Goodreads | The Memory Keeper's Daughter

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the memory keeper's daughter by kim edwards	31	246	7 hours, 19 min ago
The Memory Keeper's Daughter	34	159	8 days ago, 09:11AM

Tracy rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

08/10/07

Ugh. This book sucked. I was drawn in by the premise, my mother-in-law having borne twins where one was neurotypical and the other had cerebral palsy. However, as I got into the story, its shortcomings became painfully apparent.

The characters were shallow and unlikable. In particular I couldn't stand Norah, whose every hackneyed scene - from her flirtation with alcoholism to her tawdry affairs to her rebirth as a liberated entrepreneur - recalled the one Danielle Steele book I read o...more Ugh. This book sucked. I was drawn in by the premise, my mother-in-law having borne twins where one was neurotypical and the other had cerebral palsy. However, as I got into the story, its shortcomings became painfully apparent.

The characters were shallow and unlikable. In particular I couldn't stand Norah, whose every hackneyed scene - from her flirtation with alcoholism to her tawdry affairs to her rebirth as a liberated entrepreneur - recalled the one Danielle Steele book I read out of desperation during a boring summer at my parents' house.

So many times, the plot seemed to be building up to a climax that inevitably fell flat - son Paul's drugged-out ransacking of his father's workroom, for example, could've led to his discovering the file on his sister, but instead was resolved with no revelations, just a lame father-son chat and an admonition to clean up the mess - buh? As for David and his photography, The title "Memory Keeper" would've been more poignant if David had kept his photography a private thing, albums filled with desperately orchestrated scenes of 'happy' family moments that never were; instead, the author chose another Steele-worthy plot of turning him into a detached, semi-pro photo artist with some high-concept obsession with linking anatomy with nature scenes. Whatever.

The question of how David pulled off his daughter's faked death is also nagging; even if he did sign the death certificate himself, how did he swing the service and burial? Did he just run down to "Caskets-R-Us" for a box, told everyone he stuck her in there and no one blinked an eye?

The closest thing to a sympathetic, realistic character was Caroline, the nurse who raised Phoebe. And speaking of Phoebe, the author seemed to care less about transcending Down Syndrome stereotypes and fleshing her out as a fully-realized character than for using her an abstraction, a screen against which the other characters project their neuroses and complicated life choices.

The author is certainly enamored of setting a scene, right down to the dust motes in the air and the color of people's shoes. She puts far too much effort into description and not enough on weaving a compelling plot. Redundancy and trite dialogue are a constant annoyance.

Oh, and the whole Rosemary plot at the end? What? David just happens to stumble upon some pregnant homeless chick in his abandoned childhood home who's about Phoebe's age, and after she takes him prisoner and he confesses his precious sins to her, he basically adopts her like a neurotypical stand-in for the broken daughter he gave away? Was that supposed to be some act of redemption - taking in a girl and her baby to atone for the baby he rejected? The whole thing reeks of symbolism, but did anyone else just find this twist not only implausible but creepy? Feh.

I struggled to finish this book, but I wouldn't recommend anyone doing the same to themselves. ...less

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Christian rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

04/24/07

bookshelves: recently-read

Read in March, 2007

recommends it for: People with secrets

This book was terrible, not because it was bad, but because it was so good: I couldn't put it down until I finished the final pages at 3 in the morning. Not a good thing, when your alarm goes off at 5:50 AM.

What fascinates me about this book is what it has to say about "secrets." The basic premise: a doctor is forced to deliver his wife's child in the middle of a raging snowstorm. The only complication is that she's actually carrying twins - the first, a healthy beautiful baby boy;...more This book was terrible, not because it was bad, but because it was so good: I couldn't put it down until I finished the final pages at 3 in the morning. Not a good thing, when your alarm goes off at 5:50 AM.

What fascinates me about this book is what it has to say about "secrets." The basic premise: a doctor is forced to deliver his wife's child in the middle of a raging snowstorm. The only complication is that she's actually carrying twins - the first, a healthy beautiful baby boy; the second, a Downs Syndrome baby girl. The year is 1964, when such children are regularly institutionalized - after all, babies like this rarely survive long anyway, and even if they do, their quality of life is marginal at best.

As a doctor, David Henry knows his daughters prognosis full well, and rather than force his young wife Norah to deal with such a tragedy, he makes a snap decision to try and protect her from a lifetime of unspeakable grief. His solution: hand the "defective" daughter to his nurse to deliver to an institution, while he informs his wife of the tragedy - she delivered twins, but her daughter did not survive childbirth. She is dead. Gone.

With that simple little secret, the future is inescapably changed, his doom is sealed - unbeknownst to anyone, the nurse flees into hiding to raise the child as her own.

The rest of the book is riveting, because we get to see firsthand the effects of his fall - on his relationship with his wife, his son, and eventually everyone else around him. It's a tragic book (I'm not sure I could read it again), because it's not Hollywood - it's brutally true to the lives that many of us have experienced ourselves.

