Scan barcode
A review by kategallo
Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
5.0
Lisa Genova has broken my heart yet again. Every Note Played is a powerful look into another degenerative illness, and the way it destroys lives. But this book isn't Just about ALS. It's about two deeply flawed people, and how they come to terms with the fact that both of them have greatly wronged each other, hidden behind a veil of excuses. The purpose of this book is not to give them an opportunity for forgiveness just because Richard has ALS, but to provide them both a sense of freedom from each other's, and their own, mistakes that led them to a broken marriage and futile dreams. It is chipped away at, piece by piece, as we watch them attempt to deal with the reality of the situation around them, and how time is slowly slipping away. While I was, at first, hesitant that there were two main characters, I love how Karina slowly broke away from her tough facade and allowed us to understand her actions, her cold-heartedness and resigned nature. She struggles deeply with responsibility, guilt, and anger throughout this book, while surrounded with memories of what could have been and what could be, and I found her viewpoint to add a lot of meaning to Richard's own.
Genova's talent for writing in the perspective of people living with illness is incomparable. She uses deeply sensitive language, creating intimacy - familiarity - within the first few chapters. Genova can build a whole world around a single person; from the intricacies of their fears and choices, to the breadth of their impact on the people around them. She provides an undeniably human view of something that can feel so dehumanising - debilitating illness. In some ways, she allows a modicum of dignity for Richard's character even when he is stripped of every primal human freedom; as his body betrays him and his neural pathways die, he is still thinking and learning and understanding. Genova's depth of research is very evident in how she details the medical side of the illness with clarity, allows the reader to understand how it feels to no longer be independent. Yet this is not to incite pity in the audience, but to deepen our connection to the story and its complexities.
In all the ways that this book is heartbreaking and confronting, it is also interspersed with humour and lightness, and it's so beautiful to read. I wholeheartedly believe Genova's writing is life-changing, not just for the average reader, but for those living with ALS (or the caregivers or someone with ALS), and other degenerative illnesses. She doesn't detract from the horrors of the reality that is ALS. But she humanises it, in ways that can't even be explained.
Genova's talent for writing in the perspective of people living with illness is incomparable. She uses deeply sensitive language, creating intimacy - familiarity - within the first few chapters. Genova can build a whole world around a single person; from the intricacies of their fears and choices, to the breadth of their impact on the people around them. She provides an undeniably human view of something that can feel so dehumanising - debilitating illness. In some ways, she allows a modicum of dignity for Richard's character even when he is stripped of every primal human freedom; as his body betrays him and his neural pathways die, he is still thinking and learning and understanding. Genova's depth of research is very evident in how she details the medical side of the illness with clarity, allows the reader to understand how it feels to no longer be independent. Yet this is not to incite pity in the audience, but to deepen our connection to the story and its complexities.
In all the ways that this book is heartbreaking and confronting, it is also interspersed with humour and lightness, and it's so beautiful to read. I wholeheartedly believe Genova's writing is life-changing, not just for the average reader, but for those living with ALS (or the caregivers or someone with ALS), and other degenerative illnesses. She doesn't detract from the horrors of the reality that is ALS. But she humanises it, in ways that can't even be explained.