The Lake of Dreams: Kim Edwards

Fans of the mega-best-selling The Memory Keeper’s Daughter will be thrilled to know that Kim Edwards has a new novel out this week. The Lake of Dreams is a worthy second novel from an author that is quite skilled at spinning a good yarn. The Lake of Dreams is a lovely story, a tale I initially thought had little in common with the first novel, which was the story of a doctor who helps birth his own twins, one of whom is born with Down’s Syndrome. In The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, the doctor with a perfect life, gives his child with special needs up to a nurse he works with, tells his wife the one twin died and never really expects to be bothered by the whole affair again. But, as I began to write this review I realized the many similarities between the novels. The Lake of Dreams is also a book centring on themes of secrecy, betrayal, grief and family relationships. The Lake of Dreams begins in the past, a scene in which the main character rebuffs her father, shrugging off a fishing trip as a rebellious teen, only to wake in the middle of the night to the news that he has drowned. Grief propels Lucy though life and her many thwarted careers and relationships. As an adult, Lucy lives in Japan, temporarily between jobs, living with her lover Yoshi, until news that her mother has had an accident forces her back home again for a visit. Transported to the sprawling home of her childhood on The Lake of Dreams, Lucy will question her place in her family and confront her grief as she grapples with the idea that her mother may be ready to sell their home. But, as she does this, she stumbles upon a secret, a package of odd items, and letters hidden in a window seat within the home and sealed up for many decades. The discovery leads her to a distant relative, a woman named Rose whose story unravels bit by bit to intertwine with that of Lucy’s own family. Edwards is very talented at crafting beginnings that grab you by the throat and haul you into the first chapters of her books. Less talented at maintaining that momentum, I think. Perhaps, not surprising as her books centre on the inner workings of character’s minds and the complicated relationships we have with other human beings, especially those who are related to us. There are glimpses of brilliant imagery here, with the stained windows used as a unique metaphor, that would on the surface seem obvious as a reference to a window to the past. But there is a lot more here, contained within the puzzle of the windows themselves. On finding the tackle box that went missing after her father’s death, Lucy describes the many fishing lures they made: “They were like gemstones, smooth and spherical, and trailing feathers, streamers, bits of lace.” I enjoyed this book very much, and could even see genius at work in the crafting of the chapters and the story, but in some ways it was more appealing to me academically than emotionally. Edwards is an associate professor of English at the University of Kentucky. She has also written one collection of short stories: The Secrets of a Fire King.

The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards, fiction, Viking, Jan. 4, 2011, $26.95 US Hardcover and $33.50 Canada, 378 pages.
Thriftymommastips rating is $$$$ out of $$$$$. A nice read, with moments of brilliance, but falls slightly short of superstar status, perhaps because it lacks emotion on some levels.

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