Currently Reading: The Keep
Jennifer Egan is a name that's been floating around in my head for a long time. One of her other novels, A Visit to the Goon Squad, has been on my to-read list forever, so when I saw this book at the library, I snatched it up.
The story begins with Danny, a New York City scenester, finding himself in Eastern Europe on somewhat of a whim of an adventure. He has agreed to come work for his cousin Howard, who is renovating a castle. The two cousins have not seen each other in years, but have stayed in sporadic touch. As they meet again in the castle, Danny begins to feel tension riling up between them, due to an unspoken of prank he played on Howard as children.
In another narrative, Ray, an inmate, is taking a writing class while in prison taught by Holly. He becomes somewhat infatuated with her and slowly falls in love with her over the course of the class. Eventually, it is discovered that Ray is the author of Danny's story. There is a big plot twist near the end of the book that I found surprising and made the book a great read.
The Keep ignores traditional genres and creates its own hybrid genre, combining a murder mystery, historical fiction, ghost story, redemption tale, and love story. There is emphasis on family, as well as friendship.
Highly recommended.
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