Silvia - The Memory Keepers Daugther (spoilers)

Malanee · Post by **Malanee** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 7:41 pm

So what did you think? I was a little disappointed. I guess I never really got to like the doctor. I didn't trust him and thought his decisions about Phoebe and whether to reveal she was alive were silly. His death seemed anti-climactic. I also found that the story moved too slow. It was overly sappy and sometimes the situations just didn't seem real. It could be that I just can't relate to the story - having no children myself. What are your opinions?

Sílvia · Post by **Sílvia** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:59 am

It was definitely overly sappy, but I still enjoyed it. It won't make my top 10, but it was interesting. Well, I don't think we were supposed to like the doctor. How could we?? Also, he had to die (although I never saw it coming), otherwise his wife and son would have killed him. Yeah, I agree that it was slow, especially the parts about the doctor and his wife. I was much more interested in Phoebe, and she didn't appear as much. I wish she'd written more about Caroline's struggle to get her accepted at school, about the society they founded, etc. What else? Oh yeah, I thought the mother's grief was a little over the top. Ok, she lost a newborn, that's horrible. But 15, 20 years later she was still as depressed about it as in the first week? It destroyed her life completely? What about the son she didn't lose? Didn't he bring her any joy whatsoever? Hmm... what else? Oh yeah, the girl the doctor went to live with. That was just silly IMO. She was a total stranger who'd held him hostage for hours!

Oh, and we should play a drinking game based on how often she uses the phrase "motes of light"!

Malanee · Post by **Malanee** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:35 pm

Good idea about the drinking game!

I agree about Phoebe. I wish the book had been more about her and less about the mother's grief.

So what are you reading now? I'm tackling The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It's a little tough to get into. Then I'll read Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assasin.

Sílvia · Post by **Sílvia** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:10 am

Really? I loved The Namesake from page 1!

I'm reading a book by a Brazilian author called Erico Verissimo. He wrote one of my favorite books ever, but this one is a little slow. It was written in 1935, and it hasn't aged well at all. It seems so naive!

I'd like to read The Blind Assassin some day, but I've heard quite a few people say they couldn't get into it! Let us know how it goes for you.