The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
written by Kim Edwards          
published by Penguin Group (USA)

find it here: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Goodreads

Why did I pick this book: This was my book group’s pick for November.

Did I enjoy this book: I’m conflicted about this book. I thought the underlying story was fantastic. However, I found the read to be rather boring and too drawn out. It took way too long to finish this book.

As I said, the underlying story was intriguing, thought-provoking, and emotional. This book generated a lot of discussion at my book group. However, the execution of this story left a lot to be desired by this reader. I don’t know if it was just too wordy or if the descriptions were just written in a way that made the story drag. I think it was a little of both. 

Each of the characters had flaws, and those flaws created tension and walls that drove them apart. David had a secret that affected his entire family and another family as well. He carried this secret with him and it caused great strife between he and his wife. Did he make the right choices? What if he had made a different choice? Norah, at times, seemed childish. She wanted to marry a doctor or at least a man that would take care of her. She was young when she married David and I think that was part of her problem that led to some of her extramarital activities. I think she felt like she missed out on something. Paul had a good life and upbringing but like most typical teens, he felt put out and at odds with his father. They did not seem to see each other or appreciate each other. I put a lot of this blame on David because of the secret he kept from everyone. However, David did love his son very much, that was evident. Caroline did what she had to do to give her daughter, Phoebe, a great life. Did she make the right choices that snowy night when the twins were born? 

I really wanted more of Caroline and Phoebe’s story. We got snippets but I wanted to know more about Phoebe’s upbringing. I know the story is about David and what he went through but it would have been nice to hear more about Phoebe. 

The ending was good. Sad but fitting. 

Would I recommend it: This is a tough one. I would recommend it because the underlying story is good. But I would hesitate because of how slow the book is to read.  

Will I read it again: I will not. 

About the book – 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.