The Keeper of the Ornaments

The Forgetters

by Dave Eggers

Cole lives alone, has no pets, and has grown accustomed to a homelife of profound quiet (not to say tedium). When Daphne and her two young children move into the apartment next door, the noise is extraordinary—impossible to believe, really—and Cole assumes he’ll have to move. But his new neighbors, and their very odd cats, see him differently than he sees himself, and he soon adopts an entirely new persona, that of an older gentleman in a cardigan, ready to assist and advise.

This third installment of the series of minibooks called The Forgetters builds into a powerful meditation on forgiveness, grace, and the happiness of being called upon.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Christmas, Holiday

58 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2024

About the author

Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is best known for his 2000 memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is also the founder of several notable literary and philanthropic ventures, including the literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the literacy project 826 Valencia, and the human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness. Additionally, he founded ScholarMatch, a program that connects donors with students needing funds for college tuition. His writing has appeared in numerous prestigious publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a soft silence around winter where the aches of the heart can be heart like the crunch of snow underfoot, and solitude seems to hum like the breeze through the bare branches. The holidays are so filled with expectations of merriment that any deviation leaves a sting reminding you doubly of what may trouble you. Yet, in this quiet sorrow, small kindness can break through and fill your soul the way a moment of sun breaking up the dull grey of winter seems to bring its own special kind of brilliance. So have yourself a merry pink Christmas with Dave Egger’s The Keeper of the Ornaments, a quiet little tale of small kindnesses and connections that loom large in the heart.

This was like a brief antidote to my romp through the romcom novellas of the Under the Mistletoe Collection—or what I’ve been calling Happy Horny Holidays—and is quite lovingly written in is sweet simplicity. The story follows Cole as he steadiest himself into an acceptance of aging and a harmless, friendly neighbor role when freshly divorced Daphne moves in on the other side of his wall bringing two cats and two kids into his life. While it was occasionally a bit awkward and bumbling, I found a tenderness in his desire to prove himself as a “kindly grandad” figure that could be a gentle harbor against the harshness of the world for these new acquaintances and particularly enjoyed how he decided to dress for the part. ‘He'd ordered a cardigan, thinking it might hint at him being more of a grandfatherly presence.’ As a fan of old man cardigans myself, this gave me a smile. As did the idea of a tunnel between apartments for the cats to roam free.

The story is also snowed in under a layer of subtle sadness that made each encounter more heartfelt. There is a grief felt in each page, though I also really enjoyed how Eggers depicts a friendship that can be entirely plutonic (his whole bit of telling Daphne he only dates women his age so he promises to not flirt with her was quite awkward but with the heart in the right place). Especially as it is set at Christmas where new found love tends to be the Hallmark hallmark of the seasonal stories. But love can be more than romantic and quietly understanding and supporting through grief is just as powerful.

‘He saw so much of his mother in Daphne that he couldn't look at her just then; it hurt too much; he missed his mother so much, good Christ sometimes it felt so wrong, so searingly unjust that she was gone. He wanted her to meet these girls, too, wanted to walk with her along the water somewhere, have her grab his forearm and tell him something gossipy and delicious, wanted her put her chin in her hand the way she did, tilted, her eyes crin-kling, just looking at him as an old friend would- she was an old friend, he realized, called him to talk about nothing…’

Its a brief story where small moments mean more than their fleeting minutes. From cat funerals to the sharing of ornaments or simply being a reliable presence when those who were once reliable figures have become a dark shadow on the future, The Keeper of the Ornaments does well to provide a festive feel good vibes even if it seems the writing doesn’t always provide as much of a meaningful story as the “im writing a meaningful story” tone implies. Still, it hit some pretty chords upon the heartstrings and was a cozy little read.

3.5/5

[Jacquelyn O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

yeah this is the part of the year I start reading short stories and what about it … anyway the enjoyment I had reading this one surprised me and I’ll probably continue reading the series

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in an hour, cute and heartwarming. Maybe a good Christmas read!

[Breanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The upstairs neighbor of our duplex gave my boyfriend and I this book when we moved out. We shared his cat who came over nearly every day. This whole book through made me smile at all the similarities, I really couldn’t believe it. Such a fun, quick read

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this seemingly continuous series of the Forgetters. I hope it continues for years.

[William Canepa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know if it was just timing, but I adore this story. These characters are so real to me and I love them. Or maybe it’s just obvious that Eggers loves them. I feel like I know them and they are everyone I’ve ever known and I want so much for their happiness. Is that not love?

