This book has gotten mixed reviews. Coasting on the success of her earlier novel ‘The Memory Keeper’s Daughter’, the publishers put a nice looking cover and a magical title on a book that drags. The first two chapters caught my attention and then it began to snag on irrelevant description. I just didn’t care as much about the historical facts Lucy Jarrett was digging up as she did. But I did stick with it and was rewarded by the story suddenly taking off in Chapter 18 (p. 300ff)! How did this book end up as a Heather’s Pick (chapter.ca)? Maybe she just read the beginning and the end!
Looking back in my notes, I did find ‘The Memory Keeper’s Daughter’ (which also inspired a movie) to be very well written. The whole novel is what follows a split second decision that changes the lives of the characters forever. However, though it starts with a bang, it fizzled for me afterwards as well . Both novels are about family secrets and the impact they can have. And who doesn’t love a family saga?
Let me not dissuade you from reading this book. There are many people who did enjoy it so perhaps it was personal taste. And there are some interesting themes and metaphors like the earthquakes in Japan mirroring the unrest Lucy feels at the beginning of the book and lots of dream parallels. The book’s description on Amazon says it has “surprises at every turn” and is “brimming with vibrant detail”. So you never know! Leave me a comment either way, and let me know what you think.
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