by Lisa GenovaSimon & Schuster
9781921470264
First time novelist Lisa Genova has written a well-crafted, intelligent story. When fifty-year-old Alice can't remember her way home from her daily jog, she realises that something is seriously wrong. With trepidation Alice tells her doctor, and her symptoms and further testing confirm that she is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. The diagnosis is tragic, especially for someone like Alice who is a world renowned expert on linguistics and a published Harvard Professor. As Alice's world falls apart, she tries valiantly to hold on to her true self while renegotiating her relationships with her husband and children. Her relationship with her youngest daughter is fractitious and Alice disapproves of her lifestyle, while her husband would rather pretend that nothing has changed. Alice knows that soon she will soon forget everything, and all that will be left is love. The author is well equipped to write about this subject as she has a PhD in neuroscience and is a columnist for the National Alzheimer's Association.
I really enjoyed reading this, the characters were very interesting, and the dialogue is quite restrained so it never falls into mawkish sentimentality.
by Karen
