The story line of, Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, starts with the possibly powerful concept that decisions made today may have a domino effect that produces repercussions throughout every stage of adulthood. However, in this work, which does show Ms. Edwards mastery of descriptive details, the overall piece is stilted and repetitive as she fails to create sympathetic and believable characters.

The story line itself is about an appallingly selfish doctor, David Henry, (the father of newborn twins) who in 1964 opts to give away Phoebe, the female twin, (telling his wife that the baby died because she was born with Down syndrome) and to keep Paul, the male twin, who is perceived as normal. I was saddened as I read this book because it seemed to reinforce stereotypical expectations in regards to Down syndrome while failing to cause the reader to see the individuality of those affected by this chromosomal defect. Furthermore, I strongly disagree with the author’s premise that any person who feels emotionally or physically unprepared to raise a special needs child is doomed to a life of emptiness while those who choose to sacrifice and raise such a child will have lives of unmitigated happiness and satisfaction. As with all parents, there are those who are capable and those who are not and I believe that those who feel incapable of handling the stresses of special needs children should not be judged by those who have never been faced with the horrendous fears, needs, and doubts of those parents who have been dealt this hand in life.

In The Memory’s Keeper’s Daughter, one is to assume that the decision David made about his young daughter is the sole reason for Norah’s unhappiness and affair but could it be that her unhappiness was the result of her decision to marry the brooding David in the first place since she did not even know that the baby had lived? Additionally, it was not only hard to bear the constant silences and impenetrable barriers that the book constantly referred to but also all subtlety was lost with Henry’s regularly, explicit comments on how his lost daughter had created such a black hole in his family. In my opinion, the ever-grieving, ever-boring Henry’s need to be buried in a one-dimensional box if they cannot stop waddling in their own misery and either find the girl or grow up and get on with their lives. True Caroline Gill, the nurse who chose to adopt the little girl, shows more depth than the Henry’s but even she seems manipulative as she hides the girl from her father as she measures David’s right to have a place in his daughter’s life. Agreeably, consequences accompany every action that affects others and given the enormity of David’s action, the consequences should be similarly immense but David’s “psychic wound”, keeps him distant from his wife, causes his son to feel unloved, and results in the destruction of an entire family.

Of note also is that I grew bored with the repetitive, descriptive detail and the lack of real struggles for the characters to overcome. Especially difficult for me to swallow was Edward’s characterization of Phoebe as this adorable little doll with no character flaws to overcome but an empty shell of a brain. I wanted to know what Pheobe thought but besides her fear of being whisked off somewhere by strangers or her distaste for escargot, Edward’s gives Pheobe very few thoughts, feelings or opinions. Therefore, while the story could have been a great work of literature, opening the reader’s eyes to the struggles of life for person’s with disabilities and their families it lacked the depth necessary to carry it off. I would definitely give this work a pass and read something with more character depth and insight.

For more information on children with disabilities or works by Ms Edwards you can use your Google search engine.

[tags]book review, Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, Down syndrome, social commentary, Google[/tags]