How to Keep Time

by Kevin M. Kearney

Every day, Mercer Moore was reminded that it was all ending.

It was The End of Television, of Civility, of The Planet. Maybe that's why it doesn't seem like the end for Mercer. Sure, his wife Alejandra had been blunt. She hadn't used the word "divorce," but she had used "I" and "need" and "out," all in a row.

Still. It just doesn't feel like the end.

Rather than deal with the reality of her absence, Mercer reports Alejandra as missing to a skeptical detective and prays he's not subsequently considered a suspect. Fearing he's losing his grip, his brother Evan and father Lake suggest a weekend trip in the hopes that time away will lead to some clarity.

But the retreat to the family cabin in the New Jersey Pine Barrens only leads to more problems. Evan, recently sober and born-again, offers condescending platitudes while Lake, a widowed former hippie, is too stoned to present any real solutions. As each day passes without word from Alejandra, Mercer becomes more immersed in the sprawling, haunted wilderness of the Pine Barrens and its unsettling mythology. When he stumbles upon an unexpected discovery hiding there, he's forced to reckon with the reality of his marriage or continue crawling further into his comforting delusion.

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2022

Reviews

[Kevin Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am somewhat biased

[Shannon McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Keep Time is about the complexities of one’s family of origin and how childhood experiences unwittingly steer our path in adulthood. Kevin Kearney’s writing has heart. This book is charming, funny, and deeply moving.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read! I found the whole Moore Family very relatable - for better or worse. The writing was engaging and kept me hooked as we slowly learned more about the whole picture. Sometimes what we need is something to push us that last little bit to make a change

[Anthony Angotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and didn’t want to put it down!

It was a quick read and it was a great story of many different levels of family life.

Excited to see what Kearney has in store in the future!

[Kyle Seibel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like so many books, Kevin Kearney’s How to Keep Time is about a family. Unlike so many books, it pushes beyond the familiarity of its setting and characters to achieve something much rarer. It’s a book that manages to be both earnest and incisive, complex and realistic. Which is not to say it ever feels heavy. On the contrary, stories of loss and grief are rarely this fun. I hesitate to use the term page-turner, but the tidal pull of this narrative is such that if you don’t finish it in a day, it won’t take you much longer. A novel that ranks easily among my favorites of the year.

[John Dezort · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is beautiful. it builds steadily and quietly, the subtle tension of modern family life accumulating until you can't help but see some part of yourself in each character and feel deeply the softness of being so hopelessly human. lyric and sharp, this is a great read.

[lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought-provoking and easy at the same time: one of those novels that you’re excited to return to the next morning. This is a memorable story about family, finding oneself, and growing the fuck up. It's also blurbed by Alex G, which is the coolest thing I've ever seen on a book cover lol

[Chris Hilpl · Rating 5 out of 5]

HTKT is so well-written that it goes down smooth and easy (lean 200 pages!), but its characters and themes linger in your brain for quite a while after you’re done. Buy all the Kevin Kearney stock you can now!

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I wasn't sure I would like or connect with any of the characters in How to Keep Time. However, as the story unfolded, I found myself drawn to the fucked up, familiar mess that is the Moore family. I thought the novel worked best when it was rooted in the Moore men: retired stoner dad Lake, addict turned religious AA-er older brother Evan, and newly separated and not coping well at all Mercer. The novel was less successful when it wandered away from this focus with Alexandria's POV or the legends from New Jersey. I also really liked the introduction of lists and particularly Mercer's notecards. It was a clever way to establish Mercer' thought process with having to do too much. If the novel was a little tighter, it would have a higher rating for me. Also, the ending feels completely random and unearned, like we're being cut off in the middle of the story. It feels like a cop-out. Also, no offense to the graphic designer, but this cover is terrible, It feels like a bad nature guide from the 80s.

[Christie Colaprico · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Quick to devour but one that will stay with you long after. The author's writing style is so funny and smart. For a story about loss and grief, I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. Much of the writing reads as if you're being told these stories around a campfire (which is fitting, given the book's location in the Pine Barrens). I loved all of the mythology layered in. It was particularly enjoyable to read as a New Jersey native who spent many nights as a teenager voyaging out to different spots covered in the Weird NJ magazine. But even if you've never set foot in New Jersey, you're bound to relate to the book's larger themes about family and navigating this complicated thing called life. Can't wait for more work by this talented author!

[Brian Asalone · Rating 3 out of 5]

a first work by this author. Good character development but less plot development

[Annie Tyndale · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m just happy whenever someone talking about the pine barrens