First published 2013
Danny and Howard are cousins bound by a traumatic childhood experience. Twenty years later, they meet again at a crumbling medieval castle somewhere in Eastern Europe. Their lives have taken unexpected turns. Danny was destined for success but has become a technology addict living a mediocre existence. Howard seemed headed for reform school and rehab after their shared trauma, but now lives like a wealthy retiree at thirty-four. The eccentric nouveau riche Howard has brought Danny to this isolated castle with no wifi or modern connections. He wants to recreate the childhood game that was cut short by their trauma. The story comes through Ray, a prisoner serving time who tells this tale to his writing teacher Holly to pass time and impress her. Through the castle's unlikely but convincing architecture of traps and hidden passages, Egan explores themes of modernity, paranoia, power, imagination, and the absence of freedom.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Eastern Europe, Medieval Castle
Period: Twenty Years Later
320 pages · Paperback · Edicions de 1984
Content warnings: mental-illness