I recently saw an ad for THE KEEP, by Jennifer Egan, in the New York Times Book Review. It's just coming out in paperback. I thought it sounded interesting (part Gothic, part mystery, part romance) and hey, there's a keep, so I got a copy.(I also thought the author's name was vaguely familiar. Turns out she writes for the NYTimes magazine, so I've surely read some of her articles.)
It was a really good book. It has a sort of weird narrative structure, yet it's very compelling and interesting and entertaining.
But then...came the end, and I was reminded once again why I prefer genre fiction. I like resolution. I don't like a lot of loose ends. Some I can certainly live with, but when I'm left wondering and confused...that makes me dissatisfied and unhappy. To be sure, some mysteries were solved and I was surprised when the author revealed something as soon as she did, which took me aback in a good way, but I was also left with a lot of questions.
I'm well aware that some people prefer the open ending, that the speculation is part of their enjoyment. So I'm not saying one is right, the other wrong, or one is better then the other. I'm just saying that I prefer a certain sort of ending.
But by all means, read THE KEEP for yourself and come to your own conclusions, because overall, I enjoyed it.
2 comments:
I like closure as well - positive or negative, just as long as I know! Too many years taking university literary classes I guess. :)
I also tend to like a straightforward narrative, with a beginning, middle and end. Ah, the middle -- so easy to say, so difficult to write! :-)
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