The one ray of hope comes unexpectedly, as David Henry confesses everything - no more secrets - to a young woman with child.

In the silence David started talking again, trying to explain at first about the snow and the shock and the scalpel flashing in the harsh light. How he has stood outside himself and watched himself moving in the world. How he had woken up every morning of his life for eithteen years thinking maybe today, maybe this was the day he would put things right. But Phoebe was gone and he couldn't find her, so how could he possibly tell Norah?

The secret had worked its way through their marriage, an insidious vine, twisting; she drank too much, and then she began having affairs, that sleazy realtor at the beach, and then the others; he's tried not to notice, to forgive her, for he knew that in some real sense the fault was his. Photo after photo, as if he could stop time or make an image powerful enough to obscure the moment when he had turned and handed his daughter to Caroline Gill. ...

He had handed his daughter to Caroline Gill and that act had led him here, years later, to this girl in motion of her own, this girl who had decided yes, a brief moment of release in the back of a car or in the room of a silent house, this girl who had stood up later, adjusting her clothes, with no knowledge of how that moment was already shaping her life.

She cut [paper] and listened. Her silence made him free. He talked like a river, like a storm, words rushing through the old house with a force and life he could not stop. At some point he began to weep again, and he could not stop that either. Rosemary made no comment whatsoever. He talked until the words slowed, ebbed, finally ceased.

Silence welled. She did not speak. ...

"All right," she said [at last]. "You're free."

And this single act of honesty produces the deepest intimacy he has ever experienced - it's not sexual, but relational - with a human being who knows the very worst about him and yet who does not reject him for it.

You can read the whole review here seelifedifferently.blogspot.co.........less

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Emily rated it:

(review of isbn 1407416898)

05/05/08

bookshelves: 2008-journey-to-30, chick-lit, hersday-book-club, i-own-it

Read in May, 2008

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards is a novel about a choice. I went from reading a book about a lie in a moment (Atonement), to a book about a choice made in a moment. It was a good transition. Thanks to some late spring snow (just like Seattle got last night) Dr David Henry is forced to deliver his wife's twins with only the help of his nurse Caroline. The baby boy, Paul, is born 100% healthy and alert, but the baby girl, Phoebe, is born with Downs Syndrome, and David makes the decisi...more

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Jenny rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

06/15/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter was very readable and certainly gave me a lot to think about. I would try another book by the same author.

Lots of Spoilers Ahead:

During a snowstorm, Dr. David Henry delivers his own twins, a boy and a girl. The baby girl has Down Syndrome, so he asks the nurse to take the baby away to an institution. He lies to his wife and tells her the baby girl has died.

When I got to the part where he lies to his wife, I was so angry that I put the book down. In 1964 ...more The Memory Keeper's Daughter was very readable and certainly gave me a lot to think about. I would try another book by the same author.

Lots of Spoilers Ahead:

During a snowstorm, Dr. David Henry delivers his own twins, a boy and a girl. The baby girl has Down Syndrome, so he asks the nurse to take the baby away to an institution. He lies to his wife and tells her the baby girl has died.

When I got to the part where he lies to his wife, I was so angry that I put the book down. In 1964 putting kids with Downs in institutions was pretty common, but to lie to his wife like that? Also, she didn't even know she had twins until he told her. If the idea was to spare her feelings, I could not understand why he didn't pretend she only given birth to one healthy baby and leave it at that.

I picked up the book the next day and kept reading. I'm glad I did. I did understand to a degree why David did what he did. You also see the impact carrying the secret has on the relationship with both son, Paul, whom he kept and his wife, Norah. Not just the secret itself, but being the kind of person who would take on such a grand deception in the first place.

"The secret had worked its way through their marriage, an insidious vine, twisting; she drank too much, and then she began having affairs, that sleazy realtor at the beach, and then the others; he's tried not to notice, to forgive her, for he knew that in some real sense the fault was his. Photo after photo, as if he could stop time or make an image powerful enough to obscure the moment when he had turned and handed his daughter to Caroline Gill."

The story did not unfold the way I thought it would. I was waiting for David to come clean to his family, but he never did. Not even when he and his wife divorce. The only person we tells the truth to is Rosemary, a pregnant teen he finds living in his abandoned childhood. He finds a degree of redemption through helping Rosemary, but the fact he never really owns up to what he has done to the people most hurt by it really me from ever coming to like him.

I don't think any of the characters, or their motives were black and white, not even the nurse, who ends up raising the baby herself. Yes, she saved the Phoebe from a life in an institution, but she was also aware that Norah thought her had daughter died. She only reveals the truth to her after the girl is grown and David is dead. Caroline admits she was motivated not just by a desire to save Phoebe, but her own desire to have a child, as well as by her secret love for Dr. Henry.

