Scan barcode
A review by markalkman
Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
4.0
Heartbreaking. The only way to describe this book. ALS is a horrible, unstoppable disease that affects the patients and the people around them in an irreversible way. One of our family friends died of ALS two years back, and I have to say that it's been described very accurate in this novel. Lisa Genova is a neuroscientist and you can tell that she's done so much research before even thinking about writing a book like this. I applaud her for her bravery, and for writing about a horrific disease that's still uncurable.
There are three main characters in this novel: Richard Evans, a piano virtuoso who's been diagnosed with ALS; his ex-wife Karina who eventually has to take him back into her house to care for him; and ALS. The disease itself. Every chapter is about the disease and what it does. To the people that suffer from it, but about what it does to their loved ones as well.
Richard isn't very likable in the beginning. He's selfish and only cares about his piano career. He doesn't talk to his ex-wife or his daughter. He lives from performance to performance and changes girlfriends frequently. He lives for the piano. Until he's diagnosed with ALS and everything starts to change. At first he's in denial, until the symptoms start to appear. He loses his arm and the panic sets in. Throughout the book he starts to grow on you. You get to know him and you can almost feel his panic, the paralyzing fear of losing important parts of yourself, of being eventually locked inside your body. It's horrifying and depressing and so very sad. Even though he starts out as a selfish character, you can't help but feel incredibly sorry for him. ALS is a bitch and no one deserves to suffer from it.
Karina, his ex-wife, isn't a ray of sunshine either. She's bitter because of what Richard put her through, or what she believes he put her through. She missed out on a piano career because of him, because of the daughter he gave her. She hates Richard and she doesn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. Until one of their mutual friends tell her about his disease and she has to see it with her own eyes. At first she doesn't believe it, because he's acting perfectly normal. He just can't open a bottle of wine. But as Richard starts to get worse, Karina has to accept the fact that her ex-husband is dying.
Their fragile relationship is maddening at times, because they're both sorry for how they acted, but they can't seem to talk to each other. But as time goes by and they are forced to spend more and more time together, they seem to get to understand each other. It's a very sad story, but it's not all depressing. The handful of moments Richard has with his daughter Grace are heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It's an important story and it's beautifully written. I can't say I enjoyed it, because there's not a 'nice' aspect to this story, but I am glad that I've read it.
There are three main characters in this novel: Richard Evans, a piano virtuoso who's been diagnosed with ALS; his ex-wife Karina who eventually has to take him back into her house to care for him; and ALS. The disease itself. Every chapter is about the disease and what it does. To the people that suffer from it, but about what it does to their loved ones as well.
Richard isn't very likable in the beginning. He's selfish and only cares about his piano career. He doesn't talk to his ex-wife or his daughter. He lives from performance to performance and changes girlfriends frequently. He lives for the piano. Until he's diagnosed with ALS and everything starts to change. At first he's in denial, until the symptoms start to appear. He loses his arm and the panic sets in. Throughout the book he starts to grow on you. You get to know him and you can almost feel his panic, the paralyzing fear of losing important parts of yourself, of being eventually locked inside your body. It's horrifying and depressing and so very sad. Even though he starts out as a selfish character, you can't help but feel incredibly sorry for him. ALS is a bitch and no one deserves to suffer from it.
Karina, his ex-wife, isn't a ray of sunshine either. She's bitter because of what Richard put her through, or what she believes he put her through. She missed out on a piano career because of him, because of the daughter he gave her. She hates Richard and she doesn't want to have anything to do with him anymore. Until one of their mutual friends tell her about his disease and she has to see it with her own eyes. At first she doesn't believe it, because he's acting perfectly normal. He just can't open a bottle of wine. But as Richard starts to get worse, Karina has to accept the fact that her ex-husband is dying.
Their fragile relationship is maddening at times, because they're both sorry for how they acted, but they can't seem to talk to each other. But as time goes by and they are forced to spend more and more time together, they seem to get to understand each other. It's a very sad story, but it's not all depressing. The handful of moments Richard has with his daughter Grace are heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It's an important story and it's beautifully written. I can't say I enjoyed it, because there's not a 'nice' aspect to this story, but I am glad that I've read it.