recently got this in a swap, and i don't know if i am going to have it as one of my top tbr's...

Now I know why when I added The Memory Keeper's Daughter to my Books List I immediately had 8 requests for it.  I enjoyed it immensely and found it very moving. 

annieshim

I got it as a swap and couldn't put it down.  Very moving and thought-provoking.

Celia

Great review Denise! I read this a few months ago and totally agree with you, I was gripped from start to finish. It's a beautifully written book with complex characters which doesn't shirk from addressing uncomfortable issues. Highly recommended!

I've just started reading this - long, long after any of you - and like it, but I agree with the other reviewers who have said that they don't really connect with Norah and David. I find myself wanting to skim their sections to read more about Caroline! I'm about 1/2 way through it so I'll see if it gets any better.

pixieholopainen:

I've just started reading this - long, long after any of you - and like it, but I agree with the other reviewers who have said that they don't really connect with Norah and David. I find myself wanting to skim their sections to read more about Caroline! I'm about 1/2 way through it so I'll see if it gets any better.

 

 I was also more interested in Caroline's story in the beginning but Norah's story gets more interesting. It took me awhile to read the first half then I read the second half quite quickly.

Hmm. I finally finished this book on Sunday but still have mixed feelings about the book. I didn't hate it, but it didn't live up to my expectations either.

Here's what I wrote on GoodReads:

Jodi Picoult said that this was such an amazing book that I'd want to read it over and over again. SHE LIED. Sorry, Jodi, you write wonderful books but you're not so good at recommending them.
The subject of this book really interested me, but unfortunately it wasn't very well executed. There are three main reasons for this:
1. Kim Edwards is a short story writer. In short stories, every sentence has to mean something important. In novels? Not quite as important. Unfortunately, Kim doesn't appear to know this. Thus, every sentence is stuffed full of poetic imagery and everything is described in intense detail. I actually gave up on this book for a whole week because the amount of detail in it was making my head spin. And none of it was important! There is very little dialogue in this book, which didn't help.
2. None of the main characters were at all appealing to me. Even Caroline became annoying eventually. And all of the problems which the characters had could have been resolved by a little thing called: COMMUNICATION. I was reading the guidelines for Harlequin, and even they say that if a conflict can be resolved in a conversation, it isn't a real conflict. Ms Edwards, if you had submitted this book to Harlequin, they would have rejected it. How does that make you feel?
3. This book is apparently about a child with Down Syndrome. Haha! No, it's not, it's about her incredibly boring and self-centered parents and their ISSUES. Ooh, issues, how exciting! How many times did we need to be told that David's sister had a heart condition? I wanted to read about Phoebe, but she only took up a very small amount of the book. This book should be titled "The Memory Keeper's ISSUES."
Overall, the premise of this book was interesting but the book explored aspects of the characters which, quite frankly, I wasn't that interested in. And Kim Edwards possibly used every adjective in the English language twice. On the first page. Sometimes the best way to say something is the simplest. But I did finish it, and I was kind of interested. But mainly I wanted to finish this so I could voice my opinions on it. Readable, but I - unlike Jodi Picoult - do not feel the need to reread it over and over again. 6/10

I'm contsantly astonished at how many people disliked this (I hated it). Think it would win "stinker of the year", hands down, let alone "stinker of the month"!

I thought this was an absolutely brilliant book and is one of the best books I have ever read. It was FANTASTIC

 This is one of my favourite books too. I picked it because I was interested in the story but also because I was born in Feb 1964 so I was looking for parallels! I was disappointed in the end and how the story was finised off. I'm not saying much if you haven't read it yet but even so it's staying on my bookcase.

 I loved it too, have given my friend a loan of it, thought it was wonderful

It's amazing the polar opposite views that everyone has of this book! I didn't hate it but I wasn't too impressed with it either, so I guess I'd be on the negative side. Perhaps the ultimate "marmite" book?

This sounds a wonderful book, going to add it to my TBR straight away! 

 I was reccomended this when I said I enjoyed the time travellers wife? not sure on the thinking but gave it a go.... I also thought the book was limited in some aspects could have expanded the characters a little more and made them more likeable. Could not wait to finish this so I could start something else.  

 This book is a very well-written work. 

The plot is fairly straightforward.  A young couple have their first child, back in 1964.  He is a doctor, and the weather is snowing, so the child is delivered by him.  The first child is a boy, and he is fine  However, he has a twin sister, who has Downs Syndrome.  At the time, this was seen as next to a death sentence by the majority.  So, as his wife is under anaesthetic. the doctor decides to put the child in a home.  When his wife regains consciousness, he tells her she had died.  The novel follows the lives of the main characters.

I am sure this book will appeal to many admirers of William Trevor.  (In fact, in an interview at the end of the book, Edwards admits he is one of her favourite writers).  The very understated events, the way events are stated, and the reader needs to work his/her way back from them, is all reminiscent of Trevor. 

All in all, this is a fine book, particularly for the way the plot is slowly revealed. 

Polish6

.