The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2005) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Dr. David Henry: The husband to Norah and father to Paul and Phoebe. Orthopedic surgeon, very keen on photography.
• Norah Asher Henry: Wife, mother of twins (Paul and Phoebe), sister to Bree.
• Caroline Lorraine Gill: Nurse who worked with Dr Henry.
• Phoebe Grace Henry: Daughter of Dr. David Henry and Norah Henry and the twin sister of Paul. Born with Down's Syndrome.
• Paul Henry: Son of Dr. David Henry and Norah Henry, twin brother of Phoebe.
• Brigitte 'Bree' Asher: The sister of Norah, aunt of Phoebe and Paul.
• Albert Simpson: Truck driver who plays an important role in Caroline's life.
• Rosemary: Friend of David Henry.
• Dorothy 'Doro' March: The friend and employer of Caroline Gill.
• Leo March: Elderly father of Doro March. Used to be a professor but now is mind is greatly deteriorated.
• Robert: A later friend of Phoebe's.
• Michelle: Paul's girlfriend. A flautist.
• Frederic: Friend of Norah's.
• Duke Madison: Paul's friend. He plays the piano.
• Kay Marshall: Kay Marshall is the perfect mother in the eyes of Norah, she always looks perfect and her children too.
• Lauren Lobeglio: Add a description of this character.
• Jason
• Sam
• Daniel Brinkerhoff
• Ron Stone
• Sandra
• Mark Bell
• Angela
• Ben
• Avery Swan
• Mrs. David Henry
• Miss Throckmorton
• Linda
• Lucy Martin
• Jack
• Sally
• Tim
• Ruth Starling
• Stuart Wells
• Rupert Dean
• Aunt Doro
• Sylvia Patterson
• Elizabeth
• Mike
• Ruby Centers
• Flora Marshall
• Max
• Neil Simms
• Howard
• Pete Warren
• Dr. Bentley

Quotes edit see section history

• “He found himself wanting to protect her instead, to carry her up flights of stairs, to wrap her in blankets, to bring her cups of custard. 'I'm not an invalid,' she protested each time, laughing. 'I'm not some fledgling you discovered on the lawn.'”

• “He'd had tears in his eyes when he opened them, raising his head from the desk. The nurse was standing in the doorway, her face gentled by emotion. She was beautiful in that moment, half smiling, not at all the efficient woman who worked beside him so quietly and competently each day. Their eyes met, and it seemed to the doctor that he knew her - that they knew each other - in some profound and uncertain way.”

• “"That was never my intention.""You didn't intend any of this, but it happened anyway."”

  David and Caroline

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• The love was within her all the time, and its only renewal came from giving it away.

  Highlighted by 40 Kindle customers

• He’d kept this silence because his own secrets were darker, more hidden, and because he believed that his secrets had created hers.

  Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers

• His love for her was so deeply woven with resentment that he could not untangle the two.

  Highlighted by 34 Kindle customers

• “You’re right, Norah, anything can happen, any time. But what goes wrong is not your fault. You can’t spend the rest of your life tiptoeing around to try and avert disaster. It won’t work. You’ll just end up missing the life you have.”

  Highlighted by 33 Kindle customers

• The Memory Keeper, it said on the box, in white italic letters; this, she realized, was why she’d bought it—so he’d capture every moment, so he’d never forget.

  Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers

• “Photography is all about secrets,” David said, after a few minutes, lifting the photo with a pair of tongs and slipping it into the fixer. “The secrets we all have and will never tell.”

  Highlighted by 25 Kindle customers

• This was the grief he had tried to spare Norah and Paul, only to create so many others.

  Highlighted by 24 Kindle customers

• “Music is like you touch the pulse of the world. Music is always happening, and sometimes you get to touch it for a while, and when you do you know that everything’s connected to everything else.”

  Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers

• It was as if he’d taken pictures all these years since to try and give another moment similar substance, equal weight. He’d wanted to try and still the rushing world, the flow of events, but of course that had been impossible.

  Highlighted by 18 Kindle customers

• Paul would not grow up, as David had, suffering the loss of his sister. He would not be forced to fend for himself because his sister couldn’t. This thought, and the force of its bitterness, shocked David. He wanted to believe he’d done the right thing when he handed his daughter to Caroline Gill. Or at least that he’d had the right reasons. But perhaps he had not. Perhaps it was not so much Paul he’d been protecting on that snowy night as some lost version of himself.

  Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Lexington, KY
• Pittsburgh, PA
• France
• Louisville
• Kentucky
• Paris
• Ohio River
• Cleveland
• Morgantown
• Cincinnati
• Aruba
• Fairlane
• Vietnam
• Flora

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Family: There is no 'one' explanation for this. Family means many different things to many different people.
• Wall: Norah often describes the "wall" between her and Dr. Henry
• Twin connection: Describe this theme.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Kim Edwards (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Sandra Nikoletić (Translator) - Croatian

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Kentucky Literary Award (2005: Fiction)
• British Book Award (2008: Popular Fiction)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3555.D942M46 2005
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Due to the subject nature of this book, I would not recommend anyone other than an adult read it.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › United States
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Thrillers
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary

Movie Connections edit see section history

• The Memory Keeper's Daughter (IMDb): 2008 TV Movie starring Dermot Mulroney as David Henry, Gretchen Mol as Norah Henry and Emily Watson as Caroline Gill.

More Books Like This edit see section history