The Memory Keeper's Daughter [Kindle Edition]

The Memory Keeper's Daughter starts in the 1960s. It is a stormy night and the doctor's wife has gone into labor. David (the doctor) is forced to deliver his wife's (Norah's) twin babies with only his practice nurse (Caroline) for assistance. The first baby, a boy, is delivered without issues but the baby girl has Down's Syndrome. David's immediate reaction is to protect his wife from what he perceives to be a tragedy, so he gives the baby to Caroline and asks her to take her to a home for the mentally ill. He tells his wife that the baby girl died at birth and that the body has been disposed of.

Caroline goes to follow the doctor's instructions but is unable to get to the home. Instead she makes a spontaneous decision to look after the baby herself, and leaves town. Over the years she raises the girl on her own, keeping in occasional contact with David. Norah remains unaware that her daughter survived the birth and has to deal with her own grief for the baby she lost. David suffers guilt and confusion about whether he made the right decision and his need to keep the secret creates a rift in his marriage to Norah.

I enjoyed reading this book. The central premise is so intriguing that I wanted to see how the story would pan out. The book follows each character in turn over the years as the two children grow up. It's a well written book and the characters held my attention and sympathy throughout. I was very curious to see how the story would be resolved. My main gripe was with the ending, which I felt was a bit lame. I wanted a greater sense of resolution than was delivered. However overall I still liked the book. Other reviewers have complained that it was slow moving and I suppose it is, but I didn't find this a problem when I was reading it. I think the way that each chapter was focusing on a different person kept it fresh.

If the ending had been better I would have rated this book four stars. I found it interesting, thought provoking and easy to read. If you enjoy authors like Carol Shields, Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Berg you will probably like this book too.

It touches upon controversial issues and challenges certain conceptions. The development of some characters is quite interesting (the unknowing wife for example) however not all characters are engaging or credible. I grew tired of the somewhat naive and one sided statement of the book. It was quite predictable and it fails to really connect the reader to all of the individuals in the plot.

I am surprised that this book has received such mixed reviews.
Personally I really enjoyed it, but then it is a subject close to my heart, as my niece has Downs Syndrome.
Set in the 1960's it is quite an eye-opener how views have changed towards such disabilities since then. The fights of those parents for their children's rights are largely responsible for the opportunities available to such children today.

On a snowy winter's evening Nora Henry goes into labour. With the help of a nurse her doctor husband delivers her a healthy son, but there follows an unexpected twin sister who has Downs Syndrome. As was frequently the case at that time, the Downs child, Phoebe, is sent to a home to be cared for. The job of taking her there is entrusted to the nurse, Caroline, who takes one look at the place and decides to care for Phoebe herself.
Meanwhile David Henry makes his big mistake and informs his wife that their daughter was stillborn, setting in motion a chain of events that has repercussions for years to come.

Even though there are reasons in David's past that might explain his response to the birth, it is hard to feel great empathy for him after this event. However, his fascination for photography has interesting symbolism which is explained towards the end of the book.
Caroline and Phoebe made the more enjoyable reading for me, as they struggled to make a life away from Phoebe's home town.
Nora, the bereaved wife, was the least interesting and a rather frustrating character.
The other person in this situation was the brother, Paul, who always felt distant from his distracted parents and who compensated by putting his whole being into his music.

A fascinating book, with plenty of food for thought, though it could have done with being 100 pages shorter.