The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The storyline was compelling, so much so that it propelled the book past its weaknesses. The author creates intricate characters, attributing voice to their perspectives, not being afraid to give them faults (because they all have very many), and exhibiting a clear picture of their relationships with one another. There is a great deal of sadness in the book. I found myself deeply unsettled by...more

The storyline was compelling, so much so that it propelled the book past its weaknesses. The author creates intricate characters, attributing voice to their perspectives, not being afraid to give them faults (because they all have very many), and exhibiting a clear picture of their relationships with one another. There is a great deal of sadness in the book. I found myself deeply unsettled by some of the events and attaching myself, in a very strong way, to certain characters. Now for the bad: This is a very heavy read. The author uses a dense writing style and, at times, you may find yourself impatient, wrestling with the horrendously slow movement of the story and often, the repeated descriptions and word choice. The characters DO evolve over the course of the story, but in that same vein, there are aspects of them that should change but do not. You may find yourself rolling your eyes at a number of their thoughts and actions, feeling that you have heard it too many times to count. But as I said, the storyline will propel you. It's worth the read.   hide

Given to me by Crystal Casavant Roy. Liked that the author was from Kentucky where my family originated and that the book highlighted a lot of those familiar areas. Also a great read if you like to read about downs syndrom and how recently we oppressed or poorly viewed those with dissabilities. I tought it as a little sad. Downer - not an upper. Crystal Casavant Roy recommended...more

Given to me by Crystal Casavant Roy. Liked that the author was from Kentucky where my family originated and that the book highlighted a lot of those familiar areas. Also a great read if you like to read about downs syndrom and how recently we oppressed or poorly viewed those with dissabilities. I tought it as a little sad. Downer - not an upper. Crystal Casavant Roy recommended this book to me. At first, I wasn't a fan but mid-way through I couldn't put it down. For me, it opened my eyes to how recent in our country's history we oppressed and viewed children with down's syndrom so poorly. Kim Edwards is a Kentuckian, close to my own parents home town, so it was especially pleasurable for me to get to know her a little through her writing.   hide

This is a very moving story. It begins one night when David (a doctor) and his wife Norah give birth to twins, the boy is healthy but the girl has downs syndrome. David decides to tell his nurse to give the baby girl away and he tells his wife that the baby died during labour. The amazing thing is that the nurse cannot go through with the decision and decides to raise the baby girl as her...more

This is a very moving story. It begins one night when David (a doctor) and his wife Norah give birth to twins, the boy is healthy but the girl has downs syndrome. David decides to tell his nurse to give the baby girl away and he tells his wife that the baby died during labour. The amazing thing is that the nurse cannot go through with the decision and decides to raise the baby girl as her own. Every few chapters is from a different characters point of view and it is interesting to see the story unfold through each of their eyes. It was a bit slow to read in parts but overall a very good read and makes you realise how one decision can not only affect your life, but the lives of many others.   hide

David was the most complex character in this book and his conflicts were what made the book especially interesting to me. He makes one decision -- in a moment of crisis, a moment when he is already not thinking clearly and is under tremendous pressure -- and it affects the course his life and marriage from that point on. His decision is also a major influence on the lives of...more

David was the most complex character in this book and his conflicts were what made the book especially interesting to me. He makes one decision -- in a moment of crisis, a moment when he is already not thinking clearly and is under tremendous pressure -- and it affects the course his life and marriage from that point on. His decision is also a major influence on the lives of several other people. We keep waiting for him to divulge his secret, but he dies before he can do so. We see him almost telling his wife ... but he never does. This is really sad, because his secret, and his inability to disclose it, robs his marriage of love and intimacy. I think this happens to a lot of people and the novel really depicted it well. It shows the sadness of a life lived without intimacy and the immense burden of a family secret. It also shows the danger of trying to "protect" our loved ones by not telling them things we think would hurt them or damage our relationship with them. In the end, David lost his family anyway. This book showed that our actions -- even if well-intentioned -- have consequences that can't always be undone. What do we do about that? And what set of consequences do we choose   hide

In The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards beautifully chronicles a pivotal choice one man makes and the people who have to live with his decision. When Dr. David Henry delivers his own twins on a fateful blizzardy night, he immediately recognizes the signs of Downs Syndrome in his newborn daughter. Unable to come to terms with a secretly painful past, David tells his wife the baby girl didn't...more

