The Memory Keeper's Daughter begins in 1964 with two of the main characters, David and Norah Henry, having their first child. Caused by a combination of inclement weather and an unavailable doctor, David, an orthopedic surgeon, is forced to deliver his own, healthy son. However, when his wife unexpectantly delivers a second baby, David immediately recognizes that his son's twin has Down's Syndrome and makes a difficult decision that changes the course of his, Norah's, and their son's lives. Feeling he is saving his wife the heartache of raising, and quite possibly burying a child with Down's Syndrome, he tells his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby to a home. He tells his wife that their daughter died. Upon seeing the home, Caroline is unable to leave the child. She keeps and raises her as her own daughter, partly out of the desire to finally start her own family and partly out of her secret love for David.
The story spans from 1964 to 1988 and readers watch as the two children grow up separately and experience the damage that lies, loss, and anger to do to the two separate famililes, so silently bound together. At the end, the readers see both the healing power and the realities of redemptive love and forgiveness.
The concept of the book is what drew me to it. This is a plot different from any I have read before. The presentation, however, is not entirely impressive. Although the characters and relationships are very well-developed, the story drags between long sections divided among the two families. The characters almost seem too well-developed, the familial issues being drilled over and over into readers' heads. Long story short (no pun intended), the story is compelling and well-told, but the author probably could have made her point and a more succinct book in about 75 less pages.
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