Every Note Played - Lisa Genova

Every Note Played – Lisa Genova (2018)

(4.5 / 5)

I have had this one for a while now and have been putting it off and off and off because I knew it was going to be a big emotional read. ALS is a merciless incurable disease, and Genova has a history of writing a lot of detail about the personal experience of people suffering from terminal conditions, so I knew that it was going to be heavy. And here I am, minutes after finishing it. Raw. Still processing. With tears streaming down my face. But my gosh it was good!

Richard is a talented concert pianist, a prodigy of classical music. And he has Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is a form of motor neuron disease. His estranged ex wife Karina reluctantly ends up caring for him as his muscles deteriorate, and he is unable to perform basic tasks of daily living. They both know there is no cure for this condition, and that there is little time left. Will they be able to forgive each other for sins of the past before it is too late?

When I first started reading this, I was a little underwhelmed. I was thinking that it was just going to be a bit of a heavy depressing education session about ALS and a step-by-step description of how Richard is deteriorating and fading away. However, as I kept reading I was soon reminded of why Genova is such a well loved and talented author, as she brought the characters and their relationships to life, and created an overwhelmingly moving story that had me absolutely hooked, and a crying mess by the end!

Although it is heavy in the detail, it is a relatively short book, which considering the subject matter – I appreciated. I was able to read it easily in two sittings. Of course because it is about a personal experience of a person unable to communicate a lot of the time, there were a lot of the characters thoughts. The inner monologues I found a bit too much in some parts of the novel. Overall though her writing is emotive and captivating and the characters and their relationships were complex and fascinating.

Another thing I really appreciated about this book is the information about ALS that it will bring to the public. Even though I have looked after several people with the condition over the years, I still didn’t have a huge understanding of the way that it affects the body, and just how incredibly fast it progresses. I learned a lot about ALS from this novel, and am excited that it will bring more attention to it, just like her book Still Alice made a whole lot of people more aware about Alzheimer’s disease.

I am well into my second decade of being a nurse now, and I have seen a lot of people pass away. I’ve held the hands of people as they have had their last breath, and felt soft beating pulses gently stop. Genova’s description of this particular time I found profoundly moving, and so realistic.

I also loved the description of the music that was so important to the characters. Richard being a world renowned pianist and the loss of the use of his hands made the story all that more devastating and the loss and grief that he was suffering was palpable. The way that the music impacted their lives, and the description of the sounds were written so beautifully.

Would I recommend Every Note Played?

Yes, just like in her previous novel “Still Alice”, it brings much needed awareness to a debilitating terminal illness. The story and writing were fantastic. Just have your tissues within reach! I don’t usually cry when reading a book but this one had me blubbering!

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster Australia and author Lisa Genova via netgalley for a copy of Every Note Played for me to read and review, and to soak my kindle with my tears!