"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards. ***

●  Stewart Place Book Club selection

●  Originally published in 2006

●  US author

●  Setting:  1964 , Ohio
●  Characters:  David & Nora, and Paul....Caroline and Phoebe....David's sister, June, who died young of heart failure
●  The era...hide disabled
●  Would a father really lie about such a thing?
●  Living with lies
●  Why would Caroline write to David
●  Social context:  Kent State shootings
●  Nora....drinks, grieves, suicidal
●  Bree....Nora's sister......freer tha Nora
●  Howard....affair at the beach
●  Rosemary....pregnant girl in Paul's house
●  Paul lied about his name, about Phoebe....trying to protect with lies backfires
●  Memory keeper,,,, name of camera. ?...Paul trying to capture time
●  Started dragging when Rosemary arrives, Brie gets cancer....like author trying to fill in yearsbefore getting to denouement
●  good historical perspective on Down's Syndrome
●  good treatment of grief process and its impact on families

●  Review:  Set between 1964 and 1989, between Lexington, KY and Pittsburgh, PA, this story is about the futility of trying to control life.  The reader is witness to the outcomes set in motion after the birth of twins on a snowy night by a man who wanted to protect himself and his family, albeit by lying.  As tends to be true, one lie begets another, and the game is on.  The storyline was interesting.  The characters were interesting.  The writing was fair.  The story dragged quite a bit in the middle, otherwise this novel may have merited 4 stars.  The author's treatment of issues surrounding grief and the evolution of attitudes and options for folks with Down's Syndrome were handled very well.  I hope this author works on her pacing a bit in the next novel.