Drawing from the author’s own life experiences, The Keepers follows the story of Jay and her teenage twins who live with autism. It was born from the pages Campbell wrote each morning when she became fed up with writing letters and emails that were destined to fail. In those ‘morning pages’, as she calls them, Campbell describes the harrowing stories of how her sons simply fail to fit into a system that doesn’t work for them.
We are immediately thrown into an ordinary evening with this extraordinary family. Teddy, one of Jay’s twins, loves using technology. In 15 years, he has never spoken a single word, though he does communicate with the aid of an iPad. Although he doesn’t speak, he sings beautifully in Latin, French, and Italian. He can even predict strangers’ birth months. Jay’s other twin is Frank, who has an enormous heart. He struggles with his weight, speaks with a stutter and, to top it off, has troubles with bullies.
Jay’s life is faithfully dedicated to her boys. Her husband is absent, and she is handling their family life incredibly well with the aid of her half-real friend Keep. But when Teddy gets sick, Jay’s complicated world is thrown further into turmoil.
Campbell wears her heart on her sleeve in this debut, and one can only stand in awe and applaud the courage that takes. It opens a challenging, yet necessary discussion about society’s shortcomings and pays homage to the incredible carers and what they face day-in and day-out. The discussion is long overdue, and The Keepers has arrived as a saviour. I think I may just send my copy to the Prime Minister.
Reviewed by Samuel Bernard
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Al Campbell (born in Brisbane and still trying to get out!) is an Australian writer. Her debut novel, The Keepers, was published by the University of Queensland Press (UQP) in February 2022.
The Keepers was nominated for both the Fiction Book Award and the People’s Choice/The Courier-Mail Queensland Book of the Year award at the 2022 Queensland Literary Awards.
Al won a Queensland Writers Fellowship at the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards.
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