The Keep

By: Jennifer Egan

Narrated by: Jeff Gurner, Geneva Carr

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Two cousins, devastated by a childhood prank, reunite 20 years later to renovate a castle in Eastern Europe. The fortress has a bloody history that stretches back hundreds of years.

Amid extreme paranoia and eerie silence, the men reenact the signal event of their youth, with even more catastrophic results. And as the full horror of their predicament unfolds, a third party - a prisoner, jailed for an unnamed crime - recounts an unforgettable story that brings the crimes of the past and present into stunning alignment.

©2006 Jennifer Egan (P)2006 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"A clever, quirky novel." ( Publishers Weekly)

What a pleasant surprise

I really enjoyed this, and definitely recommend. This is one of the rare books that leaves me thinking about it, the characters, and the ideas presented after it's finished; almost like having a crush that you think about as you're going about your day, and feel warm. Granted, there are a couple of weird things about the audio rendition, in particular, but the story and writing are top notch. This is my first Egan novel, and I will look for more.

Egan is one of the few great writers I've found in recent years. Her writing was interesting to me from the first paragraphs. The story is unique, surprising and compelling. Inner dialogue can be sappy and boring, in the hands of some authors, but Egan makes it poignant, funny, observant and curious. Any time I missed a few seconds of the story, I wanted to rewind and make sure I caught every word - which is a rare thing anymore. With some books, I can just space out and miss minutes of the story, and don't feel any desire to go back.

My only frustrations were those that result from good storytelling: I wanted more from and for the characters. I cringed at their weaknesses and egos. I felt personally embarrassed, witnessing certain foibles. I hoped and anticipated redemption and connection, and for more of the story. In this case, these were all signs that Egan crafted a story and characters that drew me in completely. The story did feel a little truncated - but that's only because I wanted to know and experience more of it.

There were sort of three short interwoven stories included in this book, and I would have liked all of them to be longer. One of the strange things about this book is that it does switch between story lines with no explanation, and they seem to be totally unconnected at first. I think this is harder to follow in audio format than it would be reading it. The other weird thing is that the first narrator reads the text as if he's reading a play, announcing who is speaking before every spoken line, instead of trying to make one voice noticeably distinguishable from the next. I thought this would drive me bonkers, but I got used to it - probably only because I enjoyed the writing and story so much. The narration was good.

Definitely recommend.

The Keep

I found it very entertaining. Surprised at the end. Made me want more of Ray, Holley, Howie and Danny!

This was great!!

This is my first Jennifer Egan listen, although I have two others in my library. Almost didn’t listen because the Audible sample wasn’t very inviting, but so glad I did! So, so good. Jeff Gurner’s narration was terrific. Would certainly like to listen again….☺️

Wish I could read it for the first time again

This novel is incredibly well written. Ms Egan has a wonderful way of describing a situation and the character's state of mind succinctly and with crystal clarity. This was one novel that I was happy to finish to see what happens, but was sad too because now it's over.

Different

I walk for several hours at a time and thought I would try listening to books instead of the radio. This book was a departure from my regular mysteries. Honestly this book is weird. I'm not even sure I totally understand it. So many things were going on. There's the story of Danny, who's in Europe to help his cousin renovate a castle. But then there's the story of Ray, who's in prison. And somehow these stories connect, although I was completely surprised when Ray's story popped up because I thought I was listening to Danny's story. And then suddenly there was another story. All very confusing.

Maybe if I had just been able to listen straight through..... But there was a crisis and I missed a week and then I was really confused.

Butt overall it's a really good story and it certainly made my walking time go by faster. I would definitely read another book by this author, although I would either read the book or get the audible for a car trip or something where I could listen to the whole thing at one time.

Finally! That original story you're looking for

I experienced a pleasant surprise -- I didn't expect to find a great story like this. It's unique narrative structure weaves the plot for the reader/listener in a way that's different and works. Engaging character development in a brilliantly imagined setting. Definitely worth trying if you're searching for the next good story to discover.

Perfection

Scary. Beautiful. Sad. Happy. Mysterious. I couldn’t put it down. I loved it. Great book.

Wow, great story

The way everything ties into the ending is extremely well written and amazing. I strongly encourage You to listen to this!

Jury is still out

Interesting premise but I felt like I spent the whole book waiting to learn what it was really about. There were several different stories going on but none of them ever felt fully developed. Still trying to decide how I feel about this book.

A dream, a nightmare, reality?

A fantastic story that plays with reality; don't read this if you are looking for a straight-forward plot. Read this to be excited, confused, concerned, and to be challenged. Egan's prose is, as usual, incredible and innovative.

While this book raises deeper questions, and does a decent job of exploring "what is real," my main reaction was enjoyment. This book is fun. (Not sure what that says about me...)


The narration is very good; two narrators are better than one!