Every Note Played

February 12, 2018
Genova (Still Alice) captivates with the painful but unflinching story of the demise of celebrated concert pianist Richard Evans. The novel follows debonair Richard and his ex-wife Karina, once also a pianist, who have just undergone an acrimonious divorce after a long-poisoned marriage. Richard’s sudden diagnosis with ALS and swift decline bring them under the same roof again as Karina moves back to take care of him, forcing them to confront long-buried truths about their relationship and themselves. The narration alternates between Karina, the sometimes bitter, always stalwart caretaker, and Richard, the patient who has lost his physical abilities, but gained emotional clarity. Genova meticulously catalogues the disease’s physical ravages and corresponding psychological toll, which makes for gut-wrenching but suspenseful reading. The strained, frustrated, yet tender dynamic between Richard, Karina, and their grown daughter, Grace, occasionally spills into the saccharine, though the high emotion usually feels justified given the subject. The detail Genova infuses into each narrator’s thought process, observations, and love for music makes them distinct, yet also reveals their compatibility. Genova also admirably refrains from making either too angelic; their harrowing journey, though it lacks any true narrative surprises, is both substantively informative about ALS and an emotionally wrenching psychological portrait.

Narrators Dennis Boutsikaris and Dagmara Dominczyk bring to life this compelling story of the impact of ALS on a patient and his caregivers. Boutsikaris gets inside the mind and spirit of Richard, a world-renowned pianist who is blindsided with his diagnosis at the height of his career. His voice runs the gamut from disbelief to depressed resignation. As the disease progresses, we hear in Boutsikaris's voice the painful struggle as communication becomes more challenging. Dominczyk brings complicated layers of anger, regret, resentment, confusion, and love to the voice of estranged wife Karina. She gives Karina a detached but sad tone as she tries to come to terms with her responsibilities to this man she blames for her own regrets. N.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine