The Memory Keeper's Daughter: A Novel

There was not too much I enjoyed about this book. A book including a character with Down Syndrome should not consistently refer to it as Down’s Syndrome. Further, I was shocked by a phrase referencing it as a “retarded” person being a burden to care for. there were too many descriptive paragraphs, and side stories that had nothing to do with the main theme of the book. I read to the final page, hoping for a happy ending, but it didn’t happen for me.

I think it must just be me but I didn't like this book at all. Mostly, I didn't like either of the main characters. The husband gives away his Down syndrom newborn daughter without blinking an eye then tells his wife she died. The mother, even though she has the remaining twin who is strong and healthy cannot concentrate on the baby she does have but gets more and more depressed over the one she doesn't have. Both parents disgusted me almost to no end. The one bright spot was the Down syndrom child, raised by the husband's nurse (he is a doctor). I liked the nurse, her husband, and the little girl. Otherwise, I thought this book was long and boring. I was expecting so much more. I won't be recommending this book to my friends. The writing was first class. The story itself nearly bored me to death.

This book just grabs your heart. How could a father and a doctor just send his baby away? As the story unfolds and you learn about his life before and after this event you realize that he paid a huge price for his moment of poor judgement. And yet it is difficult not to feel badly for his family and for David too. This book will stay in my head for a long time.

I loved this book. I read the other reviews which kind of made me chuckle. I have worked in developmental disabilities for 25 years. This book NAILED it. And even if I hadn't the decisions made by the characters were decisions made by their hearts. Please read this book. It's excellent. Kim your other books are on my to read list now!

This may be the most beautiful book that I have ever read. The writing is superb. The unfolding of the story is so amazing through layers of meaning. I read slowly to capture all of the nuances and I found myself transported to a time that was so different to that in which we now live. I cannot understand the low ratings for this book and I am amazed at how so many reviewers misunderstand the writing and the words used to describe Phoebe. The year was 1964. In 1964 the birth of a child with Down’s Syndrome was considered a tragedy by many. Education programs that would guide development and opportunity for the child did not yet exist. And, yes, the term “retarded” was used. Often a child with Down’s Syndrome was institutionalized for their whole lives and that was recommended by medical personnel. I am not saying that was right; I am saying that is the way it was. The author has beautifully captured the nuances of human emotion on every level imaginable. She has woven a story that takes all of those layers of emotion, including the best and the worst of what humans can do, and has allowed it to be transformed into a beautiful tapestry. I will return to this book and read it over and over. It is just that beautiful.

I started out really liking this book. It grabbed me right from the beginning and had me wanting more. About halfway through it seemed like the author lost interest in the story and struggled to figure out a way toward an ending. The characters seemed to just go flat. I couldn't wait to finish and was hoping that it just might get better, but it didn't. It didn't help that the author didn't bother to check the correct spelling of Down Syndrome, which is commonly misunderstood to be "Down's Syndrome." That seemed a bit insulting to the reader, and showed lack of research on the subject.

This book is based on a true story and my book club used it in 2017 as one of our "all read" selections. It is written with the use of photography metaphors which we all found to be an interesting way to weave the story from beginning to end. It is an easy read and many characters are fully developed throughout the novel.

I appreciated the development of characters and the story line in this novel, based on a true story, very much. However, I did find the flowery prose to be overdone and was glad when the author left most of that behind as she developed her interesting story line of a family ultimately wounded deeply by the birth of a disabled child. I found that I did not share the author's negative portrayal of the father in the family, who it seemed to me was poorly understood and basically unloved by the dependent and immature woman he married. His wife's transformation from dependent woman to little-caring adolescent rebel to worldly sophisticate was interesting, but not a story I could identify with. I did enjoy and relate to the portrayal of the nurse thrust into the role of mother for the disabled child.

I stumbled across a recommendation for this book years ago when I reading Jodi Picoults handle with care, if you like this book you'll like the memory keepers daughter.. So I've finally got around to it and while it started off great I found most of the time I was bored. Its called the memory keepers daughter but we hardly even see Phoebe, it's more about the father and the son he kept. Surely it should of been more about the daughter he gave away? This book had such promise, but anything interesting was swept over. Why couldn't we off read about Caroline's fight for getting Phoebe into education and her health troubles instead of just reading about the father and his life which was pretty miserable. It's like we read the wrong side of the story, we did see bits of phoebe but not much. It was also very anticlimactic towards the end, it had such promise at the start but it was just very meh.

When I started this book, a bookclub choice, my heart sank as I recognised the style as padded with irrelevant detail trying to be poetic. Good writing does not draw attention to itself. I would not have continued if it had not been for bookclub. It was redeemed from a one star rating by the plot, which I found intriguing even though much was unbelievable. I wanted to know how it ended even though it was fairly predictable. How does a child without a birth certificate get on in the US? Another problem was not being able to engage with the characters. I won't be reading another Richard and Judy choice.

Wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book but ploughed on and very glad I did. Very thought provoking as it deals with postnatal depression. Poor Norah's grief over what she thought the death of her daughter was never addressed. Things like that appear to have been swept under the carpet in those years. Likewise David's depression following the death of his sister. I felt the story to be intriguing and often took you to a brink that you hoped would not be!! I won't include more as I don't want to spoil it for anyone else. Very different, very tense at times but totally enjoyable. Couldn't put it down in many places.

An unusual story, built around an unforgivable lie, well told, but I found it rather difficult to believe. There were good moments in the story but I found the end rather unsatisfactory - rather as though the writer had decided to pull all the different aspects of the story together as it was time to finish the book.

How appropriate I found this phrase printed on the back cover. As soon as I started the first chapter, my attention was held as if of by a spell, enthralling. Page after page, the story transcendently drowns you into a captivating and emotional whirlwind and there is no going back.1964. Doctor David Henry and his wife Norah are happily married and expecting their first child. At the clinic after the labour pains begin, it is only after their healthy boy is born that they realise that another baby is on the way. A little girl with Down's syndrome. Norah is drifting in and out of consciousness due to the fatigue of labour and the anaesthetic she has been given. In the split second that follows this second delivery, David decides to secretly give his daughter away, asking nurse Caroline, who assisted on both births, to place the baby in an institution. To Norah, he tells her that their daughter was born dead.This secret, shattering decision by David, together with the grief brought along by this "death" and despite the joy that their newly born son represents, slowly but irrefutably has consequences that will forever be haunting. It lacerates the family.Leaving aside the historically-speaking-moment (middle 1960's), when David's despicable decision was taken, somewhat aligned, shall we say, with the ignorance and lack of knowledge about certain issues back then -not a justification, certainly-, something else led him to act as he did, something with deeper roots than one can imagine, buried in his soul.And what about the little girl? What happens to her? What will Caroline the nurse do?This is the beginning of the story. Nothing more can be said without spoiling what follows. A gentle yet piercingly moving narrative, together with the need to know, to understand, and reach an epilogue, make this book a page-turner. Flaws and qualities of each character are accurately and distinguishingly described. Some physical, emotional and surroundings-related descriptions could have been shortened a bit, and it is the only reason for my 4 (and ½) stars rather than 5. I especially appreciated the way the author, Ms. Edwards, approaches the Down's syndrome subject, never too superficial, sentimental or patronizing and it is unavoidable not to compare this particular side of the book with nowadays, how things have changed for the better. People with disabilities are so much more understood and integrated, it is uplifting.On the whole, a lovely, lovely book, highly recommendable.