This is the story of twins, David and Diana who have been estrange for decades because David's wife could not accept Diana's same-sex relationship with Constance. David, now widowed, reconnects with Diana whose long-time partner, Constance, is suffering from memory loss. There is not much action in this book, but I really liked the writing and the way David's and Diana's stories were told. Their reunion brings old memories to the fore, just as Constance struggles to remember what is happening in real time -- this contrast explores the role of memory in identity and in relationships. The characters are so real! ( )

Onbekende parel, zonder franjes, maar met de nodige diepgang. Blad voor blad, laag voor laag wordt het leven van de twins gepeld. De harmonie van hun jeugd staat in schril kontrast met het ieder zijn weg gaan in het latere leven. Er is David en zijn koele dominante vrouw Patricia - waarom doet dit me denken aan H en J? - er is Diana, gynaecologe en veertig jaar samen met Constance. Uiterlijke schijn en keeping up appearences tegenover loslaten, kans geven, terugkomen en blijven. Na de dood van Patricia, verlost van de boeien maar ietwat ontheemd omdat er na al die jaren toch een modus vivendi gegroeid was, gaat David zijn zus terug opzoeken. Gaandeweg en vooral dankzij de zorg die de dementerende hupse Constance vraagt, vinden ze mekaar terug. Zijn er de kinderen van David: opgegroeid naar het stramien van hun moeder, die op hun beurt kind en man in hun klauw houden.
Het boek wint aan kracht naar het einde toe, open einde trouwens. Het houdt 'ouder wordenden' onbedoeld een spiegel voor. ( )

Jane Rule’s 1987 Memory Board was recommended to me as the novel I should start with when approaching this Canadian lesbian writing legend who passed away in 2007. I followed the advice of the professors who gave me a quick Jane Rule 101 via facebook (thanks Wendy and Douglass!) and read Memory Board before being familiar with any of Rule’s other writing, so I can’t confirm (yet) that for me this is indeed her finest work. I can say, though, that it is definitely a book written by an experienced writer in firm control of her craft and the narrative at hand. Although it’s a novel, Memory Board is also a calculated psychological character study that has more going on in the heads and hearts of the characters than anything conventionally called action. There are a few events, of course, but Rule deals with these developments in such an understated manner that even the revelation that one of the minor characters has AIDS doesn’t feel as shocking as it ought to....

See the rest of my review on my website:
http://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/a-glimpse-into-a-diff... ( )

Diana Crown is a retired MD with a lifetime partner, Constance, who is suffering from what we now know as Alzheimer's. To help Constance, she creates a Memory Board, with a list of the day's activities. That way, Constance can cross things out when she does them, and not forget to eat, etc. Diana, meanwhile, has her own health issues - including disabling arthritis.

David Crown is Diana's twin brother. Many years ago, David's wife insisted that he cut off all contact with Diana, when they learned that she was a lesbian. David's children don't even know they have an aunt, let alone that she has lived with another woman for close to 40 years.

Now that David's wife is dead, David decides it is time to re-establish his relationship with his sister.

But will she, and Constance, accept him into their lives?

This is an extremely slow, emotional story. Not much happens; most of the book is told within the heads of the characters - all of whom lead fairly quiet, elderly lives. Will Diana forgive David for cutting her off? Is it too late to repair their relationship? Will David's children accept Diana and Constance, or perpetuate the family rift and anger from their mother? And how will Constance and Diana cope with the possibility of change in their lives, and Constance's increasingly disabling condition?

Jane Rule crafted a lengthy, quiet, and very moving story in this 1989 Naiad book. It took me a very long time to get into the story, since it is very dated and mostly reflects 1950s-era attitudes on lesbianism. I nearly put it down several times, in fact. But, in the end, I found myself enjoying this quiet tale and these characters, despite the fact that I found the story very dated from a political standpoint. It is not a book that I would ever re-read, but I am glad that I finished it. ( )

I just reread this after 20 years. Rule was an underrated author and this is one of her best books - perceptive, generous, intriguing. Diana Crown is an aging lesbian whose partner Constance has Alzheimers and an estranged twin brother (David) and this is the story of them getting to know each other again. It's a story of being trapped by memory - Constance is trapped by the absence of it; David and Diana are trying to escape the memories that are the cause of their estrangement; David's children are trapped by the memories of their mother.
I feared the book, which I loved when I first read it, would have dated. It has, but in a good way - homosexuality is treated as a novelty and as a taboo in a way that now seems quaint. Rule does not have a good ear for dialogue but David's internal monologues in particular more than make up for it. I'm glad to have read it again. ( )