Every Note Played - Hardcover

Genova, Lisa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 147671780X ISBN 13: 9781476717807

Publisher: Gallery Books, 2018

Synopsis

"Unsparing in her depiction of the disease's harrowing effects, neuroscientist Genova also celebrates humanity." --People

"Sometimes it's easier to tell truth in fiction...And she tells it with heart and hope." --NPR

"Her juxtaposition of scientific detail with compassionate, heartfelt storytelling is unparalleled." --Bookreporter

"Every Note Played will grip and gut you." --The Boston Globe

From neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice comes a powerful exploration of regret, forgiveness, freedom, and what it means to be alive.

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 each 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. 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.

Poignant and powerful, Every Note Played is a masterful exploration of redemption and what it means to find peace inside of forgiveness.

About this title

Review

"Only Lisa Genova could bring such honesty and grace to the war against ALS. Searing writing and a must-read."
--Helen Simonson, New York Times bestselling author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
"Lisa Genova writes with humor and humanity but also with a scientist's eye about the daily depredations of disease, the incremental losses, the slower acceptances, the rage, the love, the courage, and strangely enough, the joy. A nocturne of the soul. Read this book, read it all night, and wake up glad to alive."
--Bill Roorbach, author of Life Among Giants, The Remedy for Love, and The Girl of the Lake.

"Lisa Genova's brilliant Every Note Played stapled me to the couch. Written with vivid honesty about the realities of ALS, for both patient and family, this novel goes far beyond drama or education--though Genova provides both. The powerful compassion in this book placed it on that rare list: one of the books I'll remember forever."
--Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Widow of Wall Street

"Genova's latest is one of her strongest--more internalized... an eloquent and touching imagining of how a peaceful terminal place might be reached."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Genova expertly details the devastation ALS wreaks on Richard, and though her latest is a sometimes difficult read, she finds hope in the opportunities Richard has to repair his relationships with his daughter and brothers before it's too late."
--Booklist

"Genova captivates. Gut-wrenching but suspenseful reading... Both substantively informative about ALS and an emotionally wrenching psychological portrait."
--Publishers Weekly

"An expertly written depiction of the toll a ravaging disease takes on both the body and the heart."
--Marie Claire

"At turns beautiful and brutal, Lisa Genova crafts a realistic and heartrending portrayal of a couple's failed marriage in the midst of the husband's battle with ALS. The emotions and intimacy conveyed are difficult to read, but impossible to ignore."
--BookBub

"What's amazing about her newest novel, Every Note Played, is what is amazing about all of Genova's books. She is both the neuroscientist and the actor when she writes. She tells not only the story of a person struck down by some disease. She tells the story of the disease, too. And you learn this way. But it never feels like learning."
--The Boston Globe

"This book is especially remarkable because as a neuroscientist, author Lisa Genova has keen insight into the realities of ALS."
--Bustle

About the Author

Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction and the Michael Crichton of brain science, Lisa Genova is the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, and Inside the O'Briens. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Stewart. Lisa graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University. She travels worldwide speaking about the neurological diseases she writes about and has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, Today, PBS NewsHour, CNN, and NPR. Her TED talk, What You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer's, has been viewed over 2 million times.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 147671780X
• ISBN 13: 9781476717807
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 307