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this little gift in one sitting. The author holds the characters very tenderly as he presents them to the reader. The descriptions made it easy to see everything happening in your mind’s eye; picking up squirming cats was compared to holding wet pasta, which was such an exact image that I laughed aloud.

At one point toward the end of this short fiction, a detail was slipped in with such little fanfare that I stopped and reread the sentence five times, then set the book down as a tear ran down my cheek. A masterclass. I can’t wait to hunt down the rest of the stories in this series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4

Just a solid cozy short read. I quite enjoyed this one and I feel like the author was able to pack a good amount into so few pages. Definitely would recommend to anyone looking for a quick fall read!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad pink Christmas story, I love you.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet, although 44 is pretty young to be acting like that…

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Keeper of Ornaments is the third chapter of a work in progress by Eggers, called The Forgetters, a work apparently without a set number of installments, each chapter being published separately, perhaps working toward a mosaic of interconnected stories. In The Keeper of Ornaments, the protagonist, Cole, is a 44-year-old man, single, never wed, who discovers one day—to his irritation—that new neighbors have moved into the apartment next door, an apartment that has sat vacant long enough for Cole to get used to and appreciate the quiet. But now he’s confronted by screaming children, a TV with the volume set at blare, clanging pots and pans, and two cats—which have managed to find a hole in the shared wall between the apartments’ sets of cabinets—which come bursting into his apartment, breaking objects they knock over. The single, divorced mother, Daphne, is pushing 30. Cole assures her—she wasn’t asking—that he preferred dating women his own age, and that he would not try to seduce a next-door neighbor. Instead, he sees himself an avuncular role.

It becomes a Christmas miracle story, minus assistance from angels and ghostly epiphanies, but miracle enough to include second chances.

For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story with some fun, quirky details. A light, short version of A Man Called Ove. Not four stars because of the inconsistency around the building in which they are living. It is described as a multi-unit building in which the landlord was able to re-designate the number of one of the units and mentions shared walls, the woman in the unit below him and a unit diagonally down (down what, a hallway?). That all sounds like a typical apartment building. And he calls it an apartment building. But he also describes the neighbor’s unit as being 3 stories and being able to see her front porch from his window. He has a front door and a shared back deck. That sounds like maybe townhomes. Does the doorstep and doormat belong to his unit or to the building? He blocked the girls’ view of his doormat which sounded like it was at an entrance on the street, not in an apartment building. If this is a row of townhomes with separate basement units, how is there a neighbor diagonally down? I don’t see how this all fits together and seems like sloppy editing to me.

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely novella about a forty-something man resigned to a quiet life and the noisy single mom family that moves into the apartment next door. What changes when someone needs you and how are you changed by needing someone else? A tender and touching story that I wished I had discovered before Christmas, but still fitting for a winter's day. Part of Dave Eggers' The Forgetters collection of hardbound short stories. Looking forward to reading them all. Actual rating: 4.75

[Vania Valente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eggers wrote beautifully delicate characters with important depth. The story is less about the events in the storyline, and more focused on the character’s experiences. Heartwarming and festive, with lots of character development.

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

snappy and interesting writing! another unique find from the library, and an interesting concept of little short stories published separately like this. A lot of lovely heart that reminded me of A Man Called Ove and Drive and a lot of great characterization for such a short book.

[Taylor Lindsay Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect study in Short Fiction

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really solid short story. It has some sudden tonal shifts that I really felt while reading. Not really sure I understand how these books fit together but I’m enjoying them all anyway.

[Gavin Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this because the physical book is stunning, but I also absolutely loved the story (and love everything Eggers writes). It's such a thoughtful reflection on shared spaces.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, but a very good story

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

tw: pet death

[Bj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching little story. Great around Christmas time.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A feel good, hopeful little gem! Loved it!

[Greta Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smiled ear to ear while reading this :,-)

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty great story with very immediately real characters - I think my favorite of this series so far.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely short story. Not sure why all three weren’t published as a collection, but a nice read.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each one of these is like a little jewel, and I love them. Sadly, I am not remembering all the interlacing plots of these characters, so I am worried I will miss the overarching shine of the final piece.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now my all-time favorite Christmas story.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

sad and sweet

[Devinee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story. Sweet, funny, heartbreaking, and warm, in only 57 pages. I really appreciated how grief was experienced and felt by the main character. It was quiet but on the forefront.

[Sophia Cué Gabranski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haha I mean I just read this to meet my 50 book goal - it’s a short story but I truly did not get the point