Still Alice by Lisa Genova

[TeenHelp]

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
By Jenna (~Abibliophobe~)

Still Alice is a novel about a woman (Alice) who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Over the course of the novel we see the character's memory and self awareness deteriorate due to the disease. The story is told from Alice’s point of view and it clearly depicts the deterioration that occurs due to Alzheimer’s disease.

In the beginning of the novel we learn about how accomplished Alice is in her life, having received an education and gone on to become a professor at Harvard. She goes to conferences all around the world to give speeches. From the very beginning of the book we are told how bright this woman is and how great her memory is. Within the first few chapters she is diagnosed with the disease and we see how it progresses and subsequently changes who she is.

There were very few flaws with this novel; the author covered the topic beautifully and you could tell that she had a lot of knowledge on the subject of Alzheimer’s disease. I also felt the author conveyed emotions in this book quite well. When the character experiences a symptom, such as forgetting that she is supposed to be teaching and instead acts like a student, you can’t help but feel the sadness and helplessness in the situation. This book was full of emotional situations, which I felt were covered concisely.

I think the only flaw that I saw with this novel was the ending. I thought the ending was quite beautiful in its own way but it left me wanting more. However, I do think that the author ended it the way she did because there wasn’t much more to be seen other than the disease naturally running its course and Alice passing away. I think the author wanted to leave the reader with a sense of what Alice had lost to the disease without showing its progression in the final stages that would eventually lead to her passing.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was the supporting characters who happened to be Alice’s family. Seeing through Alice’s eyes how they dealt with her diagnosis and the progression of the disease allowed me to get a perspective on Alzheimer’s I’ve never had before. I felt as if the characters grew with every chapter and the relationships between Alice and her family changed dramatically from the first page to the last page. I especially enjoyed the changes that were seen in regards to Alice’s relationship with her youngest daughter.Both characters experienced many changes as the book progressed.

This book was probably the best depiction of Alzheimer’s I have read and it focused on early onset, which isn’t something that a lot of people think about when they think about the disease. I think the book might have been the saddest yet most beautiful book I have read this year. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author simply because of how well she wrote this one.