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Avg. Rating: 4
By: Dizziepixie
For Those with Down's Syndrome Connection
I give this book 3 stars, though I would probably give it 5 had I an emotional connection with Down's Syndrome. I agree much with the review of bernmcguigan in that there is alot of description (I like the picture painting, if you will) but there is also much that does not contribute directly with the plot and several dramatizations that never really materialize into anything that is particularly gripping. You expect something big to happen then it turns out to be nothing. However, if you have an emotional connection with Down's Syndrome, this is sure to be a gripping, emaotional, deeply rooted novel. It well written.
Interesting plot, but marred by overwrought descriptions and too many characters
The plot of this book is interesting---a woman gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The girl is born with Down Syndrome, and the father gives her to the nurse attending the birth, and tells the mother she has died. The nurse is supposed to put her in an institution, but instead raises her as her own. This act has implications which affect the son, the marriage, the nurse and of course the daughter.
This story could have been told in a straightforward and fascinating way, but instead, this book is chock full of long nature descriptions, extraneous characters beyond the point we can care a bit about them, side plots that really don't add much, and promised drama that never really materializes. Caroline's husband Al adds very little to the story, likewise Norah's sister Bree. Norah's career as a travel agent is not important to the plot, and although David's side career as a photographer allows the author to engage in much metaphor involving his photographs, it's not really compelling reading.
The best parts of this book, to me, were the descriptions of life with Phoebe, the girl with Down Syndrome. They are very well done and seem realistic---not overly sentimental, not condescending. It's interesting to hear about Caroline's struggle to give Phoebe a full life in the 1960s and 1970s, when there was not the awareness of the need for this for children with special needs that there is now. I wish the author has stayed more focused on Phoebe's life, and her brother Paul's life in parallel. I think the author has the potential to write good novels, but I can't say she has in this case.
Not your typical book!!!
The premise drew me in and then I was sooooooooo hooked and wondered how it would end. When it finally did draw to a close, I was happy with the ending. It left me with a sense of peace. The characters became members of my family and I wanted them to be OK despite the turmoil and wars that went on inside of them. Even the most complex life can become simple and peaceful when we learn that anger and conflict require more energy that most of us have. Letting go of anger and resentment is the healthiest thing we can do. Read this book!!!!!!
The Memory Keeper's Daughter will not be quickly forgotten.
This novel chronicles several life paths all halted and then forever altered from the single unthinkable act of giving away ones own child. The secret of what happened on that frigid night had the puissance to break down all that it touched forcing the emergence of brand new lives. Within the pages of this book you will experience lives among the full spectrum of human capacity. Themes of lament, loss, and desparity make the triumph of re-birth, love and healing all the more satisfying. This book is a fantastic journey that anyone desiring a candid view of human experience will enjoy taking.
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