I really felt for Paul, who ends up lost in his parents mess of a marriage. In the end Norah and Paul do find out about Phoebe. Paul even more than Norah, ends up forging a bond with her.

One of the things I was left wondering was, what would have become of Phoebe if David had not lied? David, like most medical professionals of his time, honestly felt that Phoebe would be better off in an institution. I could see Norah agreeing with that, thinking he knew what was for the best. But I could also imagine Norah fighting for her daughter. Using the ambition and energy she ends up putting into her travel agency to raise and protect her.

I can't imagine that David and Norah would have gone on to raise the twins together in some idyllic marriage had he told the truth. He was a man who kept secrets, and not just the one about Phoebe.

The fact Phoebe probably did end up better off does not excuse the lie in my mind, but it does complicate my feelings about it. ...less

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Stacie rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

03/04/07

bookshelves: bookclubread

Read in February, 2007

I didn't get into the book until around page 200 (but it's normal for me to take a while to get into a book). I did however notice that I didn't have the kind of connection I normally have with the characters and the book (does that make sense?)

(let's see if I can remember all I wrote).... When David gives Phoebe to Caroline, I felt bad for Caroline because it should not have been her place to give Phoebe away. I also felt bad for Norah, who didn't even know she was having twins. I think D...more I didn't get into the book until around page 200 (but it's normal for me to take a while to get into a book). I did however notice that I didn't have the kind of connection I normally have with the characters and the book (does that make sense?)

(let's see if I can remember all I wrote).... When David gives Phoebe to Caroline, I felt bad for Caroline because it should not have been her place to give Phoebe away. I also felt bad for Norah, who didn't even know she was having twins. I think David should not have mentioned Phoebe to Norah at all, since he said he wanted to protect her (not that I condone that).
Later in the book, when we found out that David had a sister with Down's Syndrome, it made me question why he wanted to give Phoebe away in the first place; she was described in such high regard. One would think as a doctor he would have this secret desire to help Phoebe like he never could help June.

When they go on vacation, and we meet Howard, I got pissed at Norah. I know she had a secret desire to be like her rebellious sister, but to cheat on your husband so openly is not the way to go about filling the void she had (openly by leaving her clothes on the beach and having sex under an open widow). I have never lost a child, but I felt like once she found out Phoebe "had died" she shoud have gone to David for support, not pushed him away. I also didn't grow up during the 60s, so I cant say she should have seeked counseling, since it was described in a sort of negative connotation in the book. Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming her totally for the demise of her marriage, I just feel like she should have connected more with the man she chose to marry.

When she decided to get the job at the travel agency, I was happy for her. I think it did help her grow in to the woman she eventually became and made her a stronger, more independant woman.

The introduction of Rosemary was sort of odd; I feel like this part could have been deleted from the book all together. I do feel that she was the most stable character throughout the whole book, though. I also found it odd that David would confide in a 16 year old girl and share his secrets of the past, just because she was living in his parents' old house. I guess the author(Kim Edwards) was trying to find away for him to have a sort of meltdown and let it all out. I respect Rosemary in the sense that she listened to everything he had to say and she did not judge him, nor did she tell his secrets. (on a side note, I honestly thought her and Paul were gonna end up together).

I wonder if things would have ended differently if David had eventually told Norah about Phoebe instead of finding out from Caroline. I think it would have been too late in their relationship to change anything, but at least he would have that 1000 lb sand bag off his chest. I also feel like Norah would never be able to forgive David.

I sort of don't like the way the book ended abruptly, but I was happy to see that Paul was getting to know his sister. That made me happy that he got a sort of a closure from meeting the twin he never knew.

Overall, I rate this book as average. I might suggest this book to someone else.
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DeLaina rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

05/25/08

bookshelves: adult

Read in March, 2008

recommended to DeLaina by: book club

I read a bunch of reviews of this book prior to reading it myself, and wasn't sure whether or not I would enjoy it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked this book quite a bit, and here's why:

1. The story was fascinating! What would I have done in that situation? It was fun to imagine myself as Norah, Caroline, David or Paul and determine if my actions would mirror theirs, or if I would have done things differently.

2. The metaphors and imagery that Edwards uses are captivat...more I read a bunch of reviews of this book prior to reading it myself, and wasn't sure whether or not I would enjoy it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked this book quite a bit, and here's why:

1. The story was fascinating! What would I have done in that situation? It was fun to imagine myself as Norah, Caroline, David or Paul and determine if my actions would mirror theirs, or if I would have done things differently.

2. The metaphors and imagery that Edwards uses are captivating. For example, she describes "crocuses shouting" and "a wedge of air coming through an open door". The juxtaposition of physical characteristics ascribed to inanimate objects, and the fusion of opposites added texture to the story.

