The Importance of a great title: I'm convinced now. Review on Memory Keeper's Daughter, The - Kim Edwards

I'm not one of those elitist readers. Chances are if there's a book that is popular, I will like it. For the converse to happen, when the book was recommended by all and sundry is so rare, that I just HAD to come up with this review.

Kim Edwards’ The Memory Keeper's daughter  starts with a terrific premise. Dr. David Henry is forced to deliver his twins, Paul and Phoebe, one stormy winter night. What should have been a joyous event turns quickly tragic when he realises his daughter has the unmistakeable characteristics of Down's syndrome. Making a decision, he instructs his nurse Caroline Gill to take the child to an institution, deciding to inform his wife, Norah, that the child is stillborn. Caroline, instead, disappears intending to raise Phoebe as her own. As foreshadowed, Dr. Henry's split-second decision will then haunt the lives of everyone involved.

If you are an avid reader, chances are you've read a novel of this sort. To my best ability, I would classify it as a contemporary novel. These stories mainly revolve around a basic premise and how the(lives of) the characters are affected by this. It would seem a little obvious that the interest of the reader lies in the prose, the story-telling, a decent plot and strong characters with complex psychologies and motivations.

The descriptive prose there is aplenty, of the engrossing and meandering variety, the characters are where the story falters badly. The author is so taken up with the idea of the extreme injustice done to the wife and children of the Dr. Henry that she never really gets over it and as a result her characters dont either. Norah's character is especially selfish and unsympathetic who uses her daughter's supposed death and husband's self-loathing to justify alcohoism, depression, infidelity and an identity crisis. Phoebe's disapperance looms over the family like the proverbial Damocles sword but this doesnt seem sufficient reason to justify all the characters' actions and motivations. Strangely the person who did arouse sympathy at a couple of places was the doctor because his motivations atleast were a little clearer that those of the others, and of course, that's not what the author intended. He is painted here with such broad, b&w strokes that you just know he is the villain of the piece.

Edwards did have a chance of raising the novel from being merely pedestrian to something thought-provoking, if she had been capable of creating a sympathetic character with Down's syndrome. However, Phobe's character is very stereotyped. I did read that the author did a lot of research but nowhere did I feel that I was getting any insight into the character or even any insight into the daily sorrows and joys of raising a child with special needs. Sure, Caroline develops into a crusader for the rights of children with disabilities, after all the novel takes place in the 1960s when a lot of the information we know today wasnt available. But, it's a stock portrayal. In fact, while reading about Phoebe, I kept flashing to a character with Down's in an episode of Law and Order SVU, the characterisation is that generic.

Some of the sitations I would love to have been resolved in the course of the book were - How does the husband tell his wife about his decision? What does happen when the wife finds out about what her husband has done? Is it possible for the husband to be redeemed in such a situation? One of the things I did not expect was being fed a lot of nonsensical writing about an imaginary bond and sense of loss between fraternal twins. That the former questions remain largely unresolved satisfactorily made the book an average read for me.

Edwards did try to come up with a concept that was meant to be as heart-wrenching and as emotional as a Sophie's Choice. However, she just ends up being a watered-down Picoult. And, to those wondering, 'Memory-Keeper' is just a cute way of saying Photographer. I wonder what would have been the chances of me plonking down$14 for this book if it had actually been called by that prosaic name!