This story pulled me right in and kept me interested until the very end. I stayed up way too late 2 nights in a row because I couldn't stop reading. I liked the contrast between the two families; the downs syndrome child brought so much joy to Caroline, while the big mistake/secret damaged the Henry family so deeply. Like Paul, I am unsettled by the thought of what it would have been like if life had taken a different path. I would have liked to see a bit more character development. Caroline, Norah, and Paul didn't always seem like real people that I'd like to know. There was a certain distance to the storytelling. Overall, well worth the time, a great read.

i found the characters to be completely unrealistic. A mother who thinks that she lost one of her children at birth spends the rest of her life feeling empty. Her husband, albeit a good man, hides the secret (that their child is alive) from her his entire life. come on, you must be joking. i kept reading the book thinking that the characters would become more "real" but it didn't happen. and, it's a long book!The husband was a good father to their son yet the sons spends his entire adolescent and adulthood hating the father. ridiculous! if, as in real life, the author would have simply let the boy go through what most adolescents do (disliking their parents) but then turning around in young adulthood, it would be so much more believable.very disappointing.

I was really hoping this would be one of those books I would be glad I read. However, I was ultimately disappointed. I never really connected with any of the characters and the ending seemed quite dull. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I suppose I was expecting something a bit more dramatic or exciting. Personally, I thought the book was kind of dull.

I don't know why I didn't stop reading half way through the book. By the time I finished I wanted to slap the author and all the characters. I realize it was the 60's but PLEASE. Although it spanned a 20 year time period it seemed like everyone was stuck in a time warp. I thought The Memory Keeper's Daughter would have focused ON THE DAUGHTER but she seemed to be an insignificant part of the story. The author dronned on and on with flowery discriptions that really didn't help the story line.I was very disappointed with the book.

I found the history extremely compelling at the beginning. But eventually the whole story was a drag.The author seemed to have in mind a Lifetime movie for her book and spent all the time with peripheral descriptions that were insulse and annoying.The characters were superfically developed and I spent the whole time trying to feel the drama, but it was not possible.The positive part of the book is that is very easy to read and has a simple history line.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this story. The beginning hooked me and I was unable to put the book down. What happened? It seemed like time stopped and I could barely force myself to keep reading. In fact, I lost the battle. I gave up shortly after Paul's recital. I would rather live without knowing how this family turned out than have to read one more sentence. (That is a huge concession for me because I hate leaving things unfinished.) It was death by slow, tortuous boredom. The author had this incredible idea for a story that started out so fascinating, yet quickly fizzled. It's like she ran out of steam and forced herself to finish the book just because. It was a huge shame.