined the writing class to escape his cell, but his fictional work takes on a life of his own, especially after he develops a connection with his fragile, recovering teacher. He empathizes his character Danny, but he makes it clear that Danny isn't a self-portrait.

The narrative about Danny and the ghosts of the Keep smoothly parallels Ray's struggles in prison, and subtle connections can be made between the plot twists in both Ray and Danny's lives. The stories converge in a natural manner (yes, Egan can make the supernatural entirely real). The Keep is one of the best books of the year, and it's nearly impossible for a reviewer to re-create the experience in a few short paragraphs. Go ahead and pick this one up to see for youself!

The style of narration, ie
Howard: Oh, man, look at you !
Danny: Look at you!
Howard: I don't know if I would have recognised you....

is too annoying to read more than 40 or so pages.

I can't tell you about the plot, the characters or anything else you might like to know, because the style bugged me too much to carry on.

I started to read this book, and just couldn't stop. It leaves me breathless. A multi-layered tour de force that works at every level.

This story epitomizes what we look for when we read fiction - to be swept up, to be taken out of ourselves. Egan's talent is prodigious.

An amazing book.

A real mind-bender that keeps you engaged on multiple levels. It's full of suspense, metaphors, history, and several quantum leaps. It's a fast read and just keeps drawing you through! I couldn't put it down and I wished there had been a sequel.

I felt this book jumped around way too much in the beginning. Then all of a sudden Danny was in jail. Up until then I wondered why he kept making comments on how the writing teacher had never been in prison but didn't understand. I must have missed something? When did he go to jail and why? At that point I got so frustrated that I just couldn't finish the book. It's too bad I really wanted to like it.

I felt this book jumped around way too much in the beginning. Then all of a sudden Danny was in jail. Up until then I wondered why he kept making comments on how the writing teacher had never been in prison but didn't understand. I must have missed something? When did he go to jail and why? At that point I got so frustrated that I just couldn't finish the book. It's too bad I really wanted to like it.

Just this. Paul F Wilson. the original Keep writer. Of which they made a movie.

Is this the same castle, country, evil which resides that Wilson developed?
Did you even ask if you could build on his idea?

With almost 100 reviews on this site, and so much publicity, it's discouraging to add yet another. (The chances of this being read are small, and the chances of it swaying any readers are even smaller.) But I am impelled by a kind of irritation. It's a familiar irritation: I gave several days to this book, and it was a waste, and I want to write to someone!

Of all the books I have read this year, this is the worst. I agree almost entirely with Simone Oltolina, whose review is currently (as I write this) posted as "most helpful unfavorable review." But I disagree with the reason she says "The Keep" doesn't work. It's not because there are narrative threads left dangling. The problem is more pervasive. It is that Egan can't fill out scenes: she can't describe characters, and she can't even describe settings. The dank pools, castle keeps, dungeons, and forests here have been conjured so intensely, by so many people -- from Novalis to King! -- that it just won't do to have them sketched so cursorily, so feebly, with so little visual sense. I propose this test: take any scene in the novel, and try to picture it. What you'll get is only a Hollywood set, and the details of that set will be from the movies you have seen, not even from the novel. The book is threadbare, and Egan is not a novelist: a least not the kind she hopes, in this book, to be.

I am sorry to be so poisonous, but that is what happens when I give my time to a book that is so poor. Maybe the store's reviews serve a cathartic purpose. I want to put this one behind me, and maybe warn someone else at the same time.