Rating: *****
Tags: Fiction, General, Literary, Psychological, Contemporary Women, Medical, Women College Teachers, Alzheimer's Disease, Lang:en
Summary
Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a
50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's
disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a
Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University. Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and
a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the
height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping
into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and
her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating
diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely
independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live
in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped
away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying,
Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what's it's
like to literally lose your mind... Reminiscent of
A Beautiful Mind,
Ordinary People and
The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-time,
Still Alice packs a powerful emotional punch and marks
the arrival of a strong new voice in fiction. Neuroscientist and debut novelist Genova mines years of
experience in her field to craft a realistic portrait of early
onset Alzheimer's disease. Alice Howland has a career not
unlike Genova's—she's an esteemed psychology professor at
Harvard, living a comfortable life in Cambridge with her
husband, John, arguing about the usual (making quality time
together, their daughter's move to L.A.) when the first
symptoms of Alzheimer's begin to emerge. First, Alice can't
find her Blackberry, then she becomes hopelessly disoriented in
her own town. Alice is shocked to be diagnosed with early onset
Alzheimer's (she had suspected a brain tumor or menopause),
after which her life begins steadily to unravel. She loses
track of rooms in her home, resigns from Harvard and eventually
cannot recognize her own children. The brutal facts of
Alzheimer's are heartbreaking, and it's impossible not to feel
for Alice and her loved ones, but Genova's prose style is
clumsy and her dialogue heavy-handed. This novel will appeal to
those dealing with the disease and may prove helpful, but
beyond the heartbreaking record of illness there's little here
to remember.
(Jan.)
"After I read
Still Alice, I wanted to stand up and tell a train
full of strangers, 'You have to get this book.'" -- Beverly
Beckham,
The Boston Globe
"This book is as important as it is impressive, and will
grace the lives of those affected by this dread disease for
generations to come." -- Phil Bolsta, author of
Sixty Seconds
"With a master storyteller's easy eloquence, Lisa Genova
shines a searing spotlight on this Alice's surreal wonderland.
You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to read this book.
It will inform you. It will scare you. It will change you." --
Julia Fox Garrison, author of
Don't Leave Me This Way
"A work of pure genius." -- Charley Schneider, author of
Don't Bury Me, It Ain't Over Yet
"A masterpiece that will touch lives in ways none of us can
even imagine. This book is the best portrayal of the
Alzheimer's journey that I have read." -- Mark Warner,
Alzheimer's Daily News
"With grace and compassion, Lisa Genova writes about the
enormous white emptiness created by Alzheimer's." --
The Improper Bostonian
"Heartbreaking." --
The Cape Cod Chronicle
"Heartbreakingly real.... So real, in fact, that it kept me
from sleeping for several nights. I couldn't put it down....
Still Alice is a story that must be told." -- Brunonia
Barry,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Lace Reader
From Publishers Weekly
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