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….☺️

Good story

Solid story but didn't like the narrator saying the names of the characters. I would have preferred change of voice or something. Not scary just interesting.

really great story and reading! I would recumbent,

really great story and reading! I would recumbent, good book good chanted good good good food

Too much foul language

I thought the story was interesting and the characters were well developed. But, I found all the foul language to be distracting and unnecessary. The constant use of the f-word was irritating and took away from the story. (I don’t know people that talk that way.) Other than, that, it was a good read.

The Keep is a good one

Loved the different POVs. Thought they served to enhance the other parts great deal. Enjoyable links throughout that served to build to a fitting finish. My second experience with a Jennifer Egan book and definitely recommend it.

What a pleasant surprise!

Started listening on a whim. Very glad that I did. Great characters, story, and surprises.

Vivid Images Place Reader "in the moment,"

This book was SO good! I could hardly put it down!

The author/storyteller created such vivid images! She described smells and tastes and internal feelings in ways that caused the reader to feel as if they were present in the moment. The feeling of claustrophobia was so strong in one scene that I nearly felt the panic myself!

This could be called a "story within a story," but the stories are woven together so well that even now, I am not sure which was the real story and which was the story within. Marvelous storytelling!

Interesting storyline.

Takes a minute to understand the flow of conversation. The baroness' voice is the best!