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The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Unabridged) | 
 enlarge | Author: Kim Edwards
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
List Price: $45.95
Buy New: $24.13
You Save: $21.82 (47%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  862 reviews
Media: Audio Download
ASIN: B000KCHX6W
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Product Description
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 beautifully told 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. A brilliantly crafted, stunning debut, The Memory Keeper's Daughter explores the way life takes unexpected turns, and how the mysterious ties that hold a family together help us survive the heartache that occurs when long-buried secrets burst into the open. Performed by Martha Plimpton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 857 more reviews...
 Had high hopes, but couldn't finish it. October 6, 2008
Like many other people, I truly was excited about picking up this book. The premise touched my heart and I couldn't wait to get it. Unfortunately, once I dug in the book became tedious and I couldn't relate to the characters. Once I realized that I didn't care what happened to them, I had to stop reading. I'm a very soft hearted person (which means I cry at movies often) so if this book didn't touch me, it may not touch you either.
 A real page turner September 23, 2008
I am so stunned by all of the negative reviews on this book! I think I tend to be very critical of books, and have a very short list of favorites. I absolutely loved this book. I thought the characters were very well-developed, and the author's writing positively flowed. The relationships portrayed were so realistic and believable that I was not surprised to read the interview with the author at the end of the book that said it was based on a true story. I usually dislike books that jump from year to year, as I feel some of the story can be missed and unanswered questions will remain. Although this was true in some cases, Edwards did a nice job of providing a synopsis of what happened with the characters during the years the readers weren't "with" them. I will say that I enjoyed the beginning and middle of the book more so than the end, which I felt was maybe a tad neatly tied up. However, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone.
Good story idea...just average execution September 21, 2008
I should probably start my reviews by letting the reader understand my reading style -- basically, I like a good, entertaining book that will allow me to escape for a little while. Books with great imagery and compelling stories suck me in. Nothing better than a good page turner!
With that said, I had been eyeing The Memory Keeper's Daughter for a while at my local bookstore. I found the idea of the story interesting. After a few months, I finally purchased on Amazon. The story outline is good: A doctor delivers his twin children in the middle of a snowstorm. The boy is normal but the girl is born with Down's Syndrome. He asks his devoted nurse to take the child to the local institution but tells his wife that there were 2 children and the girl died. The story continues to depict how that one decision changes so many lives.
Really great idea! The problem with this book was in the execution. I did not find the way it was written to be all that engaging. Part of what drew me to the book was the complimentary review from Sue Monk Kidd, author of one of my most recent favorite reads "The Secret Life of Bees." Kidd's book is written in a style that draws you into the story, into the characters and is written with such vivid language that I could actually see the house where her characters lived. I expected the same of "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" and found little of that kind of language in there. Sure, I wanted to get to the end of the story to see how it was all resolved, but I found getting there to be a bit tedious. I think the author tried to make what was in essence a novella or short story into something longer.
So, not the worst book I've ever read, but not the most engaging. If you're looking for something you can read a chapter or 2 before you go to bed at night and not have to worry about staying up all night because you can't put it down, then this is your book.
A truce for those readers on opposite sides... September 8, 2008
First, let me say that I understand how some readers were unable to finish the book, as quite a few readers really appreciate something that is a quick read and all story. For me personally, I loved the beautiful passages in this book, the descriptions, they are poetic and moving. I can certainly understand how it turns some readers off as it isn't particularly important to the actual story. I appreciate their comments.
Second, the story; it is indeed a fantastic premise for a book and I will assume that you already know what that premise is and if you don't you can read the synopsis on the back cover. As far as the telling of the story goes, on this point, I agree with some of the readers who have already commented that the characters themselves were frustrating. I tried to care about these people, I tried very much to like them and to understand them, but I could not. The husband, David, is so detached from his emotions, before and after, he decides to give his daughter away that I could not relate to him, even in his recollections of his sister, who he professes to love dearly, there is resentment there. He was difficult to love, however, I do believe he loved his family, he just did not know how to show them that he did, the frustrating part of it, is that he never made the effort.
As far as Norah, I could not stand her from the beginning and then she only got worse. She is extremely narcissistic, spoiled and unhappy, and instead of trying to make herself happy, she puts all the blame on her husband. She married a man she barely knew and spent the rest of her life envying everyone around her because she felt trapped and she had no freedom and her life wasn't fun, so she starts sleeping with any man that will have her, even after she finds out that her teenaged son knows this. She was so incredibly selfish...I found myself really annoyed with her. I never found myself caring about her at all. It was too difficult. So in that aspect, I agree with what some of the other readers have said in regards to the characters. As far her finding out that her daughter lived, by the end of the book, I didn't really care. I truly believe that it wouldn't' have changed things at all for this woman. And I think that is where the difficulty comes in as far as the resolution of this conflict is concerned.
And then there is Paul, the son. To me, the most obvious love David was ever able to show was for Paul, and Paul ends up feeling as if he's had this horrible childhood and his father never loved him and he can't even bother to show up for David's funeral. David was a good father to him, he wasn't perfect by any means, but if wanting your son to do more with his life than pursue a career in music is bad parenting, than shame on the world, that is a natural albeit wrong thing for parents to do, impose their own dreams on their children it certainly isn't child abuse. Considering all three of them, especially Norah and Paul who spent their lives feeling sorry for themselves and blaming it all on David (even before they knew of the "secret), for me personally, I felt more pity for David himself, having to spend his life loving (although not knowing how to show it) these two people, who could have ever cared less about him.
Now, the good points...Caroline Gill, who takes the twin sister and raises her is someone you can care about, someone you can get behind and you root for her and Al...and of course Phoebe. But these people are not in the book as nearly as much as the other three.
That being said, I believe this book deserves to be read, if only for its incredibly beautiful language. Edwards was born to be a writer, she has an incredible natural story telling talent. It's not by any means a terrible book and I don't think it deserves a one, but I can understand those reader's frustrations.
Hope this helps.
It left me feeling queasy. September 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" opens in March 1964, with Dr David Henry and his wife, Norah, soon to become parents. The couple, who live in Kentucky, had only met about a year previously - but were married within three months and quite clearly didn't hang about when it came to starting a family. Unfortunately, with a blizzard raging outside, Norah goes into labour - three weeks ahead of schedule. The couple manage to make it as far as David's own clinic - where David and one of his nurses, Caroline Gill, look after the delivery. However, where one child had been expected, two arrive - Paul, a perfectly healthy son, and Phoebe, who has Down's Syndrome. David's sister, June, had died when she was twelve due to a heart problem, and he is convinced his daughter's life will also be short. Remembering how June's death had broken his mother's heart, he decides to try and spare Norah the same grief. He hands his daughter to Caroline, and instructs her to bring Phoebe to an institution he knows of. She sets out to do as she's asked - but, on seeing the institution, she can't leave the newborn girl there. Instead, she does a runner to Pittsburgh and decides to raise Phoebe as her own daughter. "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" tells the story of both families - alternating between David, Norah and Paul on one side and Caroline and Phoebe on the other.
I have never had so much difficulty in getting through a book - but, if only I had read the blurb, I'd have known to avoid it like the plague. "A tale of regret and redemption...so lovely you have to re-read", Jodi Picoult comments, while Sue Monk Kidd warbles about "the entangled lives to two families and the devastating secret that shapes them both". The writing inside is even worse - page after page of nauseating froth. Handled properly, the story could well have been worth reading...but Edwards could only come up with genuinely awful cliches. If lines like "it was a moment real to only the two of them...an instant of communion" and "he says he's most alive when he's playing the guitar" sound like your idea of good time, you're in for a ball - otherwise, keep well away.
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