The Keep

THE KEEP

by Jennifer Egan

 

Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2008, Women's Prize Longlist 2006

 

Date Read: August 20, 2021

 

I gotta say this is a strange one from Egan. I am a huge fan because of A Visit From The Goon Squad and Manhattan Beach. This is more horror meets suspense meets romance? There’s a lot going on here, another story within a story.

 

Danny is a ne’er-do-well that is summoned by his wealthy cousin, Howard, to a castle he just purchased in Germany. Their history, however, is fraught and Danny has much to atone for. As a childhood prank, Danny and another cousin lure Howard to a cave and then abandon him there. Howard isn’t found for almost 3 days. As childhood pranks go, this one’s awful. But Howard makes good, becomes wealthy and has a lovely family. This plotline is the story within the story.

 

Creating the story about the castle is Ray, a convicted felon who seems to be a lifer. He signs up for a creative writing class to get away from his nutter roommate for a while. He creates this story of the keep and his teacher, Holly, and his fellow students are taken in by the suspense of it.

 

Holly, the teacher, is a recovering meth-head and a night school graduate working slowly on her Masters. She takes the teaching gig because it offers hazard pay. What she doesn’t anticipate is falling in love with Ray, who eventually escapes. Although the cops look to her for possibly assisting him, her hands are clean.

 

One of the first things I appreciated about The Keep is that Danny, the character in Ray’s story, has made up words for human experiences we all have. For example, the worm is when negativity invades your thoughts and just spins out of control – fear, paranoia, suffering. While at the castle, he comes up with the keep – a place inside yourself where you put all your inner treasures and memories where no one can reach, even if they storm the castle.

 

The second thing I appreciated is Howard’s vision for The Keep. He envisions guests placing aside their cell phones and other electronic devices to rely on themselves for their own entertainment – as a means of getting back in touch with themselves. This sounds peaceful and indulgent and I love it!

 

Finally, after Ray has escaped and it begins to dawn on Holly that she’ll never see him again, she sinks into a depression. Her mother encourages her to get away for a while she watches Holly’s children. Through internet searches, she discovers that the castle Ray described in his story actually exists and she immediately sets off, hoping to find Ray there. Of course, she doesn’t but the ending implies that maybe she would find herself instead. And if there ever was a woman that needs a life makeover, it’s her. 

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