This is an Online Internet Book Club on The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's Syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split-second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret.
But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the infant. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that long-ago winter night.
A brilliantly crafted, stunning debut, The Memory Keeper's Daughter explores the way life takes unexpected turns, and how the mysterious ties that hold a family together help us survive the heartache that occurs when long-buried secrets burst into the open.
Performed by Martha Plimpton
Book Club Questions for The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on The Memory Keeper's Daughter:
- Did Kim Edwards emphasize any specific themes throughout The Memory Keeper's Daughter? What do you think Kim Edwards is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of The Memory Keeper's Daughter and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout The Memory Keeper's Daughter? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does The Memory Keeper's Daughter reveal Kim Edwards's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Kim Edwards is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of The Memory Keeper's Daughter affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did Kim Edwards's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for The Memory Keeper's Daughter (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on The Memory Keeper's Daughter:
- Did Kim Edwards make persuasive arguments in The Memory Keeper's Daughter? Did The Memory Keeper's Daughter change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from The Memory Keeper's Daughter?
- How does Kim Edwards present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is Kim Edwards biased within The Memory Keeper's Daughter? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does The Memory Keeper's Daughter make you want to read next? Why?
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