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mirandadarrow 's review for:
Left Neglected
by Lisa Genova
3 1/2 stars, rounding up because of the storyline with Sarah's mom.
I have a love/hate relationship with Lisa Genova's books, this being the third I've read:
1. I love the exploration of the neurological diseases and disorders she portrays through her characters.
2. I hate most of her characters.
That's a me problem. Other people may be able to identify more closely with East Coast elite who all went to Harvard. And in my experience, many Harvard grads wouldn't say the school's name, they'd say "I went to college in Boston" or Cambridge, or something similar, at least, that's what they do in flyover lands of the Midwest where I live, as really, only a class A doofus would run around saying that. Her characters say it. They shout it. It pours out of their sweat glands. I'm am special! My problems are more special than yours!
I don't fault the author for writing these characters, as she is writing what she knows. But I so much better enjoyed her story on ALS, Every Note Played, because the two main characters in that book were less East Coast elite and I don't think either went to HARVARD. They were two piano prodigies, one from an Eastern European country, very refreshing. That was my favorite book of hers. But all her books contain fascinating looks at people dealing with serious neurological conditions and the impact it has on them and their families.
I avoided reading this book for a long time because of this particular aversion I have to her one-percenter characters. I tried once before, but was turned off by the description of Sarah as a person who named her children Charlie, Lucy, and Linus. Hey, I love Snoopy as much as anyone else living near Saint Paul, Charles Schulz' home, But barf, that was so pretentious.
But the concept of Left Neglect fascinates me, and I know she's a good writer, so when I saw the audiobook in the library cue, I checked it out. I'm glad I did, because I enjoyed it.
Sarah wasn't quite as precious and annoying as the blurb, but she was pretty darn stuck on herself. I liked her character arc from having it all super-mom to being happy with what she has still working mom. At the beginning, Sarah was making significantly more money than her husband (they made that clear later, when they talked about her return to work) at her VP of HR job, yet she had to drop off the kids on a Friday when she had an important meeting at work because he's better at rock, paper, scissors? Ridiculous. I wanted to shout at her - stop giving a damn about what the other moms at your pretentious grade school think and tell your deadbeat husband he needs to drop off the kids.
I did not like her husband at the beginning, and he didn't really grow on me either. But, he was better than Still Alice's husband. What a yuck. I'm so glad this didn't go that way.
As a working mom, I could understand her struggle, but wanted to give her a kick in the pants. Life gave her that kick in the pants. A literal "you need to slow down and focus on what is important" message in the form of a serious brain injury that resulted in Left Neglect. I loved Sarah's character growth, especially the relationship she developed with her mother as she formed a new relationship with the parent who'd checked out during Sarah's childhood but used this second chance to build a relationship.
I couldn't really identify with her longstanding refusal to try adapted sports or closer parking, but sometimes the martyr mom complex runs deep. Get it over and get on with, Sarah, and she does.
Slight spoiler -
I'm glad for the life she carved out for herself and her family (living up in the mountains where Charlie could snowboard was better for him than life in Boston anyway) and was so relieved with the ending. I was also relieved that her husband didn't ditch her and agreed to move away for a more peaceful life. Many neurological disorders do not lend themselves to positive outcomes, but this one could and I'm glad it did.
I have a love/hate relationship with Lisa Genova's books, this being the third I've read:
1. I love the exploration of the neurological diseases and disorders she portrays through her characters.
2. I hate most of her characters.
That's a me problem. Other people may be able to identify more closely with East Coast elite who all went to Harvard. And in my experience, many Harvard grads wouldn't say the school's name, they'd say "I went to college in Boston" or Cambridge, or something similar, at least, that's what they do in flyover lands of the Midwest where I live, as really, only a class A doofus would run around saying that. Her characters say it. They shout it. It pours out of their sweat glands. I'm am special! My problems are more special than yours!
I don't fault the author for writing these characters, as she is writing what she knows. But I so much better enjoyed her story on ALS, Every Note Played, because the two main characters in that book were less East Coast elite and I don't think either went to HARVARD. They were two piano prodigies, one from an Eastern European country, very refreshing. That was my favorite book of hers. But all her books contain fascinating looks at people dealing with serious neurological conditions and the impact it has on them and their families.
I avoided reading this book for a long time because of this particular aversion I have to her one-percenter characters. I tried once before, but was turned off by the description of Sarah as a person who named her children Charlie, Lucy, and Linus. Hey, I love Snoopy as much as anyone else living near Saint Paul, Charles Schulz' home, But barf, that was so pretentious.
But the concept of Left Neglect fascinates me, and I know she's a good writer, so when I saw the audiobook in the library cue, I checked it out. I'm glad I did, because I enjoyed it.
Sarah wasn't quite as precious and annoying as the blurb, but she was pretty darn stuck on herself. I liked her character arc from having it all super-mom to being happy with what she has still working mom. At the beginning, Sarah was making significantly more money than her husband (they made that clear later, when they talked about her return to work) at her VP of HR job, yet she had to drop off the kids on a Friday when she had an important meeting at work because he's better at rock, paper, scissors? Ridiculous. I wanted to shout at her - stop giving a damn about what the other moms at your pretentious grade school think and tell your deadbeat husband he needs to drop off the kids.
I did not like her husband at the beginning, and he didn't really grow on me either. But, he was better than Still Alice's husband. What a yuck. I'm so glad this didn't go that way.
As a working mom, I could understand her struggle, but wanted to give her a kick in the pants. Life gave her that kick in the pants. A literal "you need to slow down and focus on what is important" message in the form of a serious brain injury that resulted in Left Neglect. I loved Sarah's character growth, especially the relationship she developed with her mother as she formed a new relationship with the parent who'd checked out during Sarah's childhood but used this second chance to build a relationship.
I couldn't really identify with her longstanding refusal to try adapted sports or closer parking, but sometimes the martyr mom complex runs deep. Get it over and get on with, Sarah, and she does.
Slight spoiler -
Spoiler
I'm glad for the life she carved out for herself and her family (living up in the mountains where Charlie could snowboard was better for him than life in Boston anyway) and was so relieved with the ending. I was also relieved that her husband didn't ditch her and agreed to move away for a more peaceful life. Many neurological disorders do not lend themselves to positive outcomes, but this one could and I'm glad it did.