Turn of Mind

By: Alice LaPlante

Narrated by: Jean Reed Bahle

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

My name is Dr. Jennifer White. I am 64 years old. I have dementia. My son, Mark, is 29. My daughter, Fiona, 24. A caregiver, Magdalena, lives with me.

Alice LaPlante’s Turn of Mind is a spellbinding novel about the disintegration of a strong woman’s mind and the unhinging of her family. Dr. Jennifer White, recently widowed and a newly retired orthopedic surgeon, is entering the beginning stages of dementia — where the impossibility of recognizing reality can be both a blessing and a curse. As the story opens, Jennifer’s life-long friend and neighbor, Amanda, has been killed, and four fingers surgically removed. Dr. White is the prime suspect in the murder and she herself doesn’t know if she did it or not.

Narrated in her voice, fractured and eloquent, a picture emerges of the surprisingly intimate, complex alliance between this pair — two proud, forceful women who were at times each other’s most formidable adversaries. The women’s 30-year friendship deeply entangled their families, and as the narrative unfolds we see that things were not always as they seemed. Jennifer’s deceased husband, James, is clearly not the scion he was thought to be. Her two grown children — Mark, a lawyer, and Fiona, a professor, who now have power over their mother’s medical and financial decisions respectively — have agendas of their own. And Magdalena, her brusque live-in caretaker, has a past she hides. As the investigation intensifies, a chilling question persists: is Dr. Jennifer White’s shattered memory preventing her from revealing the truth or helping her to hide it?

Told through the voice of a woman with a powerful intellect that is maddeningly slipping away, Turn of Mind is not only a suspenseful psychological thriller that pulses with intensity but also a brilliant portrayal of the fragility of consciousness and memory, and of a mind finally turning on itself.

©2011 Alice LaPlante (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ Turn of Mind is bursting with humanity, in full array. Impossible to put down and yet a book not only to be savored, but returned to. A glorious achievement.” (Jeffrey Lent)

Nine hours of depression, use your time better.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I don't believe I would recommend this book to anyone. Evidently, it is a story told by a very learned surgeon, who has advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease. It drags you down and at the end, I was just glad her faculties were diminished.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Her husband is dead and she confuses her son as him. From the way it is read to you, you rotate thinking perhaps she has two sons and one daughter. I finally surmised there was one son, and the daughter.It seems her family and friends are trying to fleece her. I remained confused about who killed the neighbor and who stole the statue. So many questions that they try to tie up at the very end.

What aspect of Jean Reed Bahle’s performance would you have changed?

This book reminded me of an old movie, called THE SNAKE PIT. There are times the lady is lucid, but most of the book talks about her confusion and trying to figure out who th ed people that visit her are. So much internal.dialogue that it seems to run together. I know if I become like this lady, take me out, someway. No way to live.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

She just reread the story. There was no voice inflections or changes, to differentiate each person. I am used to characterization, not monotone reading, and she seemed hurried to get it done, quickly.

Any additional comments?

I thought the book would focus more on her life and the progression of her mental state. It was a jumbled mess with everybody wanting her institualized. I can relate to the situation, as my daughter was going to get guardianship over me, and stick me in a care facility. My problem was and is falling. But, with more individuality, it might have come across better.

Graceful, uncanny, and uncompromising

The main character is not exactly lovable -- she is formidable and blunt, with a brilliant mind that sees the poetry of life but assigns it no particular reverence -- so it is hard to explain why I felt such a loss as she slipped away just as I was getting to know her. It's not a comforting book, but it's graceful and fascinating all the same.

reflects the chaotic mind of a dementia patient

The MacGuffin in this story is that one of the main character Jennifer's oldest friends is murdered, and particular evidence points to Jennifer herself doing the crime. The victim was 75; Jennifer is 64 and suffering from Alzheimer's, so she herself has no idea if she did it, and most of the time doesn't realize that her friend is dead.

The narrator is perfect, great at sounding like a confused and frightened and delusionally confident elderly lady. However, the book itself is hard. It's not the typical format of a novel, since it is written in the voice of someone who is suffering from dementia. Current scenes are described clearly, but through the lens of an addled mind, so the listener can make connections that the narrator clearly can't. This is an interesting way of writing the novel, but tiring, since it is chaotic and fragmented.

The Alzheimer's gives the author the framework to go back in time and show us enough glimpses of the women's interactions to knit together the image of a complex and friction-filled relationship. Neither is an angel, and it isn't surprising to imagine them purposely hurting one another, no matter that they spend a lot of time together and call each other best friend. But the women and their relationship are so unpleasant that I didn't enjoy this exploration; I winced through most of this novel, and actually guessed the ending long before it came, which is unusual for me.

This book was interesting to me mainly because of the difficult format, which I feel the author mostly pulled off. It is just too bad that she decided to make the story about such unlikable characters.

Very Enlightening!

If you could sum up Turn of Mind in three words, what would they be?

A must read.

What about Jean Reed Bahle’s performance did you like?

She had quite a task voicing each of these characters and she was very believeable.

If you could take any character from Turn of Mind out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Amanda, she is the keeper of so much information.

Almost perfect!

What made the experience of listening to Turn of Mind the most enjoyable?

I loved the pacing of the story and the narration. It was easy to listen to while I was doing another task. The voice was excellent. I loved it!

What did you like best about this story?

I am intrigued by anything remotely connected to psychology and I love a good thriller, and this combined all the elements that I love without being scary.

What about Jean Reed Bahle’s performance did you like?

Loved her overall pacing, her voice, and her conveyance of emotion. Excellent choice for this book.

Not bad

Dragged a lot in the beginning. Lots of repetition of what it would be like to live in the Alzheiner's mind. Got much better as the plot finally came into focus.

Painful Insight into the Alzheimer patient's mind

Let me begin first to say my mother is declining rapidly with alzheimers, which is why I chose this book. It was a heart breaking emotional difficult story for me to read, but I felt it provided me with a unique insight into my own mother's mind in her struggle. It was helpful and hurtful at the same time. I thought the narration was excellent and the story itself was a powerful testimony of a very strong woman going down to this disease. I wanted her to win, I felt I stood beside her and felt her pain and her sense of loss. The story held me to the end. It remains with me now.

Fantastic

Definitely worth the credit. I enjoyed every part of this book. Fantastic story and excellent narration.

Superb performance

Turn of Mind was recommended to me years ago and I set it aside as a reminder in my cart all this time. Free time to read is so limited but audiobooks allows me to soak up the stories and this one was worth waiting for in audio.

I swear this book was written just for this narrator. Her voice left me feeling it was so real. And the story itself; stunning perception, fantastic imagination... how she was able to unfold and reveal it all - amazing.

I read for fun and do not retain details beyond like or dislike but this book will stay with me. Thankfully so.

Thought provoking.

This book was difficult to listen to. Having experience with a loved one with this condition one wonders how accurate the depiction of the main characters mind is.
The frustration the main characters children felt was heart wrenching.
I will definitely find another book by this author.
The narration was excellent. Spot on.