Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
This is definitely and Oprah book club type book - Norah gives birth to twins - one of whom has Down's Syndrome. Before she realizes this, her doctor husband Daivd asks a nurse to take the girl to an institution. He then tells Norah that the daughter died. The nurse Caroline, however, takes the girl away and raises it as her own. The book follows the lives of Norah, David, and their son Paul - as well as Caroline and Phoebe. David struggles with his secret as it tears his relationships with his wife and son apart. I found myself getting annoyed with David and his never-ending dilemma of whether or not to tell his wife the truth about their daughter - but for the most part I truly enjoyed this book - and the ending was particularly heart-felt and satisfying.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I wondered if Norah lived her life in reaction to her grief or if it was in reaction to her husbands demeanor towards her (which was a direct result of the guilt he felt for giving away their daughter). We didn't know much about either character before the birth of their twins so it was difficult to predict what may have happened if the father took a different action on the day they were born. Would Norah have been stable or tough enough to do what Caroline did for Phoebe? Did David and Norah really ever have a chance for a successful relationship, even before their children were born? What was their relationship built on?
A lesson of how secrets can tear people apart. And from the side of Caroline, how you can find life's contentment when you least expect it.
Post a Comment