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The Kept

James Scott

Hardcover | Pages: 368 pages

Rating: 3.28 | 6646 Users | 1099 Reviews

Define Out Of Books The Kept

Title	:	The Kept
Author	:	James Scott
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 368 pages
Published	:	January 7th 2014 by Harper (first published January 1st 2013)
Categories	:	Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Mystery. Thriller

Chronicle Concering Books The Kept

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.

Present Books Conducive To The Kept

ISBN:	0062236733 (ISBN13: 9780062236739)
Edition Language:	English
Setting:	New York State(United States)
Literary Awards:	The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Nominee for Longlist (2014)

Rating Out Of Books The Kept

Ratings: 3.28 From 6646 Users | 1099 Reviews

Critique Out Of Books The Kept

Okay read, but did not hold my attention. I did a lot of skimming pages.

This debut novel is a powerhouse of a time and place that shows very little mercy to anyone. The frozen land is just as much of a character as is 11 year old Caleb, who has to grow up much too quickly in absolutely horrible circumstances. He heard and/or watched the murder of his father and his four siblings, surviving by hiding in the barn. He gets a glimpse of the three men who did this, and he knows it is up to him to find them and get frontier justice for their horrible deeds. While trying



Meh. I read about one-third of this novel before I decided I just didn't care enough to continue. It's historical fiction, set in late 1800s in rural New York, and the story involves a midwife returning home to find her husband and children murdered. She and the son who survived set off on a journey to seek revenge.The book was atmospheric, with lots of description, but it felt like a writing exercise that was all flash and no substance. The characters felt flat and shallow, and I couldn't buy

Do not look past this book thinking its not your thing, you dont like historical fiction or the plot is not exciting you. I overcame all these things and gave this a whirl and boy am I glad I did.The book just blew me away, what a dark, atmospheric emotional novel this is, absolutely unique from anything I have read for a long time. It will stay with me for a while, I still keep thinking back on this book and it's characters. It's haunting and it's haunting me.What's the book about?It is the

The Kept by James Scott is a dark, desolate, atmospheric, and extraordinarily well written novel. I very highly recommended The Kept.The opening establishes the tone for the remainder of this notable debut novel set in 1897:"Elspeth Howell was a sinner. The thought passed over her like a shadow as she washed her face or caught her reflection in a window or disembarked from a train after months away from home. Whenever she saw a church or her husband quoted verse or she touched the simple cross

From the opening line of this striking debut novel, the mood and voice are both haunting and laced with shame. Elspeth Howell was a sinner. It is three years shy of the turn of the twentieth century, upstate New York, bitterly cold and snowy with grey, smudgy skies. Elspeth is trudging miles from the train station to her familys isolated home, and she is carrying gifts for her five children and pious, Bible-quoting husband. Shes been gone for four months, not unusual for her midwifery practice.