Every Note Played

by Lisa Genova | Audiobooks |
ISBN: 9781508244400 Global Overview for this book
Registered by indygo88 of Lafayette, Indiana USA on 2/9/2021
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Tuesday, February 9, 2021
"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. 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. Karina is paralyzed by excuses and fear, stuck in an unfulfilling life as a 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, both he and Karina try to reconcile their past before it’s too late. "

Acquired via PaperBackSwap. (Unabridged on 7 CDs; read by Dennis Boutsikaris & Dagmara Dominczyk)

Journal Entry 2 by indygo88 at Lafayette, Indiana USA on Saturday, January 22, 2022
Richard is a relatively famous concert pianist. He's divorced and has a teenage daughter, but enjoys the attention and celebrity that his piano renown allows him. He's not especially close to his daughter or his ex-wife, as the divorce was somewhat messy due to his infidelities. When he starts experiencing weakness in one of his arms/hands, he obviously becomes concerned, as this directly affects his ability to play the piano. He is soon diagnosed with ALS, and as his physical function declines, he is forced to confront certain truths, as well as knowing he has to become fully reliant on someone to provide care for him.

This was a hard read, not only because of the difficult and sad subject matter itself, but because I recently lost my mother to complications of ALS. I'd had this book on my shelf for quite some time (I'm a Lisa Genova fan), but for some reason was hesitant to start this one. And perhaps immediately following the death of my mom was not the best time to read it, but on the other hand, it seemed to be calling me. Fortunately in my mom's case, she had a slower progressing variety of the disease and lived with it for 15 years. Also fortunate for her and for her family, she never got to the point of requiring a feeding tube or becoming totally dependent on a wheelchair. Her mobility and speech were affected to some degree, but not to the extreme of the majority of ALS patients. So while reading this book did hit close to home, it didn't hit me as drastically as it could have.

While I do appreciate Lisa Genova's ability to write a fictional story about a life-shattering chronic illness (as she's done several times now), this was not my favorite of hers. I think this was probably due more to the unlikable characteristics of her main characters than to anything else. I did think this was well-written, as are all her novels, but it just wasn't my favorite. But she has an exceptional ability to present a challenging medical topic to a reader in terms that they can understand and empathize with, and I think it's wonderful that she is able to increase awareness of diseases such as this one. She is and will continue to be one of my favorite authors.

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