I read this in an entire afternoon. It’s not the type of thing I’d usually read but I was drawn to the sweet little birds and music notes on the cover.
This is one of the most frightening, saddening and thought-provoking books I’ve read in a long time and it will stick with me for a long time to come.
I saw this disease take my grandfather when I was 12. It was horrible to watch him go from a seemingly robust man to a shell; completely failing bit by bit over merely two years. Even at 12 the idea of a body failing while the mind remained in tact really frightened me. It still does.
Lisa Genova is a gifted storyteller and her medical background adds a unique perspective. The detail and medical information added to the horror as we witnessed Richard’s deterioration as well as hear all his fears from his diagnosis onwards. The two main characters were realistic and therefore, flawed. I enjoyed the characters of Richard, Grace and Bill. I didn’t like Karina; to me, she was a totally unsympathetic character with no personality. I had a lot of trouble relating to her or being sympathetic toward her feeling sorry for herself. I guess that’s the point though... these are supposed to be life-like characters and I reckon that’s why they’re rather hard to like.
This is one of the most frightening, saddening and thought-provoking books I’ve read in a long time and it will stick with me for a long time to come.
I saw this disease take my grandfather when I was 12. It was horrible to watch him go from a seemingly robust man to a shell; completely failing bit by bit over merely two years. Even at 12 the idea of a body failing while the mind remained in tact really frightened me. It still does.
Lisa Genova is a gifted storyteller and her medical background adds a unique perspective. The detail and medical information added to the horror as we witnessed Richard’s deterioration as well as hear all his fears from his diagnosis onwards. The two main characters were realistic and therefore, flawed. I enjoyed the characters of Richard, Grace and Bill. I didn’t like Karina; to me, she was a totally unsympathetic character with no personality. I had a lot of trouble relating to her or being sympathetic toward her feeling sorry for herself. I guess that’s the point though... these are supposed to be life-like characters and I reckon that’s why they’re rather hard to like.