A review by emilieteiko
The Keep by Jennifer Egan

5.0

The Keep - an ancient, impenetrable tower within which are guarded all the valuables [secrets] of hundreds of generations of an ancient European family. The Keep is the oldest and most violently defended part of an unimaginably ancient castle that billionaire Howard is struggling to drag into the present as a modern hotel devoted to helping people understand themselves. But Howard cannot complete this renovation until he excavates the secret at the center of the keep, and he can't do this without participation of his cousin Danny, who played a crucial role in the genesis of this secret. The castle seems to me a metaphor for our impossibly complicated minds, cluttered with detritus from the past and from which nothing ever disappears but is stored in countless forgotten rooms accessible only by twisted, overgrown pathways hidden underneath and behind crumbling stone walls. Traveling into The Keep, discovering what it so fiercely defends and finding a way forward and back to the surface and the light of day is a hero's journey, at once intensely personal and possible only with the help of others. It reminds me of the Buddhist prayer of contrition: "All my ancient, twisted karma, born of beginningless fear, hate and delusion, with body, speech and mind, I now fully avow." Contrition, redemption, saving oneself and others - this is the hero's story, beautifully told. Don't try too hard to understand it - just let the words and the story wash over you. I loved it.