Lisa Genova

A once-celebrated concert pianist who is gradually succumbing to ALS is forced to accept help from the estranged wife he pushed away, a situation that forces the couple to reconcile their past before time runs out.

a novel

Every note played

Melissa Palmer

Book #60 Read in 2018
Every Note Played by Lisa Genova 

I love Genova's writing. She is a neurobiologist who brings that knowledge to each book she writes. In this one, she details a concert pianist, Richard, who is diagnosed with ALS. Richard is not a sympathetic character when readers first meet him; he cheated on his ex-wife countless time, chose his music over his daughter etc. But throughout the book, Genova makes him into a sympathetic character who is going through a horrible disease. She also shows the effects of that disease on Karina, the ex-wife who takes Richard back into her home to care for him, and Grace, his daughter. It is not an easy read but a powerful one.

Kenzie

Arturo Hernández

This is a really raw novel that narrates the experiences of someone with ALS from before imagining the disease, to its discovery, development and devastating consequences. I find quite intriguing the way an event like ALS alters the life of everyone around it, I appreciate the vulnerability Lisa conveys through her words and research. I’m not putting a 5 star review just because, even though the main story has a lot of details, I feel like near the end some side stories are not fully developed, like if there are a couple of chapters missing. However, this is a great novel overall.

Alexandra Sklar

Emotionally tough read about the personal struggles of terminal illness (ALS). Beautifully written, with enough surprises along the way to keep it moving.

Merve A. 

3.5 stars because I couldn't really like the main characters but still liked the book.

Shawna Gavas

****received from goodreads firstreads with thanks****

Wow. 

This is the story of concert pianist Richard who is diagnosed with ALS. This story is not only about how the devasting disease takes over Richard's life, but also how it affects his ex-wife, Karina, and daughter, Grace. It shows us just how enormous the reach of this disease has to those around us. It's told in dual viewpoints, through both Richard and Karina eyes and it's impossible not to become completely immersed in the devastation that is happening so quickly.

There are no words that could accurately describe the rollercoaster of emotions this story evokes.
It was both beautiful and heartbreaking in the same breath. There were times I was scared to turn the page, afraid of what was going to happen next. It gave me new insight and understanding to what ALS was. Yes I've heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge, yes I've known someone who was unlucky enough to draw the ALS card. But until I read this book, I don't think I really "got" it.

This author certainly deserves praise not only for writing an incredible book, but for bringing awareness to such a horrific disease, ALS.

Magdalene Lim

So so so good. It wasn’t just ninjas cutting onions. It was ninjas cutting onions to the power of ten. Your impression of ALS might simply be the ice bucket challenge or knowledge that it’s something Stephan Hawking had but this story puts you right in the shoes of the patient and caregiver.

It’s beautiful.

Katheryn Haskell

Very good representation of ALS. My grandmother had it, and reading this reminded me a lot of what she went through. It's very well researched (unlike ALS) and the story is compelling and show how difficult it is for all parties to cope with the disease.

A virtuoso performance by the bestselling author of Still Alice, Lisa Genova delivers a stunning novel of finding harmony amidst the most tragic of situations. An accomplished concert pianist, Richard has already suffered many losses in his life: the acrimonious divorce from his ex-wife, Karina; the estrangement of his daughter, Grace; and now, a devastating diagnosis. ALS. The relentlessly progressive paralysis of ALS begins in the cruellest way possible - in his hands. As Richard becomes more and more locked inside his body and can no longer play piano or live on his own, Karina steps in as his reluctant caregiver. Paralysed in a different way, Karina is trapped within a prison of excuses and blame, stuck in an unfulfilling life as an after-school piano teacher, afraid to pursue the path she abandoned as a young woman. As Richard's muscles, voice and breath fade, the two struggle to reconcile their past before it's too late. With a strong musical sensibility and the staggering insight of Jojo Moyes' Me Before You, Lisa Genova has delivered a masterful exploration of what it means to find yourself within the most shattering of circumstances.

From the bestselling author of Still Alice

Every Note Played

Jane Krauss

** spoiler alert **
           This book has been on my TBR for a long time. The dynamic of broken family being forced together was well written. Telling the side of the husband who was a concert pianist who has ALS and an ex-wife who feels unheard and unappreciated it was well told. I would have loved to hear the voice of their daughter and felt that it was a lost opportunity.

