The Kept

A Novel

By: James Scott

Narrated by: Kate Udall

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

In the winter of 1897, Elspeth Howell treks across miles of snow and ice to the isolated farmstead in upstate New York where she and her husband have raised their five children. Her midwife's salary is tucked into the toes of her boots, and her pack is full of gifts for her family. But as she crests the final hill, and sees her darkened house and a smokeless chimney, immediately she knows that an unthinkable crime has destroyed the life she so carefully built.

Her lone comfort is her twelve-year-old son, Caleb, who joins her in mourning the tragedy and planning its reprisal. Their long journey leads them to a rough-hewn lake town, defined by the violence both of its landscape and of its inhabitants. There Caleb is forced into a brutal adulthood, as he slowly discovers truths about his family he never suspected, and Elspeth must confront the terrible urges and unceasing temptations that have haunted her for years. Throughout it all, the love between mother and son serves as the only shield against a merciless world.

A scorching portrait of guilt and lost innocence, atonement and retribution, resilience and sacrifice, pregnant obsession and primal adolescence, The Kept is told with deep compassion and startling originality, and introduces James Scott as a major new literary voice.

©2014 James Scott (P)2014 HarperCollinsPublishers

Not a compeling read

What disappointed you about The Kept?

This is a very dark story, did not grab my interest or attention at any part during the story. I did listen to the whole thing but took me a long time to finish as ther is no interesting story line or character to hang on to.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Back to more traditional mystery and adventure.

What about Kate Udall’s performance did you like?

Ms Udall's performance was very good. The only thing good about this book.

This book has a great plot. thI also hav

This book has a great plot. I also tend to be a little picky about narrators, but this one was great. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that I had a hard time keeping track of which character was which at the end. There were a lot of them, and some don't have a big part in the storyline until then, so I had to go back and listen to some earlier sections again. (I also am usually listening while doing other tasks, so it could just be me being easily distracted).

Darkness and Sadness

The author certainly sets the shadowy mood for this grim story with a devastating ending.

Ending STUNK!!

Good story line, kept me interested, really liked Caleb! Elsbeth was an interesting character, sometimes I loved her sometimes I hated her. Absolutely did not like the ending, but I do like things buttoned up at the end sooo......

Could not stop listening

I know it sounds cliche, but I really could not stop listening to this book! Well, written. Brilliantly narrated. Will definitely listen to this more than once.

Suspenseful

Interesting story, kept my attention. Could have left out all the gay references and still been good.

Loved the book but not the ending

The writing was superb. It is a very dark story and I loved how the characters evolved. I was disappointed in the ending as I like stories that come to some kind of a conclusion. However I gave it 5 stars.

Powerful! But too much left unsaid throughout…

Okay…..I waited about a solid week before reviewing this and looking back I’d have to say that overall it was pretty badass! A great story. Definitely kept me going back for more. The writing was beautiful. Really. Lots of “keeper” lines in this book that made me stop what I was doing just to think about what I just read! So good. The only problem with this book was the simple fact that I felt lost a good 1/3 of the novel! It was just plain hard to figure out for me. I guess this book is written in the style where the author doesn’t want to show his cards all at once, but there is such a thing as not giving enough away in my opinion. I had to talk myself into just accepting that I was going to hang in there and stay with it to the end. That’s what I did. I enjoyed it, but please don’t ask me what happened because I couldn’t tell you what the fuck was ACTUALLY going on in the book! Seriously! I had the basic understanding of what was happening most of the time but there were so many, so many, so many things the author “left unsaid” that I was 40% lost throughout the entire book! I really wished my Dad was reading the book alongside me, I would’ve swallowed my pride like
I was 10years old again and asked “what just happened?” and “why’d he say that?” and “why are they doing this?”
But the writing was so good, and the meat of the story was so juicy, and the setting was so gorgeous that I stayed on the bus! Mr. James Scott did such a remarkable job with his pen where it counted that I sat right there in my seat like I was 10 again and watching one of my Dads supercool movies and couldn’t wait to see how it all played out! Except Dad wasn’t there to hold my hand explain what really happened…even at the END! Wtf! I THINK I have a pretty basic idea of how the book closed. Just don’t stop me in the street and ask please! Because I’ll be tongue-tied.
Powerful from the start though like I said before and locked me right in. It was a book I gladly kept coming back to, I just wish I wasn’t as “slightly confused” throughout the journey.

bleak dark story!

The fine writing kept me listening through this agonizing yet fascinating story. Not so keen on the ending. Kudos to the narrator for sustaining appropriate tone and tension.

I could not stop listening!

I have listened to many audiobooks and have never liked one enough to write my first review.
This was an exceptional book and so very well written! The author pulls you in and you feel like you are right there . The emotions are so perfectly worded and the characters are described so perfectly, that you can actually picture the person . The narrator was perfect for this !
I will definitely listen to more audiobooks from James Scott!