The Keep - Jennifer Egan

After reading A Visit from the Good Squad (click here for my review), I was so impressed by Jennifer Egan that I decided I must read more of her writing. So I picked up The Keep at my local library, and I can assure you, I was not disappointed.

The story begins with the introduction of Danny, one of the two protagonists, on his way to a castle in a remote village. He is summoned to help his cousin, who has bought the castle, renovate it and make it into a hotel, or, more specifically, a technology-devoid retreat, meant to foster creativity and imagination. Danny is not particularly enthusiastic about the idea, but he accepts his cousin's offer due to some trouble he has gotten into in New York. In addition, Danny is not excited to see his cousin because of a practical joke he played on him when they were kids that turned out to have serious psychological impacts, the guilt of which still bothers Danny. Nonetheless, Danny makes the journey to the castle and meets his cousin, whom he finds to be very much changed from the insecure teenager dwelling in his memory. In the next few chapters we discover that the narrator of the story is Ray, a prisoner taking a writing class. As in Goon Sqaud, the story changes between Ray and Danny every few chapters or so. Ray, who is in prison for murder, is infatued with his writing teacher, Holly, but is also frustrated because Holly refuses to acknowledge him as more than a pupil. He writes Danny's story in order to impress Holly and continue to have some sort of connection to her. We soon discover that rather than just creating fiction, Ray is telling a story that has a significant impact on his own life.

Jennifer Egan has done it once again! I was thoroughly impressed by this book (which, by the way, was written before Goon Squad). The dual story lines keep the story very interesting, and there is a very unforseen plot twist at the end. At the same time, Egan has not stretched herself too thing, and both stories still retain their dexterity and beauty. The characters are rich and very well developed, especially Ray. Egan's style of writing lends itself to a very easy understanding of the thoughts of the characters. (I especially enjoy the lack of quotation marks which, as paradoxical as it may seem, actually make the reading easier.) This is another five-star literary work by Jennifer Egan, who has most definintely secured a place on my favorite authors list.