Review of The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008) by Pat G — 05 Nov 2010

I haven't read the book yet (although I've got a copy) but I thought somebody would die, and yes it was the doctor David (the father of the twins) who died at the end (when fixing the sink for his wife).

Their (David and Nora) baby boy Paul grew up well and was finally approved and supported for what he wanted to do by his dad. He spotted his twin sister when he was performing on the stage but he didnâ(TM)t know she was still alive though.

Somehow, there was this â~connectionâ(TM) between them (Theyâ(TM)re twins you know!) Anyways, David recognised their daughterâ(TM)s got Down Syndrome the moment she was born. He asked the nurse Caroline to take the baby girl to an institution (gees, itâ(TM)s a sad and terrifying place though), but she didnâ(TM)t do it (good decision!) and took her away and raised her up.

I think in a way the Henrys was going to split because (1) David had â~kind ofâ(TM) turned himself into an amateur photographer and started taking photos of girls and he was probably still suffered from the loss of his sister; (2) Noraâ(TM)d been feeling down and lonely because David hadnâ(TM)t touched her ever since their girl â~wasâ(TM) dead (which she wasnâ(TM)t â" he told her their daughter was dead though); (3) Paul found out that his mum Nora was having an affair and he was sick of her (but the good thing is that he didnâ(TM)t turn into a black sheep).

Hummâ¦there should be more to see/read in the novel, but overall the filmâ(TM)s quite good. It presents the inner anxiety and fear of the Henrys: (1) Davidâ(TM)s younger sister died of Down Syndrome and her death devastated his mum and he didnâ(TM)t want this to happen to his wife and his family again (sad though â" this DID affect his family); (2) Nora thought she lost a daughter (although she didnâ(TM)t get to see/hold her when she was born) and she also thought that David was having an affair, so she â~kind ofâ(TM) felt lonely and she had an affair; (3) Paul wanted to become a musician (he eventually became one anyways) but David didnâ(TM)t support him until Nora told him what Paul really wanted to do (Paul nearly went to the jail though); (4) Caroline the nurse was afraid that the Henrys would go to take Pheebe (â~theâ(TM) dead baby girl) back once they found out the truth (well, it turned out a happy and win-win ending).

Basically, I quite liked it and had a bit of tears when seeing Pheebe gave half of the daffodils to Nora and Caroline when she was told (by Caroline) that Nora was her birth mother and Paul was her twin brother.

She was well-educated (home-schooling) and was actually quite smart (not like what most people usually think those who have such syndrome would turn out to be) AND she had a boyfriend! Iâ(TM)m looking forward to reading the book now!