An accomplished concert pianist, Richard has already suffered many losses in his life: the acrimonious divorce from his ex-wife, Karina; the estrangement of his daughter, Grace; and now, a devastating diagnosis. ALS. The relentlessly progressive paralysis of ALS begins in the cruellest way possible - in his hands. As Richard becomes more and more locked inside his body and can no longer play piano or live on his own, Karina steps in as his reluctant caregiver. Paralysed in a different way, Karina is trapped within a prison of excuses and blame, stuck in an unfulfilling life as an after-school piano teacher, afraid to pursue the path she abandoned as a young woman. As Richard's muscles, voice and breath fade, the two struggle to reconcile their past before it's too late. With a strong musical sensibility and the staggering insight of Jojo Moyes' Me Before You, Lisa Genova has delivered a masterful exploration of what it means to find yourself within the most shattering of circumstances.

Amy Buckle

Every Note Played is a compelling novel with a heart-breaking story at its centre. World renowned pianist Richard has a successful career behind him, and though he’s been through a bitter divorce with his ex-wife Karina, he still looks forward to what’s ahead. Then the worst happens – he’s diagnosed with motor neurone disease and as he starts to lose control not just of his hands and therefore his ability to play the piano, but the rest of his body as well. He wants to fight it but as it begins to engulf him, Karina has no choice but to come to his aid and help him maintain as much of his life as she can. Both of them reluctant to forgive the other for mistakes in their past marriage, find that this disease may be debilitating, and they may be unwilling, but it might just bring them together for the better.

Having finished this book, I have now officially read every book Lisa Genova has written (see reviews here for the rest) and this one only reminded me why I love her books. Once again I found myself going into the book with little knowledge of the disease at its core, but as always Genova’s passion for learning more about these diseases so we can learn better how to fight them is infectious. I always find myself researching more having finished and Every Note Played was no different.

What I liked best about this book was the unconventional nature of the family this book centres on; with Inside the O’Brien’s and Left Neglected, from what I can remember, the families are mostly nuclear and while not perfect, not dysfunctional, whereas Every Note Played takes a family who’s already broken and proves the unfortunate nature of natural selection and how there is no ‘fair’ when it comes to diseases like ALS.

Richard and Katina were an interesting couple because they had this innate way of knowing each other that comes from being married as long as they were, but also how they both harbour secrets from. I felt myself warming to Karina more than Richard which is probably unsurprising given that it felt like through creating a family she had been robbed of a career Richard was able to bask in. And because of this, I liked how this book raised issues beyond that of neurological diseases, but of patriarchal inequality and feminism.

If you’ve read any of my past reviews of Genova’s work, you’ll know how much I already adore it, and while I don’t think Every Note Played has knocked Left Neglected of its post as my favourite from her, I do admire what it achieves, as with Still Alice, Inside the O’Briens, and Love Anthony. I also think it had potentially the most emotional ending of all of the books. Educational, compelling, heart-breakingly plausible, and most importantly informative, Every Note Played shines a necessarily light on the atrocities of motor neurone disease and I urge everyone to read it!

Allison Garber

Sohini Roy

Sipphora Phoebe

Elizabeth Wood

Melissa M.

Brynlee

From neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice comes a virtuoso performance about finding harmony in the most tragic of circumstances. An accomplished concert pianist, Richard received standing ovations from audiences all over the world in awe of his rare combination of emotional resonance and flawless technique. Every finger of his hands was a finely calibrated instrument, dancing across the keys and striking every note with exacting precision. That was eight months ago. Richard now has ALS, and his entire right arm is paralyzed. His fingers are impotent, still, devoid of possibility. The loss of his hand feels like a death, a loss of true love, a divorce—his divorce. He knows his left arm will go next. Three years ago, Karina removed their framed wedding picture from the living room wall and hung a mirror there instead. But she still hasn’t moved on. Paralyzed in a different way, Karina is trapped within a prison of excuses and fear, stuck in an unfulfilling life as an after-school piano teacher, afraid to pursue the path she abandoned as a young woman, blaming Richard and their failed marriage for all of it. When Richard becomes increasingly paralyzed and is no longer able to live on his own, Karina becomes his reluctant caretaker. As Richard’s muscles, voice, and breath fade, the two struggle to reconcile their past before it’s too late. Poignant and powerful, with the staggering insight of Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, Every Note Played delivers a masterful exploration of redemption and what it means to find freedom and peace inside of forgiveness.

Every note played a novel

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