I’ve very much enjoyed the author’s other books. This one felt a bit forced as if she chose ALS as the issue and then had to figure out a story. Didn’t much care for the characters. Maybe I’m being too critical as I have not watched anyone progress month by month with ALS. ( )

me: "hmm, I bet the end of this will make me cry"
me: "I am going to a concert and I don't want to carry a book"
me: "but I really want to keep reading this book"
me: "but I'm close enough to the end that then I'll finish it on the subway"
me: "Em, you remember what happened the last ten times you told yourself you'd be fine finishing a book like this on the subway"
me: *takes book on train*
me: *publicly bawls* ( )

As the story opens, Richard Evans is a concert pianist starting to experience symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He is estranged from his ex-wife and daughter. As his symptoms worsen, his ex-wife becomes a reluctant caregiver. The storyline documents Richard’s deterioration.

I had previously read and appreciated Still Alice, and I enjoy musical themes, so this book seemed like a good choice. The focus, and the author’s intent, is to raise awareness about the need for further ALS research and in this she succeeds. The ravages of ALS are described in gut-wrenching detail. Unfortunately, the characters and storyline are thinly developed. For me, it lacked an emotional connection, which is where it falls short in comparison to Still Alice. I think it would have helped if the characters at least liked each other.

I listened to the audio book. Both Dennis Boutsikaris and Dagmara Domincyzk do an excellent job with the reading, pacing, and voice acting.
( )

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. ( )

I have been very lazy with writing reviews lately. I think about writing one then think I could spend the time reading another book instead. Since three of the eleven books in my five star list were written by Lisa Genova, I've decided it's time to write a review of one of them.

Every Note Played is a beautifully written, gut-wrenchingly sad story of a man dealing with ALS. Richard and Karina had been separated for three years when Richard, a world renowned classical pianist is diagnosed with ALS. Karina, an outstanding pianist in her own right, gives up her dream of playing professionally to care for her family. Once Richard can no longer care for himself, Karina lets him move back with her and becomes his main caretaker. The book takes us through how each of them copes with Richard’s advancing illness. Much of the narrative deals with their emotions and in the end finding resolution in their conflicted feelings for each other.

The book was so sad that I had to stop frequently to wipe the tears from my eyes, but it was so good I couldn’t put it down. ( )