Going along with that, she used the wind as a metaphor-unrest, loneliness, loss, guilt, shame, it spoke a different language to each of the characters and manifested itself in interesting ways. The obsessive compulsive picture taking, the drive to make sense of the world, the bones, the running, the travel-all of these were terrific physical manifestations of inner turmoil, some blatant, others, subtle reminders of the loss.

3. Edwards descriptive abilities made it seem that I was in the room with the characters. She pointed out the pattern of sunlight cascading through the windows, or other mundane details that so many other authors gloss over or ignore because they are too busy telling about events that happen. I realize that in some cases this can be construed as "dragging, boring, or slow" but Edwards used such beautiful, interesting language to describe those things, that it made the story come alive for me, and I felt like I was a participant observer, rather than just an observer.

4. One of my personal fascinations is tracking and tracing the pivotal points in people's lives that determine who they really are. Naturally this book was all about how one seemingly right decision affected dozens of lives. How would they have been different if different decision were made?

The only really bothersome thing was that nobody triumphed over the loss...no matter how hard they tried...so, is this a cautionary tale to always tell the truth? To not make decisions based on how you think someone will react, but to give them the agency to decide that for themselves?

I understand how the outcomes of each of the characters happened, but also would have liked to have seen some triumph and salvation-and perhaps that's what Rosemary and Jack were supposed to be, at least for David. He couldn't fix his own family so he spent his time fixing others-literally and figuratively. And, I guess, ultimately Phoebe and Caroline triumphed...I just don't like to believe that suffering a loss reduces us to throwing our lives to the wind. I want to think that peace and hope can still be found....less

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Lisa rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

04/06/08

bookshelves: hated-overrated-unfinished-abandone

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: Housewives and Oprah fans.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Will someone please explain to me why, at my age, and I should know better, I'm stilled swayed by the words "No. 1 N.Y. Times Bestseller!"? I found this for fifty cents at my library's used book sale last week. A warning I clearly ignored. But it had a good title, a beautiful, mysterious cover, and lots of people are reading it. Lots of people watch "Oprah" and "The View", too. About halfway through the first paragraph I realized, too late to get my fifty cents back...more Will someone please explain to me why, at my age, and I should know better, I'm stilled swayed by the words "No. 1 N.Y. Times Bestseller!"? I found this for fifty cents at my library's used book sale last week. A warning I clearly ignored. But it had a good title, a beautiful, mysterious cover, and lots of people are reading it. Lots of people watch "Oprah" and "The View", too. About halfway through the first paragraph I realized, too late to get my fifty cents back, that this is CHICK LIT. Not even goofy, over-the-top fun chick lit, but "takes itself waaay too serious" chick lit pretending to be literature. The subtitle of this preposterous premised-book, choked with a mountain of useless detail, should have been "My Hidden Breastfeeding Agenda, Brought to You By the La Leche League".

She goes on, on, on, and on about "the milk rising", and other numerous references to the Joy of Breastfeeding. At least in the first chapters. Then she drops it like a hot potato, busily filling the pages with endless detail about patterns on people's clothing and how the ground looks. Instead of working on character development.

Anyway, the plot is just too much: Husband Pretends Handicapped Baby is Born Dead Keeps Big Secret From Wife and Marriage is NEVER THE SAME. Well, duh.

The main characters, except Caroline, are wholly unlikeable.
The writing is beyond tolerable; my eyes rolled so often they hurt.
Edwards clearly has "The Writer's Guide to Trite" and "The Big Book of Cliches" on her reference shelf. Ugh. Why do rooms always have to be "small but immaculate"?

Also, while casuarina trees and bougainvillea exist on Aruba, the "trademark tree" is the Divi-divi, and cacti are more typical than flowers. Let me guess, Edwards has never been there, right?

And note to author: You don't know your ass from a hole in the ground about photography. "Photography is about secrets" she writes. Whaaaa???? I thought it was about revelation and discovery. Thanks, Kim, I'll bring my diploma from R.I.T to work tomorrow and shred it in the shredder. And my friends out there, if you ever hear me coin a phrase like "Memory Keeper" in reference to me being a photographer, please walk quietly up behind me and smash my skull in with a baseball bat. At least that will be more pleasurable than reading this book.
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Katy rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

03/17/08

Read in March, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I'm torn on this book. I gave it three stars because I couldn't give it 2 1/2. I loved the premise of the book. In the mid 1960's a doctor, David Henry, delivers his own baby on a very snowy night. He gets a surprise when one baby turns into twins, a boy and a girl. Except for the girl has Downs syndrome and in a swift decision, he hands the baby off to the nurse to take the baby to a home for "those types of babies."

David's sister died at a very young age and it tore his mo...more I'm torn on this book. I gave it three stars because I couldn't give it 2 1/2. I loved the premise of the book. In the mid 1960's a doctor, David Henry, delivers his own baby on a very snowy night. He gets a surprise when one baby turns into twins, a boy and a girl. Except for the girl has Downs syndrome and in a swift decision, he hands the baby off to the nurse to take the baby to a home for "those types of babies."