In The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards beautifully chronicles a pivotal choice one man makes and the people who have to live with his decision. When Dr. David Henry delivers his own twins on a fateful blizzardy night, he immediately recognizes the signs of Downs Syndrome in his newborn daughter. Unable to come to terms with a secretly painful past, David tells his wife the baby girl didn't make it and entrusts the infant into the hands of his nurse, dragging her into his web of deceit. Instead of institutionalizing the baby as she is instructed to do, Caroline clandestinely raises the child as her own. In a scene reminiscent of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, where Holden Caulfield is urged to reach for the brass ring, Caroline is jubilant when Phoebe is finally able to grasp a medal that is dangled before her. Ironically, Caroline fights for her daughter's right to an education but is terrified by the independence that Phoebe is eager to assert as a young adult attempting to conquer the stigmata she is surrounded by to embrace a normal life. Plot simplicity is not to be confused with predictability. While the actions of Edwards' well developed characters take you completely by surprise, what's most surprising is the plausibility of it all as unexpected characters weave their way into the fabric of a torn family's lives.   hide

Usually I buy tons of books at one time and start reading every single book until one of them grabs me. This book had me from the description. I kept reading this book until it was done. I absolutely hated each character for being so gosh dang selfish!! But love love LOVED the book!! So glad I purchased my own copy to read again in a few years! This is actually the first book, in a long while,...more

Usually I buy tons of books at one time and start reading every single book until one of them grabs me. This book had me from the description. I kept reading this book until it was done. I absolutely hated each character for being so gosh dang selfish!! But love love LOVED the book!! So glad I purchased my own copy to read again in a few years! This is actually the first book, in a long while, that has been able to catch my attention in the beginning and keep it long enough to finish reading it. I love the author's way of telling the story in everyone's point of view. You hate the characters and yet you love them so much! You care for them. You want it to work out for them. I was engrossed. And usually I'm a fantasy reader!! I would recommend it to everyone!! If I had 10 thumbs they'd be up.   hide

I purchased this book out of desperation at the airport, hoping to find something that would help pass my flight time by quickly. I'm SO glad I picked this book! I couldn't stop reading it, I was transformed into the world in the story. I felt the burden of guilt the main character felt as he wove a weave of destruction into his life because of one lie. I cried with the characters in the...more

I purchased this book out of desperation at the airport, hoping to find something that would help pass my flight time by quickly. I'm SO glad I picked this book! I couldn't stop reading it, I was transformed into the world in the story. I felt the burden of guilt the main character felt as he wove a weave of destruction into his life because of one lie. I cried with the characters in the story and found myself wanting to SCREAM at some of them for the poor decisions they were making and how easy I felt they could redeem their lives by telling the truth. I learned a lesson reading this book, many lessons actually. I highly recommend this one - I've already lent it to 2 friends who read it just as quickly as I did. I bought this at the airport out of desperation to find something that would pass the time by on my flight. I don't know if I'd normally purchase this but I am SOOOO glad I did!!! I got lost in the books world - I cried with and even screamed at the characters in this book. It's a simple story about how complicated our lives can be from one lie... and how it turns into more and more and more and destroys relationships. It's beautiful and painful and wonderful all at once.   hide

It was quite a depressing book, but it gave me some comfort knowing that it is impossible to control everything in life and to do so could make things a lot worse than it would have been and destroy from the inside out. Life is like water; it will always find its way around. "Either things grow and change or they die." "More than once he considered getting in his car and driving like wild home...more

It was quite a depressing book, but it gave me some comfort knowing that it is impossible to control everything in life and to do so could make things a lot worse than it would have been and destroy from the inside out. Life is like water; it will always find its way around. "Either things grow and change or they die." "More than once he considered getting in his car and driving like wild home to Cincinnati, but he knew it would do no good. Knew, too, that he didn't really want to go on this way, always loving Michelle more than she could love him back. So he forced himself to stay." I need a another book.   hide

The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards, will give you haunting memories for years to come. It is a beautifully written book, with the depth and lasting themes of a classic: betrayal, deception, love, and loss. It begins with the catalyst for the entire action of the book, a lie, meant to protect, which only unleashes pain and destruction. The setting is the 1960s, a time when Down's...more

The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards, will give you haunting memories for years to come. It is a beautifully written book, with the depth and lasting themes of a classic: betrayal, deception, love, and loss. It begins with the catalyst for the entire action of the book, a lie, meant to protect, which only unleashes pain and destruction. The setting is the 1960s, a time when Down's Syndrome was misunderstood, and children with this defect were shipped off to group homes to be raised by strangers until they died. The plot revolves around a doctor, his wife, son, and nurse and how they react to his lies about a daughter with Down's. You will be hooked if you read just the first chapter. As I write this I want to go back and re-read it. It was that good.   hide