Books provide the antidotal balm between an estranged mother and daughter in Kate Storey's absorbing novel The Memory Library. As much as Ella adored her father, she shed more tears for what she thought was her mother's betrayal than his premature death. She quickly fled Sally and London, and 21 years later, she is living in Australia with her husband, Charlie, and their young daughter, Willow. These days, her high-powered legal career leaves little quality time for Willow, while stay-at-home Charlie's patient kindness just seems to annoy. When Sally's neighbor calls to report Sally's hospitalization, Ella reluctantly returns home. Ella barely recognizes this Sally who's so beloved by so many surprisingly diverse friends. At 42, Ella can no longer avoid difficult conversations--not to mention all the assumptions she's held about her family, then and now.
Storey cleverly relies on stories and books to reveal the most affecting interactions. Reading the same books together--initially to keep up with Sally's book club--encourages deeper communication between mother and daughter (and Charlie, too). Sally's heartfully curated home library--populated with titles Sally added annually on Ella's birthday, which contained everything Sally couldn't say--is where mother and daughter finally experience unguarded, unconditional understanding. Storey is an emotional writer, occasionally veering toward the melodramatic: Ella's decades-old judgmental misunderstanding turns tedious, and some readers may feel that tears come too easily and characters are more caricatures than convincing. Quibbles (and coincidences), however, won't dampen the underlying literary charm that sparkles through, repeatedly reminding readers of the memory-renewing, relationship-repairing, love-inducing power of books, glorious books. --Terry Hong