David's sister died at a very young age and it tore his mother apart. In 1960 the prognosis for a child with Downs was very grim and unknown so David thought he would spare his wife the pain he saw his mother go through and tell her the baby had died.

The thing is, the nurse brought the child to the home but after seeing the conditions decided she couldn't leave the baby there. The nurse fled the city, moved elsewhere and raised the child as her own.

The book shows each twin growing up and how that secret shapes everyone's lives.

The premise is great which is why I picked up the book and the writer really has a knack for human emotion. You can really feel what those people are feeling and it tugs are your heart. She has a way of exposing basic human needs and making the reader really feel them.

I was torn on my feelings for Norah. A part of me felt for her and you have to keep in mind, it was the 60's and 70's. The relationship between husband and wife was different and Norah had an obvious case of depression but I'm sure that subject and going to a shrink were a little taboo back then. But a part of me felt like she was blaming David for their problems in their marriage when she didn't shoulder any of the blame.

However, the writer of this book went into details that didn't REALLY need to be there. It was a long book that could've been much shorter due to omiting unnecesary details that were neither here nor there. I found myself skipping over much of those details because instead of getting me into the setting and story, it really just bored me and I wanted her to get back to the story and not how the butterflies danced in the golden wheat and blah blah blah. Some is nice but it seemed that the book was half plot, half unnecessary details.

I also HATED the way the book ended. Not just the very end but the last 50 pages or so weren't great either. I felt things were inconsistent with characters personalities. When Caroline shows up to tell Norah about Phoebe, why would she do that...out of the blue? And why a whole year after David died? We learn of the inheritance Phoebe receives but what happened to Paul's? We never hear of it.

I did like how Paul and Phoebe started to have a relationship which was nice but it felt like Norah and Phoebe's relationship was weird. Norah was trying to force a relationship and didn't acknowledge/care/understand that Phoebe just doesn't get that Norah is her biological mother and Caroline is the one who raised her. Norah seems to think they'll explain it and then everything will be okay. ...less

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Jennem rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

01/07/08

bookshelves: fiction

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is 401 pages long, and it could have been written in 150 pages. Kim Edward's is a descriptive author——she likes to describe everything, and her personal writing style really contributes to the word count, making the book somewhat tedious. I liked it enough to finish it, but I definitely didn't have a problem putting it down for a while.

The story is interesting, but it is not unique or that original.

It begins in 1964, when a blizzard forces one ...more The Memory Keeper's Daughter is 401 pages long, and it could have been written in 150 pages. Kim Edward's is a descriptive author——she likes to describe everything, and her personal writing style really contributes to the word count, making the book somewhat tedious. I liked it enough to finish it, but I definitely didn't have a problem putting it down for a while.

The story is interesting, but it is not unique or that original.

It begins in 1964, when a blizzard forces one of the main characters (Dr. David Henry) to deliver his own twins. His first twin, a boy, is perfectly healthy, but when David delivers the second twin, he discovers that she has Down's Syndrome. David asks his nurse, Caroline, to take his daughter away to an institution, and he tells his wife that their child died. Instead of following David's instruction, Caroline disappears into another city and decides to raise the child as her own.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a study of the human condition - how a single decision can alter your life and the lives of others. David's decision haunts him, and cripples his ability to form and maintain a meaningful relationship with his wife and son. Caroline's brings both joy and an unbelievable (and somewhat life consuming) responsibility.

It demonstrates the debilitating nature of the secrets we keep from those we love. The lies we tell. And, it has an interesting perspective on how we view ourselves, how our loved ones view us, and how strangers view us. David had this all-consuming and horrific secret. He gave his daughter away and told his wife that she was dead, but he also volunteered at a free clinic, providing medical care for the poor and needy. With Phoebe, the daughter, you observe how she is treated by those who love her, how the world treats her, and how she considers herself. Its an interesting study in characterization.

The temporal leaps and the way the book jumps from one story (David & Norah) to another (Caroline & Phoebe) can be confusing, particularly at the beginning of the book. And, its really distracting because I intensely dislike books that cut-off a story. But, it also has a very real (and good) message about how society tends to treat the mentally disabled - particularly before the ADA was passed.

If you enjoy reading about families and all of their glorious dysfunctions I would put this on your "to read list." Otherwise, I wouldn't be in a rush to read it. Its one of those books that you can eventually get to as the wind takes you....less

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Heather rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

06/03/08

Read in March, 2008

At first I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why I was not enjoying a book that sounded as though it would be ‘my kind of book’ in every way, but the more I read and the more I thought about it, the more reasons emerged.

