The Memory Keeper's Daughter
by Kim Edwards
List Price:
Our Price: $7.38
You Save: $17.57 (70%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.97 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Kim EdwardsEdition: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2005-06-23
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Amazon Remainders Account
Book Reviews of The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Book Review: Moments on Film
Summary: 4 Stars
David Henry has worked his whole life to get away from the childhood he had, where his family struggled to make ends meet and died rather early in life. He has become a physician and his young wife is pregnant. On a rare snowy night in Lexington, Kentucky, she goes into labor and delivers twins, one boy and one girl. But, David realizes just after birth that his baby girl has Down Syndrome, and he worries about her fate; his own sister died of heart problems when she was still very young. So, he tells his nurse, Caroline Gill, to take her away to an institution, common during those times. Caroline brings the baby to the institution, but cannot leave her there, and instead runs away with the newborn Phoebe. David simply tells his wife that their baby girl died shortly after birth.
In the years that follow, David's carefully created family begins to fall apart, torn by the secrets each of them keep. David turns to photography, a way to capture memories on film, as a way to escape his secret and express the emotions that tear him up inside. It's not until after his death, though, that the family really understands his obsession with photography and his motivations.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter is a tragically realistic story of what it was like to be disabled in the 1960's and beyond. I have a sister with autism and can fully understand the difficulties that Phoebe, and the others in the story, go through. It's heart-wrenching, and you'll be willing the characters to go against their better judgment by the end. While the story was not likely meant to be inspiring, it can give an insight into the world of the disabled, whether it be individuals with Down Syndrome or other disorders that prevent them from being completely 'normal' in today's society.
While I understand the structure of the novel, I do wish we were given more insight into Caroline and Phoebe's world. There is so much left unsaid on that end of things because so much focus is on David and his wife, Norah, as well as their son, Paul. Perhaps because of this desire to know more about Phoebe, I found some of the sections about David and Norah to be dry and more difficult to get through. Even at the end, though, it's hard to really understand some of the characters, because they weren't fleshed out well. The setting is lacking, though perhaps purposefully. Though the story takes place in two distinct cities, it is told in a way that could really take place anywhere and at almost any time.
This is an excellent book to read, if only because of the insight it offers into a world many people aren't terribly familiar with.
Summary of The Memory Keeper's Daughter
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
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Books and e-Books
Kindle Shortcuts and Kindle-friendly Websites. This concise Kindle user guide describes keyboard shortcuts and hidden Kindle features for both Kindle 2 and Kindle 1. Updated 04/ 28/ 2009by MobileReference, mobi
MobileReference; MobileReference; Release date: 2009-04-03; Published: 2009-04-03; Kindle Edition; eBooks
Best price: $0.99
Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2006-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
The Shackby William P. Young
Windblown Media; Published: 2008-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.40
Price in other shops:
The Twilight Saga Collectionby Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $43.87
Price in other shops:
Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutesby Lifetime Television
Voice; Published: 2009-04-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.99
Price in other shops:
New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-05-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2007-08-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops:
Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-08-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops:
The Lost Symbolby Dan Brown
Doubleday Books; Published: 2009-09-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.63
Price in other shops:
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifestoby Mark R. Levin
Threshold Editions; Published: 2009-03-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.25
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Suite Francaiseby Irene Nemirovsky
Vintage; Published: 2007-04-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.10
Price in other shops:
The Secret Life of Beesby Sue Monk Kidd
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2008-08-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)by Jeffrey Eugenides
Picador; Published: 2002-06-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Nineteen Minutesby Jodi Picoult
Washington Square Press; Published: 2008-02-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.96
Price in other shops:
The Kite Runnerby Khaled Hosseini
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2004-04-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.71
Price in other shops:
The Time Traveler's Wifeby Audrey Niffenegger
Mariner Books; Published: 2004-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.67
Price in other shops:
My Sister's Keeper: A Novelby Jodi Picoult
Pocket; Published: 2009-05-19; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.74
Price in other shops:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novelby Lisa See
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2006-02-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.40
Price in other shops:
The Glass Castle: A Memoirby Jeannette Walls
Scribner; Published: 2006-01-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.25
Price in other shops:
Water for Elephants: A Novelby Sara Gruen
Algonquin Books; Published: 2007-04-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.44
Price in other shops: