The Kept Author: James Scott | Language: English | ISBN:
B00DB36AJI | Format: EPUB
The Kept Description
Set in rural New York state at the turn of the twentieth century, superb new talent James Scott makes his literary debut with The Kept—a propulsive novel reminiscent of the works of Michael Ondaatje, Cormac McCarthy, and Bonnie Jo Campbell, in which a mother and her young son embark on a quest to avenge a terrible and violent tragedy that has shattered their secluded family.
In the winter of 1897, a trio of killers descends upon an isolated farm in upstate New York. Midwife Elspeth Howell returns home to the carnage: her husband, and four of her children, murdered. Before she can discover her remaining son Caleb, alive and hiding in the kitchen pantry, another shot rings out over the snow-covered valley. Twelve-year-old Caleb must tend to his mother until she recovers enough for them to take to the frozen wilderness in search of the men responsible.
A scorching portrait of a merciless world—of guilt and lost innocence, atonement and retribution, resilience and sacrifice, pregnant obsession and primal adolescence—The Kept introduces an old-beyond-his-years protagonist as indelible and heartbreaking as Mattie Ross of True Grit or Jimmy Blevins of All the Pretty Horses, as well as a shape-shifting mother as enigmatic and mysterious as a character drawn by Russell Banks or Marilynne Robinson.
- File Size: 671 KB
- Print Length: 370 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0062236733
- Publisher: Harper (January 7, 2014)
- Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00DB36AJI
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,189 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #40
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Sagas - #47
in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Historical - #53
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
- #40
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Sagas - #47
in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Historical - #53
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
The Kept by James Scott is a difficult novel to read. There isn't a positive moment, not a ray of light in the dismal existence of these sad and desperate characters. They are certainly well crafted, the plot well thought out, the story compelling, yet the dark tone was very hard to carry with you, and carry it with you, you shall.
It begins quite simply, with death, and from those deaths come thoughts of revenge, anger, desperation, confusion and doubt. There was one sad moment after the next, one disappointment after the other, everyday a struggle for survival and a grasping and clawing that you can actually feel. Is that a sign of a great novel? It most certainly is, however, I felt it necessary to warn the reader that this is a very dark novel, there is nothing truly happy happening here, just a collection of pain and heartache that feels as real as any you have experienced in this world yourself.
This is well crafted, and I'm not disregarding that fact. If you are looking for a novel written in the tradition of Cold Mountain, then I think this one is for you. If you are looking for something light, a story with a bit more balance, then perhaps this isn't for you. If you are highly sensitive, this one might weigh you down as you read.
The dark and gray world of The Kept will linger with you, carry you down its dreary paths and leave its mark. This is a fine piece of dramatic literature for the discerning reader.
By MommaMia
VINE VOICE
Vengeance is the impetus that moves “The Kept” from beginning to end. The stark horror and brutality in the opening scenes are the result of past actions and the basis for future actions, all of which are founded in the desire of individual characters for revenge. Racial and sexual prejudices also provide a basis for violence and brutality throughout “The Kept.” Set in upstate New York during the late nineteenth century, this well-written novel captures the reader and holds one’s attention through its final pages.
Caleb Howell, the lone survivor of his family’s massacre, accidentally shoots his mother Elspeth when she rattles the door of the closet in which he is hiding. As Elspeth recovers and the two begin their search for the Howell family’s killers, Caleb begins to recognize disturbing past occurrences for what they really were and to uncover secrets his mother has kept hidden. Both demonstrate courage in the face of personal and unexpected challenges.
In “The Kept,” both psychological issues and moral dilemmas provide a basis for the characters’ actions. As the novel progresses, revelations about an individual’s past or about relationships allow the reader to begin to understand the motivation for a specific character’s need for revenge.
“The Kept” is extremely well-written, but it is not an easy book to read. It is violent and does not shy away from disturbing images or bloody scenarios and the suggestion that a character, in the interest of extracting revenge, take violent action. Readers, who are drawn to thought-provoking writing and narratives of depth, will find “The Kept” is a novel of the finest caliber.
By delicateflower152
TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE VOICE
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