Left Neglected

October 18, 2010
In neuroscientist Genova's second novel (after Still Alice), a car crash gives a successful younger woman an obscure neurological syndrome called Left Neglect. Upwardly mobile Sarah and Bob Nickerson live in suburban Massachusetts with their three small children. Both work 60-hour weeks, though the economic downturn looms. When Sarah wakes up eight days after crashing her car on the way to work, the doctors inform her of her condition, which causes her brain to ignore the left side of everything, and she begins a long and uncertain recovery. Genova vividly describes Sarah's fear and frustration about a recovery that may never come, turning her struggle into a lesson in forgiveness, acceptance, and adaptability; insights reveal themselves with extreme clarity, and small moments between Bob and Sarah illustrate his stalwart love, though readers may want a more thorough investigation of his growing role as caretaker, and as a character. More accessible than her somber first book, which dealt with early-onset Alzheimer's, the central condition causes readers to wonder what brain disease she will think of next.

Protagonist Sarah Nickerson is difficult to like at first because she's one of those whiny Type A personalities who seem to have their high-achievement lives perfectly managed. But that all changes in an instant, and Sarah is forced to come to terms with some unique circumstances. Narrator Sarah Paulson reads in an assured, lively voice that complements the story and keeps it interesting. One of Paulson's biggest challenges is to make the main character believable and sympathetic, and she mostly succeeds. She eschews character voices by using inflection and pacing to let listeners know who is speaking. Further, she hits all the right emotional notes, moving from euphoria to despair in a seemingly effortless second. R.I.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 15, 2011

Neuroscientist Genova's (www.lisagenova.com) second novel--following the New York Times best seller Still Alice (2009), also available from Recorded Books/S. & S. Audio--centers on 37-year-old Bostonian Sarah Nickerson. Sarah is a typical working mother of three: overwhelmingly busy, exhausted, and overextended...until a car accident leaves her with a traumatic brain injury that erases the entire left side of her world. This neurological condition, from which the novel gets its title, is mirrored in the first-person narrative, which is told in two parts: Sarah before the accident, and Sarah after the accident, learning to appreciate every little thing and finding life within herself. Actress Sarah Paulson lends the perfect voice to Sarah's thoughts and feelings as well as to the people around her. Highly recommended for all. ["A moving story that shows how brain trauma forces people to change their lives," read the review of the Gallery: S. & S. hc, LJ 11/15/10.--Ed.]--Beth Traylor, Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libs.

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