The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Read May 2023 - Zoom Reading Circle
Wow, I have been listening to this one on Audible and I have truly enjoyed that version. This story has captured my imagination from the beginning. The only thing I don’t like about listening is that I am unable to underline great lines when I hear them. There have been many in this book so far. Kate Morton writes in a way that really grabs you and draws you in. I am totally immersed in the mystery of who Dorothy was/is and what happened in her past. And I am finding myself increasingly tense about the answers... only in my listening today (about Chapter 16 and on) am I realizing she may be insane! Wow. A weird sense of dread at what Laurel (and we the readers) are going to find out about Dorothy/Dolly. A character I at first identified with and then grew to really dislike as her character was illuminated bit by masterful bit.
What a story! I figured out one part by Part 3 but the ending was satisfying nevertheless.
This book really did delve into the secrets we keep and the cost we pay for those. Also, the juxtaposition of Dorothy who was basically a narcissist and always the victim versus Vivian who felt that everything that happened in her life was her fault - including the deaths of her family and the later travails in her marriage. That could have been too difficult to read about and enjoy, but Kate Morton made it powerful, not overwhelming.
Warning - spoiler alert below... do not read on if you haven't yet read the book...
I loved the character of Laurel throughout. And realized that Dorothy had to be Vivian when it occurred to me that one can change, but one can’t truly change your character. The basic character of Dorothy was so flawed and had been from the start.... stealing the dress, telling Jimmy he could take photos and then blackmail people, the discovery that she was basically stalking Vivian, the uncomfortable death of the old lady... so many things. It just didn’t feel right. And even though Vivian was shadowed, especially early in the book, as a cold uncaring person, she was so clearly caring with Jimmy and the kids at the hospital. You just knew her character was far better and stronger than Dorothy’s.
I do love Kate Morton’s writing. Her book The Forgotten Garden is still a favorite of mine. This will bring me back to read more of her works.
Rated 4.35 by Zoom Reading Circle
I found a neat website that creates Booktrails. Basically, you can follow a trail of literary locations. Fun to look at and would be especially fun if you happened to travel to some of the areas. Here is a Booktrail for The Secret Keeper.
https://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/the-secret-keeper/
I also looked up a few of the quotes from this book that I had so loved...
Children don't require of their parents a past and they find something faintly unbelievable, almost embarrassing, in parental claims to a prior existence.
...people who'd led dull and blameless lives did not give thanks for second chances.
the young are quick to presume themselves the exclusive possessors of all strong feelings.
My mother was a survivor; she's a survivor still. If I've inherited half her courage, I can count myself a very lucky woman.
Never discount the possibility of turning up an answer none of the current theories predicts.
The landscape of one's childhood was more vibrant than any other. It didn't matter where it was or what it looked like, the sights and sounds imprinted differently from those encountered later.