From the beginning of the novel there were little details that bothered me. The plot often felt contrived, as pieces fell together too nicely. Of course life is crazy and there is always the possibility of the little pieces falling in the most peculiar way, but when all of y...more At first I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why I was not enjoying a book that sounded as though it would be ‘my kind of book’ in every way, but the more I read and the more I thought about it, the more reasons emerged.

From the beginning of the novel there were little details that bothered me. The plot often felt contrived, as pieces fell together too nicely. Of course life is crazy and there is always the possibility of the little pieces falling in the most peculiar way, but when all of your characters’ lives seem to follow that incredible pattern, it begins to feel ridiculous.

Some of the characters themselves also became clichés. Perhaps I reached a certain point in the story where I began to look for things that bothered me and therefore found them more readily than other readers. Yet, Norah, the mother of the twins, and her sister, Bree seem to never really develop. Bree is the young, free-loving free-spirit who is thus almost a danger to Norah’s thoughts on life – and that is what she remains, even when older and diagnosed with cancer (although Norah does come to appreciate her). Norah, whose life unravels for a bit after she thinks her daughter has died, drinks too much and then begins having affairs, and this is who she remains for most of the novel. The characters just seemed too much like a sappy Lifetime movie for me to really take them inside of me and keep with me.

I was also very disappointed in the character of Phoebe, the Down’s syndrome daughter given away by her father. She was the driving force of the novel and yet we really never know her other than glimpses through the eyes of Caroline. Paul, her twin brother, is given thoughts but Phoebe’s mind remains a mystery. I understand the difficulty in writing honestly for a character with Down’s but I kept thinking of the autistic narrator in Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time who was so rich and incredible and believable (if you haven’t read this one, please do!!). I just thought that Edwards had a mission in humanizing those who suffer Down’s syndrome; and that she herself undermines her purpose with the complete omission of Phoebe’s voice. I wanted to know this child as a child and not as a sad plot device. In all fairness, however, I have to say that I did love certain passages, as Edwards’ poetic language captured me wholly.

In the end, I think that my largest issue with this book was the absolute destruction of this family. I know that what happened at the birth of the babies was tragic and life changing but I felt as though it was a bit contrived that it drove every emotion and interaction afterwards for the remainder of the characters’ lives. Perhaps, for me, it just made their bonds from the beginning suspect as their destruction was made so inevitable by that one tragic mistake. I didn’t believe it and perhaps, because we read to understand others and to change ourselves, I do not want to believe it.
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Meagan rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

03/26/08

Read in February, 2008

he plot of this story is basic. A father and a doctor delivers his wife's twins. Being a doctor he recognizes that the twin girl has down syndrome right away. It is 1964 and the wife is passed out. He gives the girl to the nurse and tells her to take her to a home. Meaning to tell his wife the truth, tells her of the twin, but then tells her the girl died. The nurse takes the baby to the home and finds the place unpleasant and decides to keep the baby to raise as her own. She leaves town. The st...more he plot of this story is basic. A father and a doctor delivers his wife's twins. Being a doctor he recognizes that the twin girl has down syndrome right away. It is 1964 and the wife is passed out. He gives the girl to the nurse and tells her to take her to a home. Meaning to tell his wife the truth, tells her of the twin, but then tells her the girl died. The nurse takes the baby to the home and finds the place unpleasant and decides to keep the baby to raise as her own. She leaves town. The stories follows the lives of these two "families" from there on out.

What may seem like a story that would be heavily concentrated on the differences between down syndrome children and "normal" children, it is surprisingly light on the subject. In fact in some ways I feel it is a little too light. But I'll touch on that later. The characters are beautifully flawed and the voice is equally enchanting.

Each chapter or section begins with a page that simply tells you what year it is. Then there are sections within that which are from different charecter's pov. (Close third person) The father's, the nurse's, the mother's, and when the boy twin, David is 13, his pov. However different events take place. This is not a "how each person saw the same thing" type of story. On Monday we have dad's pov, on Tuesday we have mom's. like that. (only not that contrived)

I think this way of telling the story works well. It really gets you to see the characters inside and out and I feel gives a deeper emotion to their troubles and situations. However Phoebe, the girl with down syndrome, doesn't ever get a p.o.v section. She has dialog and is a well developed character as the nurse sees her, but I think her lacking what everyone else has, essentially point of view, turns her into too much of a plot device for me. I think the story and the point of the piece still works, but this did concern me though I do understand that it may be difficult to write a down syndrome pov.

Having said that I really did enjoy the book. It is littered with descriptive details of scenery and nature that don't bog you down but really put you there. I think the symbolized in the piece is subtle and nice, though the author at times draws too much attention to it.

