Still Alice

By: Lisa Genova

Narrated by: Lisa Genova

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

What if every memory you've ever had will be erased from your mind, and you have no choice but to carry on...powerless to stop it?

Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At 50 years old, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she begins to grow disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life - and her relationship with her family and the world - forever.

At once beautiful and terrifying, this extraordinary debut novel by Lisa Genova is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Ordinary People.

©2009 Lisa Genova (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"After I read Still Alice, I wanted to stand up and tell a train full of strangers, 'You have to get this book.'" ( Boston Globe)
"With grace and compassion, Lisa Genova writes about the enormous white emptiness created by Alzheimer's." ( The Improper Bostonian)
"A masterpiece that will touch lives in ways none of us can even imagine." ( Alzheimer's Daily News)

Are we today what we remember of yesterday?

Over my reading life, there have been only a handful of books that have required that I seriously examine the role that the brain plays in determining the quality of, perhaps even the meaning of, life. Genova's "Still Alice" has provoked me to reconsider relationships based on memory and/or cerebral interaction. Readers may want to re-read "Flowers for Algernon" (sort of a reveral of "Still Alice.") Also, and here you may question the synapse that lead to this link, juxtapose Vonnegut's assertion in "Galapagos" that the curse of humanity is our big brains against the losses that Alice experiences as her disease progresses. Do the closing scenes portray her quality of life actually enhanced?

Beautifully told

Given the subject matter I thought this story might be predictable and become boring, I stead it captivated me more and more as it went on. Subtle nuisances with the characters are so appreciated and made them human. I will cherish this story going forward.

Sad but important

This is an important story, well written, engaging, heartbreaking, suspenseful even but I was longing for the author to read the characters with different voices.

Read, don't listen

This is a beautiful and well written story, and a new favorite. Writing is an art form, but so is narration, and a beautifully read book will only enhance a story. Too often an author will read the book without seeming to appreciate the disservice they do to their own brilliant work. This book is a must read, literally. Take the time to pick up the book and skip the audio.

Down the Rabbit Hole

This is a great story that is so pertinent for today. It is extremely well written so that anyone over 30 can identify with Alice, her husband and her children. I admire Alice for her courage and tenacity but I did think Tom was a bit of a whimp at times. The Only thing I found as a detractor in this book is that the author is also the narrator. She should hire a good narrator and resubmit the audio because her effort at it was just abysmal. I would just urge you to hang on since the story is well worth of horrid narration.

A close look at the world of Alzheimer patients

Would you consider the audio edition of Still Alice to be better than the print version?

I haven't read it in print, but hearing it in the authors voice lends well to the story.

What did you like best about this story?

This is a story that is hard to hear for a 54 year old woman who forgets appointments and loses her keys. We can all relate and it is a little scary and I was tempted to put it down and walk away from it until the

What about Lisa Genova’s performance did you like?

She is very good at doing different voices and I could picture the people in my mind.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Awkward narrative

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I thought the narrator was awkward at time. She sounded more like she was reading from a book then acting it out. She rushed through a lot of sentences. However, overall I would recommend.

engaging novel about Alzheimer's sufferer

I learned a lot and was moved by this compelling novel. It is about a high achieving Harvard professor (Alice Howland) who deals with the first stages on early onset Alzheimer's disease. This third person narrative is largely told through the eyes and mind of Alice. Her husband and three grown children are integral parts of this novel. This story powerfully captured the disease and the impact on Alice and her family. That was its greatest strength. This fell just short of a 5 star rating for me because I was not as drawn into the lives of the secondary characters as deeply as I would have liked. The novel is narrated by the author. Genova did a good job, but fell short of what a professional reader might have done. The author's voice did not convince me that she was a high powered professional, like Alice. (FYI - when I watched Lisa Genova's TED talk on Alzheimer's, she presented much more powerfully than she had as a reader of her novel; after you finish the book, I recommend the her TED talk!).

I have a mother with dementia, and so this novel was especially meaningful to me. I'd rate this a solid 4.5 star book. Because so much of the novel is about what Alice is thinking, it is better than the movie (which I also liked).

great story, a five star, poor narrator 1 star

author should save her talents for writing, and leave narration to the pros. her narration detracted from the story.

I didn't want the story to end.

I loved this book. First time I've reviewed an audio book. The writing was excellent. Having a sister diagnosed with this terrible disease made it personal for me. I believe I can understand her challenges so much more after listening to this. Thank you, Lisa Genova