Wednesday 11 October 2006

Book ~ "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" Kim Edwards (2006)


From Goodreads ~ On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's Syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split-second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. 

But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the infant. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this story that unfolds over a quarter of a century - in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that long-ago winter night. Norah Henry, who knows only that her daughter died at birth, remains inconsolable; her grief weighs heavily on their marriage. And Paul, their son, raises himself as best he can, in a house grown cold with mourning. Meanwhile, Phoebe, the lost daughter, grows from a sunny child to a vibrant young woman whose mother loves her as fiercely as if she were her own.

This isn't the kind of story that I normally read. Though I found that it took me longer than usual to read it (I guess because of the writing style), I persevered and enjoyed it. If I don't like a book, I don't finish it.

David and Norah are weak and selfish and I didn't find them likeable. They had so much going for them but they allowed everything to fall apart without putting any effort to fix things.

1 comment:

Kristen King, Inkthinker said...

I picked this up the other week, but haven't read it yet. The cover really drew me in, and the tiular concept that someone can be a keeper of memories. I hope to get into it fairly soon. Thanks!

kk