The ending is what it is. I don't want to give too much away, the story really is touching and interesting, and in many ways unique. I think it is a good summer read novel (though I certainly didn't wait)

Also if this mini review seems more work-shopy than normal, I guess that's what happens when I do recreational reading while in school.

anyway, good gentle read. The ending fell off for me, but really there was no where else for it to go from there. Once the secret was out the story lost momentum, and that is kind of an issue with the book...less

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Tung rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

01/23/08

Read in January, 2008

The book begins in 1964. A doctor delivers his own wife’s son, and to his own surprise, their son’s twin sister as well. From her physical features, the doctor recognizes the child has Down’s Syndrome and to protect his wife from the grief of having a child die early (common for Down’s children back then) since he and his own family had to deal with the death of his sister when she was young, the doctor hands the child over to his trusted nurse and instructs her to take the child to an i...more The book begins in 1964. A doctor delivers his own wife’s son, and to his own surprise, their son’s twin sister as well. From her physical features, the doctor recognizes the child has Down’s Syndrome and to protect his wife from the grief of having a child die early (common for Down’s children back then) since he and his own family had to deal with the death of his sister when she was young, the doctor hands the child over to his trusted nurse and instructs her to take the child to an institution nearby. The doctor then lies to his wife and tells her their daughter died at childbirth. Instead of delivering the child to the institution, however, the nurse instead runs off with the child to raise it as her own. The rest of the book’s plot hinges on these two fateful decisions: the doctor’s choice to give up his daughter and lie to his wife, and the nurse’s decision to raise the girl as normally as possible. Note to self: if a book’s author is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, put the book down and walk away. This book is as cliché as they come – not just in the plot and the characterizations, but also in the prose. The plot sets itself up for ongoing tension between the characters due to their past decisions, and then allows all of the characters to redeem themselves at the end. The characters are stereotypes: the noble doctor struggling with a past decision motivated by his past grief; the unsatisfied grieving mother who finds solace in other ways; the noble mother who raises a disabled child to prove that everyone deserves equality. It’s like the Iowa Writer’s Workshop deliberately teaches its students to dream up plots worthy of an Oprah’s Book Club Selection. My biggest grievance is that Edwards overwrites every scene. We understand that the characters all have made decisions they regret, and that their pasts inform their present and future actions. We actually don’t need the narrative to spell that out for us in EVERY SINGLE SCENE. We also understand symbolism: early on, there is a scene where the doctor’s wife destroys a wasp nest to prove to herself that she is capable and able to handle things herself without having the doctor protect her and control her – and yet the author has to point that out to the reader, that the wife felt capable and felt like she didn’t need to be protected any longer. Apparently, Iowa doesn’t teach Subtlety as a course offering. Pass on this, unless you have no sense of discernment and like trite stories....less

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Christine rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

05/04/08

Read in May, 2008

I find it interesting that the key word previous reviewers have used for Edwards' novel is "memerising" -- I feel this is code for "time-consuming extended study of an author's ability to describe every last detail of physical surrounding and internal state-of-being of her characters." Now, granted, I did give it a 3 out of 5, so I can't be entirely harsh on the tedious pace of the writing in this novel.

Edwards is fantastic when it comes to elemental metaphors. Her charac...more I find it interesting that the key word previous reviewers have used for Edwards' novel is "memerising" -- I feel this is code for "time-consuming extended study of an author's ability to describe every last detail of physical surrounding and internal state-of-being of her characters." Now, granted, I did give it a 3 out of 5, so I can't be entirely harsh on the tedious pace of the writing in this novel.

Edwards is fantastic when it comes to elemental metaphors. Her characters are very much aware of their place in the world and of their natural environment overall. Water, wind, sunlight, earth, and plants are given greater weight as the foundations of her characters' existence in the world and the elements are often referenced to reflect a given emotional state in general. Edwards walks a bit of a dangerous line with this one, though -- while I really loved her water metaphors in particular, she reinforces the stereotype of women as "intuitive" or entirely bodily beings (i.e. Women come to understand the world through their bodies alone). Edwards reinforces "instinct" in her female characters and directly connects that to what she defines as "good mothering" overall. A tricky position, I know -- I think that would make for an excellent English essay right there. :p

My mental image of the novel is a world where the colours have literally faded and nothing/no one in particular stands out from the drab background. Every character is imbued with a sense of fragility as if a single shift in the universe will set them reeling again (which, SURPRISE! -- it often does). I mean, I can't deny that Edwards' writing is enjoyable and her turns of phrase unfurl nicely. But, my impression boils down to the fact that it is too slow-paced. Her characters are almost completely internalized and rarely interact with the world around them except for Edwards' use of elemental metaphors. It was tough for me to get through which is a shame because she has a nice writing style.

Final Thoughts: "Meh" -- It's a book you can take or leave. I wouldn't throw all my support behind it, but I also wouldn't expose the plot to potential readers in the hopes that they would never pick up the novel. I am neither passionately for nor violently against Kim Edwards. If you like books that focus on detailed character development and don't mind the slower pace, then go for it. For me, though, I wouldn't give the book a second read, but I was pleased with Edwards' use of language overall.
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Nola rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

03/26/08

bookshelves: fiction---fantasy

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who thinks lying is okay in marriage

Some moments in our lives are crossroads, moments where the course of our lives is shaped. Sometimes the deviation is minor, and sometimes it is life-altering. Such are the forces that form the first chapter of Kim Edwards’ novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.

