Customer Reviews

The Keepsake

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I agree completely with the previous reviewer that stated that they were not sure they "enjoyed" this book. However, it was extremely well-written in an enchanting, dream-like style. It lulls you in and then bangs you over the head with it's subject matter of abuse, confinement, imprisonment, rape, torture and drug-use. Not comfortable subject matter, but is life always comfortable and happy? I don't think any author today is as powerful as Kirsty Gunn to make such an ugly and horribly macabre story so compelling and interesting. Isn't that what good authors do? They seduce you by excellent writing to visit another world, completely different and unique and yes, horrible to fathom.

I preferred Rain, Gunn's first novel. Rain was also a painful, but well-written read about an uncomfortable subject matter. I find her writing poetic and beautiful and yes, carthritic. An amzazing talent and two truly hypnotic novels: The Keepsake and Rain. Don't miss either novel from this extraordianaryly talented young muse.

I'm almost not sure what to make of this novel. It is, ostensibly, about a young girl's journey to adulthood under the influence of a mother who only partially exists in the real world. Her father is absent, although she hears much about him, and some of it may be true. The girl's narration shifts from her present to her mother's past until they seem to become one, the implication being that she is travelling down the same road as her mother once did.

Gunn's prose is beautiful, almost verging on poetry. While this style struck a perfect balance in her previous masterpiece, RAIN, it's well out of control here. She is deliberately vague throughout, and it's detrimental to the storytelling. She also tends to belabor scenes endlessly. When you read fifty pages, you should feel that the story has progressed in some fashion.

By the time the book reached its shocking, violent climax, I felt lost. Perhaps I didn't grasp what was truly happening -- like a dream, it feels only just out of reach.

I don't know that I would call my reaction to this book "enjoyment" but it continues to haunt me. I was impressed with Ms. Gunn's writing style. She shows a remarkable ability to give a scene an intense emotional color. The circumstances under which the keepsake is acquired should evoke horror. But the events recounted by the narrator are recalled at what seems to be an immense remove. Whether this is the result of the passage of time or deep-seated trauma is impossible to tell. I think Ms. Gunn has a lot of potential and I look forward to reading her next book

I must admit that I was a little disappointed by this book. "Rain" was so good, that perhaps I had unfair expectaions of this book. Still, "The Keepsake" is worth reading, and I think I might like it better once I get around to re-reading it. Kirsty Gunn has become my favorite author, and I look forward to her next book

I WASN'T EVEN SURE HOW TO RATE THIS BOOK. I WILL SAY WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY THAT I HAVE NEVER READ A BOOK LIKE THIS IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. THE WRITING WAS STUNNING. THE AUTHOR DRAWS YOU INTO HER SICK AND TWISTED WORLD IN THE MOST HYPNOTIC WAY THAT I FELT I WAS DROWNING IN HER WORDS. I WOULD READ A PAGE AND GASP OUT LOUD "OH MY GOD" BUT I COULDN'T STOP READING IT. I WAS COMPELLED TO GO ON EVEN THOUGH I WAS HORRIFIED AT THE SAME TIME. AT THE END OF THE BOOK I DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER TO APPLAUD THE BRILLIANCE OF THE WRITING OR HIGHLY SUGGEST SHE GET SOME SERIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP.

I bought this book blindly after completely enjoying "Rain". Ms. Gunn's removed, "just the facts" writing style in this book works to pull you in somewhat, but it's all just smoke and mirrors, a game to get you to almost believe that "this" is okay.

Yes, children often revisit the sins of their parents, but do we have to go this far?