TBR Tuesday

Title: The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Author: Kim Edwards
Rating: Thought provoking
Genre: Contemplative fiction
Number of pages: 401
Finished: 1-21-08
Challenges: TBR, A to Z Authors (E), 101 Books in 1,001 Days

When I first started to read The Memory Keeper's Daughter I couldn't help but have a flashback to when I first read Chris Bohjalian's Midwives many moons ago. A birth during a snowstorm conjures up all kinds of images alongside the obvious stress of delivering a baby. And in the case of this book add to the mix an orthopaedic surgeon having to deliver his baby or so he thought. In 1964, where this story begins, a family with a Down's Syndrome child rarely took care of the child...the child usually was placed in a home. With that precedent in his mind, Dr. David Henry truly believed that having the nurse who helped deliver his Down's daughter, Phoebe, (and his healthy son, Paul) bring her to a home would be best for the whole family. The reader knows from the beginning that this fateful decision will impact everyone's lives in ways, often times dramatic, that were never foreseen. Throughout the book, you are along for the journey and always wondering will the secret be revealed..when, how, and what will the reaction from all be. Edwards does not disappoint. A college professor once said that the hallmark of a great writer is one who creates characters who elicits strong reactions (positive and negative) from the reader...Edwards definitely created strong characters in this book. Goodness, if I had a dollar for every instance when I wanted to shake sense into David, wife Norah, nurse Caroline, and son Paul, I'd be able to retire. I truly enjoy thought-provoking books that make you ponder ethical issues. I'm definitely glad that I can cross this book off my TBR list...just wish I hadn't waited so long.