A dreadful snowstorm forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his first child, which to his surprise turns out to be twins. The first is a perfect son, ideal in all ways. But the second child has Down’s syndrome. In a moment that chang...more Some moments in our lives are crossroads, moments where the course of our lives is shaped. Sometimes the deviation is minor, and sometimes it is life-altering. Such are the forces that form the first chapter of Kim Edwards’ novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.

A dreadful snowstorm forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his first child, which to his surprise turns out to be twins. The first is a perfect son, ideal in all ways. But the second child has Down’s syndrome. In a moment that changed and defined the life of all five people in the room – the twins, the parents, and the nurse – Dr. Henry requests that his nurse take the girl to a home for the mentally retarded. Instead, she takes the child away and raises her as her own. The mother is told only that her daughter was stillborn.

Edwards traces the lives of the two families over the next twenty-five years. Dr. Henry sought to shelter his wife and son from grief, but his deep, dark secret winds up alienating him from his family, and the pain he caused may well exceed what they would have otherwise have suffered. His monumentous deception creates a wall upon which other lies are built. As he draws away from his wife, she draws away from him. Their deceptions impact their son, who begins erecting his own walls.

Part of David’s withdrawl is accentuated by the gift of a camera that enables him to remove himself from his family’s life. Even when he is present for events and activities, he isolates himself behind the lens. Only years later does he come to realize that much of his life was spent in observation rather than active participation.

Meanwhile, as Caroline raises the unwanted child, her perspective completely changes. Instead of waiting to be loved, she learns to find fulfillment in loving. After several years, she recognizes that she was not a passive victim but an active accomplice in the deception.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is a tale of deception and treachery, but it is also a story of walls and barriers. Over and over again, David had the opportunity and even the desire to confess and come clean, and yet he never does. Instead, he remains silent, and his silence is frequently misinterpreted, driving another wedge between himself and those he loves. Although few of us deceive to such magnitude, the story manages to illustrate the price of deception of all sizes. Edwards has managed to weave a convincing story of tragedy, fully drawing the reader into her tale.
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Susie rated it:

(review of isbn 0143037145)

04/07/08

Read in April, 2008

So...starting the book I didn't really know what to think as I'd heard mixed reviews. One of my best friends, whom I trust immensely when it comes to books felt apprehensive about the novel, not liking it and not knowing why. My fellow teachers, who can be quite unpredictable when it comes to loving and hating novels, raved about it.

And now I, too, feel ambivalent, much like I felt when reading THE KITE RUNNER, much like I felt with ATONEMENT. So now I question myself--wonder, "am I ju...more So...starting the book I didn't really know what to think as I'd heard mixed reviews. One of my best friends, whom I trust immensely when it comes to books felt apprehensive about the novel, not liking it and not knowing why. My fellow teachers, who can be quite unpredictable when it comes to loving and hating novels, raved about it.

And now I, too, feel ambivalent, much like I felt when reading THE KITE RUNNER, much like I felt with ATONEMENT. So now I question myself--wonder, "am I just getting old and desirous of some cheesy artificial happiness in my novels?" And I know, and you do too if you know me, that that's certainly not the case. I will say I believe that the WRITING in this novel in no way rivals that of the other two works I mentioned. Though it has its moments of beauty, describing the detail with which a man looks through the lens of his camera and sees beauty in the completely unexpected, describing the longing in the human heart upon seeing another for who she is but still being completely unable to reach her in that place, the writing was also (and quite often) forced and fake and redundant.

I also wanted a moment of redemption for the characters that seemingly never came, and the book's ultimate theme seemed to be that life is difficult, true communion with another impossible, and that maturity means finally accepting the truth of those ideas. That, I didn't like. I'm tired of reading novels of hopelessness whose lingering hope at the end isn't exactly hope at all. I'm tired of being asked to accept that the only hope in life is a smile on the face of a silent, broken child, the creation of a fantastical perfect life for two lovers severed by a tragic and selfish mistake never truly atoned for, and now the possibility of relationship with a lost sibling without ever knowing what real relationship actually is. Ah...isn't this the human life, though? Maybe I am too hard on these novels. Maybe I am just asking from them what I always grow weary of asking from my students: a simple grasp of reality, of responsibility, when confronting life's suffering and failures. Maybe I'm still hoping that the world we live in will once again embrace the true possibilities of redemption rather than finding it in moments of quasi-truth.

And once again, I confront the paradox of my life--I am both idealist and realist, trapped and always conflicting, and never really certain which way to lean....less

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Kirsty rated it:

(review of isbn 0141030143)

06/09/08

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