THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER

review by

Tina Gasperson

THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER

by Kim Edwards

(Penguin)

Reader Appeal: Adults

Genre: Literary Fiction

Because of the buzz surrounding The Memory Keeper's Daughter, I started the book with eager anticipation...and ended up looking for excuses not to finish this dry, wordy, navel-gazer.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter launches with an irresistible premise: a stormy winter night in 1964 forces Dr. David Henry, an orthopedic surgeon, to act as obstetrician for his wife, Norah, and deliver their twins. The first baby, a boy named Paul, is born healthy, but the second, a girl, has the unmistakable traits of Down syndrome. Henry panics and sends the girl child away with his nurse, telling her to take the baby to an institution. Then he lies and tells Norah the baby was stillborn. The nurse, Caroline, cannot bring herself to leave the child at the institution and instead takes little Phoebe and raises her in secret.

The novel spans the next twenty-five years, detailing the parallel but separate stories of the two families. David and Norah grow distant as David must perpetuate the horrible lie of Phoebe's death and Norah cannot seem to break through the emotional walls her husband has erected. Caroline fights for Phoebe to have a normal life, in an era when Down syndrome children were routinely institutionalized and labeled with a dim prognosis. Caroline finds love with a trucker named Al and the three of them live a happy life together.

Critics far and wide are lauding author Kim Edwards as a gifted first-time novelist. One of the quotes on the dustcover raves: "Crafted with language so lovely you have to reread the passages just to be captivated all over again.." Since I'm always on the lookout for well-written prose, the positive reviews sold me. And in the first couple of chapters, Edwards seemed poised to deliver a picturesque and engaging tale. But by the middle of the story I was beginning to feel nauseated by the heavy-handed, overworked phraseology. It was a chore to finish this story, and I didn't even receive the satisfaction of a compelling and unique ending to make up for my suffering.

In short, this was a dull, overwrought book that simply wasn't worth the time. Younger children just won't be interested in this novel at all., but if your teens are intrigued by the hype surrounding this book, parents should be aware that The Memory Keeper's Daughter features some alcohol abuse and adulterous relationships, so you may want to read the book before your teenagers do. Or just hide it and save yourself and your teens the trouble of reading a sub-par work of fiction.

FAMILYFANS RATING:  D

 --TG