ISBN: 9780141030142Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Website: www.penguin.co.uk
Copyright © Kim Edwards 2005
Book Website: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
401 Pages, Paperback
The year is 1964 and a Doctor, David Henry and his wife, Norah are expecting their first baby. A series of events culminate in David Henry having to deliver his own child. A perfect baby boy, Paul, but then his twin sister is born, a complete surprise and also a problem. Phoebe has Down Syndrome. This is the story of a family that holds a secret at its centre. A family built on deceit, love, grief and anger, and what becomes of them.
When I began to read this story I was struck by the flowery and longwinded nature of the prose. I persevered however, and found that the story was interesting enough to attract my attention, but unfortunately the writing style made my attention wander.
The characters were stereotypical, and the story had too much sentimentality and not enough reality for my taste. I found that I didn’t really care about any of the people with the exception of Phoebe, and that characterisation wasn’t built upon enough.
Not my cup of tea at all.
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