AOL's Book Maven

When 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter' came out in 2005, Publisher's Weekly called it "a little too moist with compassion.' Nevertheless, this year the book (out in paperback, now) has hit number one on the NY Times best-seller list for paperback fiction and won over thousands of new fans for a 48-year-old author whose only previously published (but critically acclaimed) work was a  1997 short-story collection, 'The Secrets of a Fire King.'

Why is this novel taking off?

The story, which grew from one Edwards' pastor shared with her, centers on a family secret. Dr. David Henry has to deliver his own baby when his wife Norah goes into labor on the night of a snowstorm in Kentucky. He soon realizes he's delivering not one but two babies, and instantly recognizes the signs of Down's Syndrome on his infant daughter's face. The decision he makes in that moment will affect him, his wife and their son for the rest of their lives.

But it will affect another family, too.

I don't want to give away too much of 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter' (although you can certainly learn more in this review if you want to), because I think it's a book that rewards an unjaded reading. It's not a perfect book, as Publisher's Weekly noted. For one thing, Edwards likes to describe scents. Sometimes this is charming; at other points in the book, these descriptions are as cloying as, well, a sickening smell. The character of Norah is missing a transition from one stage to the other, in my opinion.

I could go on, but I could also go on about the novel's strengths: Edwards has a sure humanity in her prose, allowing characters of very different status and perspective to share the stage. I have never seen a fuller portrait of a person with Down's Syndrome growing into adulthood (whoops, that might give something away... oh, well).

Before I do go on (and on), let me say that reading 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter' feels like a late-summer day that has many transitions: a cool, clear morning;  a humid (yes, at times "moist") afternoon, and then a dusk filled with layers, shadows and peace. Both the read and the day are imperfect -- yet beautiful.

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• #1 Comment from happinessdreams 
  8/24/06 7:39 PM | Permalink

  thanks for the recomendation.
  elisa