Have you read Memory Keeper's Daughter?

20 years ago

Have you read the Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards? I just finished it and would love to hear what others thought of it if you have the chance.

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Comments (7)

kathypass
20 years ago
I finished it about a week ago. I liked it, but thought there could have been a little more character background. It reminded me of some of the Belva Plain novels. What did you think?
karalk
20 years ago
I looked it up on Amazon and it looks like a really miserable book. I think I'll pass!
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Comments (9)
Thanks for the story. It was a moving picture in my mind. I would loved to have shared such a moment with her. Like you, I felt the longing for her to have children...someone to look after her in these late years. Seriously, write these things down and include pictures....its a no brainer. Please sign my copy. Ronda
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Comments (23)
What a variety of memories here.... Funeral blue, l love that! Yes, friend and I were flabbergasted, shocked, amazed--- take your pick from the thesaurus under "astounded." The backstory is even weirder. My father had a massive stroke at age 60 and never walked or spoke again. He lived nine years longer, seven at home with a live in male nurse and the last two in a nursing home. He always wanted his body to go to Emory medical school, where our family has many ties, as a cadaver in the anatomy lab. When making the arrangements after his death, the school told us they would cremate the body after they were finished with it for educational use and send the ashes back. I was the only one who actually wanted them so it was agreed they would come to me. But a year later the were FedExed to my brother by mistake. Said brother called me to let me know he was forwarding them, but had decided that he wanted to keep a portion of the ashes himself. For some reason that struck me as the oddest thing...to say there had been lifelong sibling rivalry between us would be a gross understatement, and I felt at the time that he was just making sure I did not get something that he didn't also have. And a year later he was also dead, very suddenly and unexpectedly, of a heart attack. And that's when I found the filed ashes in the ziplock bag. Too bad I didn't find them before I delivered the eulogy at his funeral.... talk about an ice breaker. We finally settled on a columbarium in a beautiful mountain garden for both my father's and brother's ashes. But none of the rest of the fam knows I still have my share!
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Memory Keepers Daughter on tonite!
Q
Comments (21)
OK, Kids, I watched it almost all the way through last night. I missed one section of it...when Nora starts her affairs, after the one she had while they were on vacation, but I think I saw most of it. It was OK. They did not follow the book exactly. I was waiting to see how they worked in Pauls' Breakdown in Pittsburg. As I remember that breakdown triggered his quest/need to find his childhood home and all the sadness and squaller he grew up in. That's when he met the girl, brought her back to Lexington where she lived in his house for a while. They also left out all that jogging he did. Wasn't that how and when he died in the book...jogging? Or do I have that wrong? Anyway, I'm glad I made myself watch.
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Motherless Daughters.....has anyone read this?
Q
Comments (25)
kathy t - I think that's a fabulous idea. My mother died nine years ago -- one week after 9/11. And just yesterday, as I was walking up the stairs to my bedroom, I thought "I should call Mom." If only I could. We held a memorial service for her in my brother's backyard a month or so after she died. My niece worked with a friend to put together a wonderful video of my Mom's life with pictures of her and my dad, all six of her kids, her 13 grandkids, and two great-grandkids. She also included some music that meant something to all of us. It was truly amazing, and I've watched it many times. This is a quote from C.S. Lewis, that I may have gotten from RP, that really sums up how I feel about the loss of my mother: "With my motherÂs death, all settled happiness, all that was tranquil and reliable, disappeared from my life. There was to be much fun, many pleasures, many stabs of Joy; but no more of the old security. It was sea and islands now; the great continent had sunk like AtlantisÂ" C.S. Lewis And as Edna St. Vincent Millay put it: "The presence of that absence is everywhere."
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dorieann
20 years ago
Warning Â Mild Spoilers

I hesitated to respond because I really didn't enjoy the book all that much. Although the premise had definite promise, I don't think it was executed well. It dragged on for too long in my opinion, and every single character came off as unhappy - even the ones who had no reason to be. And I don't like how they resolved things at the end. No, I didn't like the ending at all, which is my main complaint with this book. I felt cheated, and ended up feeling sorriest for the father, though of course he made his own bed. IÂm probably in the minority in being disappointed though, seeing as the book is doing so well.
blueiris24
Original Author
20 years ago
Possible Spoiler--

I thought the premise was really intriguing, but I do agree that it definitely dragged in places -- I found myself skimming over quite a bit in places. It did, however, make me think about things and there were several times that I found myself tense up, wondering when he was going to confess. The ending was a bit of a let down, but I'm not sure what the best ending would be. So I had mixed feelings about the book, I was wondering what type of response others had to it.
livvyandbella
20 years ago
I love a book I can't wait to get to at the end of the day. This was not it! I also ended up skimming.
It became predictable, and was glad to finish it.
pam53
20 years ago
I just started the book last night. Will let you know when I'm done-interesting premise....
maggie5il
19 years ago
I read it last spring because it had come highly recommended to me. I was disappointed. Didn't really hold my interest.

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Have you read Memory Keeper's Daughter?

Comments (7)

kathypass

karalk

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dorieann

blueiris24
Original Author

livvyandbella

pam53

maggie5il

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Have you read Memory Keeper's Daughter?

Comments (7)

kathypass

karalk

Related Discussions

dorieann

blueiris24Original Author

livvyandbella

pam53

maggie5il

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

blueiris24
Original Author