Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Lake of Dreams


I know I am in the minority for not having read The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards' first novel. However, just because I have a hard time getting excited about a book that has received soooo much press doesn't mean I don't or won't ever read it or other work by that same author. So, when I saw that Edwards had a new novel coming out, I decided I wanted to give it a try before everyone else beat me to it.

The setting - a town named The Lake of Dreams - is beautiful, a small town with much history set on one of many lakes. Lucy has come back home for a visit to her hometown. While the reason for her return is that her mother, who has broken her arm, needs her help, Lucy is also in need of some time to come to terms with her father's death ten years previously. His sudden death occurred right before Lucy left for college and she has never really returned home to stay since then. She has moved from town to town, continent to continent, and this extended stay with her mother gives her a chance to reflect on the events that led to her dad's death. While she has always blamed herself, secrets are revealed allowing Lucy to see a different side to the events that surrounded his death. Lucy is also confronted by the feelings she had for her ex-boyfriend, Keegan, who has remained in The Lake of Dreams and is running a successful glass blowing business.

While home Lucy happens upon letters written decades ago, having to do with women's suffrage. After reading them she begins to investigate further the woman, Rose Jarrett, a relative, who wrote these letters. Although the author is no longer living, her daughter, Iris, now ninety-five, is. Lucy must decide if she is willing to unearth another family secret in order to bring Iris the truth about her past.
This novel kept me entertained. I was especially grateful when I could find longer stretches of time to read and really get into the story. For the first part of the novel it was difficult for me to get any reading time in and the constant interruptions and reading only a few pages at a time didn't let me get into the story as quickly as I would have liked. However, once I did find some reading time I was quickly involved in this story. Edwards has created a real family, full of different personalities and dramas that span years and even generations.
Edwards' writing was easy to get into, and I will be looking forward to plucking The Memory Keeper's Daughter off my TBR pile someday soon.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a copy of this one and want to read it soon. I enjoyed her first book and this one sounds even more to my liking.

brizmus said...

sounds quite good! I quite liked the Memory Keeper's Daughter (I hope you'll read it and enjoy it now), and this sounds like it lives up to that! :-)

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I liked it too, but Memory Keeper's Daughter even a bit more.....great review.

Gerbera Daisy Diaries said...

I am one of the few who DIDN'T like Memory...so I've been on the fence about trying this one or not.