I picked up Kim Edwards’ The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (book #68 for 2009) because it’s not very thick and I figured I’d make a dent on this sector of my TBR.
I’d been forewarned by my Flipper friend Islandhopper that the book was highly dramatic, so I was prepared for the worst when I picked it up.
I find that there are some books that are very thick but I can read fast, like The Historian, and some thin books that take me forever to finish, like The Reader. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is somewhere in between, it wasn’t very thick, but it wasn’t moving quickly enough for me.
The novel unfolds in 1964, and Dr. David Henry’s wife Norah gives birth to twins in the middle of a blizzard. The second baby, a girl, has Down’s syndrome, and Dr. Henry decides to spare his wife from the difficulty of raising a special child and instructs his nurse, Caroline Gill, to take the baby to a special facility. Caroline is horrified by the institution she brings the baby too and decides to raise the baby on her own. Meanwhile, the pain of losing a child devastates Norah, adding another layer to the wall that has formed in their marriage, caused by the guilt Dr. Henry feels from giving their daughter away.
I think the premise, up until Caroline raising the baby on her own, is pretty interesting, actually. I imagine this sort of scenario did happen a lot in the past, when Down’s syndrome wasn’t very well understood yet, and I imagine there are still some cases of this happening today.
Mainly it’s the melodramatic development of the story that brings it down, because it’s a drawn out domestic drama, spanning two decades of misery and emotional lashing in the Henry household, with nothing much happening otherwise.
While it wasn’t as bad as I expected — I even cried a bit at the end, but well, I can cry at the drop of a hat so I’ve never put stock in a book’s tearjerking abilities — it was nothing spectacular for me either, and I don’t think there’s a chance that I’ll read it again.
***
My copy: trade paperback, mooched last year
My rating: 2/5 stars
P.S. By the time you read this, I’ll be in the mountains of Sagada soaking up some fresh air, great food, and a whole lot of culture :) I’ve advanced some posts, I hope you’ll enjoy reading them while I’m gone, and I’ll get back to comments when I get back in the city.
have fun :D
Hope you’re enjoying yourself! I just wanted to say that your review of the book was on the mark- I read this as a group read and was having a hard time finishing it- basically not my cup of tea.
Thanks Blodeuedd! I’m back and I did have fun :)
Suzanne, good thing I read a great book after this one, am just waiting to get over the travel stress to wear off and I’ll write about it next.
hi, blooey! glad you guys had fun..too bad hindi pa rin ako makakasama with you guys next time.hehe
so far this particular book review is one of the shortest (if not the shortest) one you’ve done. tsaka, blooey, may i base my rating system sa system mo? i like your system eh..simple and concise. thanks in advance..hehe
btw, napag-usapan ka namin ni chloe (flipper’s maydayeve) kahapon when went to booksale..pareho kaming naiinggit sa work mo at passion for books. ^_^
hi mauie… yeah this one is pretty short… I couldn’t find anything more to say on the book hahaha…
Sure you can base your system on mine. Haha actually I think I’m too nice when I’m rating, I rarely give a rating below 3, and when I do, it’s when I really don’t like the book.
Would really love to meet you and Chloe in person. When my work takes me to Cebu, book hunting tayo :)
Hi Blooey!
I love your blog! Nice layout, short but sweet reviews, plus I like that you use a rating system. :) I’m always on the lookout for interesting books to read, and I got here through Shelfari. I’m interested in meeting the bookmoochers one day. You seem like a very interesting and fun bunch! I’m a bit hesitant with the exchanging of books through the post office (nadala ako since a lot of my packages didn’t reach the destination, or I wasn’t able to receive a lot of packages plus I have no budget for shipping through trusted LBC types) but I really love reading and talking about books. Plus I have some books that I want to give away, so maybe I could meet up with you people in the future? :) Thanks in advance! :)
P.S. I read this too. It bored me, to be honest. I even did a review in my blog:
http://aphazia.livejournal.com/175190.html
I’m in love with Booksale! I think half of my salary goes to Booksale haha. Kidding aside, I’m in love with the idea of bookraids! I often suggest bookstore-hopping as a warmup activity when meeting people for the first time.
I hope to hear from you soon! My email is rainbowrama@gmail.com
Thanks in advance! :)
xox,
Andrea
Hi Andrea! :) Welcome to my blog :) Will email you