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Book of the Month: August 2010
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Message 1.Â
Posted by Bette (U2222559) on Saturday, 21st August 2010
'Still Alice, by Lisa Genova (2007)
The main character of this book (Alice) is a 50 year old woman who has a very successful and fulfilled life as a Harvard Cognitive Psychology Professor, a husband with as many credentials and 3 grown well-adjusted children. She is diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer's disease. The book is related mainly from her perspective, but there is also much input from those closest to her, who are observers: Her husband John, Her three children, especially Anna and Lydia, and her closest work colleagues.
The author, Lisa Genova, has a Ph.D in neuroscience from Harvard. She also had a grandmother who had Alzheimer's in her 80s. Genova says that having an understanding of molecular biology gave her the knowledge and vocabulary to ask the right kinds of questions and the ability to understand the implications of the answers. Before publication, she contacted the National Alzheimer's Association (USA), who gave their stamp of approval to the book. Here is an interesting account of how the book came to publication: -
Message 2
Posted by Bette (U2222559) on Saturday, 21st August 2010
This book was recommended to me a couple of months ago by a friend/colleague who is an occupational therapist. I was immediately interested, and put it forward for ML book of the month well before reading it. I have to say, that the long-term story-line in The Archers on Alzheimer's was part of my interest. I know of nobody directly (so far) that has suffered from this disease (only one very close friend whose mother died after 10 years of suffering from this, so indirect input there).
Well, my gut reaction was that this is a very worthwhile book to read, and hats off to the author. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending it to all sorts of people: Those who have any interest whatsoever in the Alzheimer's, and anyone involved in care and medicine, for starters.
That being said, it is not ‘literature’ as such, but more a docu-fiction, IMO. There is a lot about current treatments. I found the whole genetic bit very interesting and informative (I had never even heard of ‘early-onset Alzheimer's' before this book). For that reason, I /did/ wonder how much this book will stand the test of time as new research/treatments come to light. However, it is a very recent book, so the information given seems to be still very accurate. Above all, it seems to be a very good portrayal indeed of what it is like to suffer from, or to care for, someone with Alzheimer’s disease.
Did anyone else start wondering about their memory lapses whilst reading this book?
I have only a small quibble was with the names. I had some difficulty in remembering who was who – esp. in the first half of the book. Was it just me, or was this something to do with the writing? For a start, having three major characters with names Alice, Anna, and Anne (the dead sister) confused me a lot at first (even more worrying, given the SL!).
It was only after I finished the book, that I ‘got’ the title. I was thinking all the way through that 'still' = calm/not moving. D'oh! -
Message 3
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Saturday, 21st August 2010
Bette, I must confess I wasn't really looking forward to reading "Still Alice", but once I started it (yesterday!) I couldn't put it down.
Like you, I thought it came over almost as non-fiction, but then there were some intensively private inner thoughts from Alice herself, which gave more insight that one would get from a "straight" documentary. I also thought that Lisa Genova got the balance just right.
I hope that the book will stand the test of time, because of Alice's personal journey, threaded through the over-arching account of what is currently cutting edge(!) treatment.
I most certainly did start worrying about memory lapses while I was reading the book, but was comforted by reminding myself that I have *always* had these lapses, and got lost easily, and never could remember dates and times (due to a combination of dyscalculia and "can't-be-bothered/don't want to go-itis".)
I liked Alice very much, and her children and her colleagues too, However, I didn't care for her husband John, though the way he reacted to the news of Alice's diagnosis and his attitude thereafter did sort of ring true, unfortunately.
Years ago I saw a superior made-for-tv film called "Do You Remember Love?", starring Joanne Woodward as a middle-aged academic who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It too centred on her character's journey into the unknown, and how her family, especially her husband, came to terms with it. I wish I could remember more, but I know I was moved by it at the time.
There were passages in "Still Alice" which made me angry, others I found uplifting, there were a few which made me cry, and one or two that I found a little too sentimental for my tastes.
Was I alone in wishing that Alice would commit suicide before she completely descended for good into a frightening black hole?
Rusty -
Message 4
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Saturday, 21st August 2010
Upcoming Book of the Month discussions in 2010:
September 21st: ‘The Caves of Steel’ by Isaac Asimov (ali-cat)
This, Isaac Asimov’s 11th Novel, was written in 1953 and combines two favourite genres, Crime, and SciFi. We have a xenophobic and crowded society on Earth, a sybaritic and isolated society off-Earth, a murder, robots, a super robot, and probably the very first 'cop buddy' book ever.
Enjoy.
21st October: 'Elidor' by Alan Garner (Rwth of Cornovii)
21st November: 'Precious Bane' by Mary Webb (Elnora Cornstalk)
Mary Webb’s mystically charged Shropshire landscapes and doom-ridden characters fell victim to Stella Gibbons’s satire in ‘Cold Comfort Farm’. But grounded in narrator, Prue Sarn’s calm humour, clear dialect, and sharp insight, ‘Precious Bane’ (1924) survives the parody. Looking back on growing up in the country at the time of Waterloo, Prue, born ‘curst’ with a hare-lip, tells the story of her own quiet ambitions, and recalls the more violent trajectory of her brother, the dominating, smouldering, Gideon. This is an everyday story of country folk, and of extremes – of dullness, witchcraft, superstition, tenderness, and taxes. The detail is superb: if you are visiting the Borders over the summer, pack it now!
15 December: 'Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame (Herb Robert)
'The Wind in the Willows' was first published in 1908 and has the timeless quality of a dream. The four main characters, Ratty, Mole, Toad and Badger, go through many adventures in a pastoral English landscape. The book deals quite seriously with moral and mystical matters, but underneath it all is the cement of friendship, which sometimes has to be cruel to be kind.
For links to past BofM discussions, see message 186 of the Book of the Month Rota (2010) thread:
F2693944?thread=7019221&latest=1
For information on next year's discussions next year, please go to the Book of the Month Group 2010: Suggestions and Rota thread:
F2693944?thread=7620213
Rusty -
Message 5
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Saturday, 21st August 2010
Blast, I *knew* I'd type 2010 instead of 2011 for next year's Book of the Month Rota. Sorry. So, the 2011 info is here:
F2693944?thread=7620213 -
Message 6
Posted by Rhona D aka Meen Bonkers (U219830) on Saturday, 21st August 2010
Hi Bette, I hadn't heard of this book, nor have I yet read it, but reading your blurb, I'm desperate to get hold of the book. (This from the woman who has to ration her use of print media for different sorts of health reasons; and who has so far managed to limit her book-buying in 2010 to a bunch of secondhand books from Oxfam on a trip to the UK.)
"Early-onset Alzheimer's" used to be known as "pre-senile dementia." My father was diagnosed with this at the age I am now (48), which of course, sets one a-wondering when one's own memory lapses become all too evident. -
Message 7
Posted by Herb Robert (U14072548) on Saturday, 21st August 2010
I liked the idea of this book from the brief introduction in the rota thread, but I have to say I very nearly abandoned it after the first 100 pages.
To begin with, the usual storm of recommendations printed on the inside cover and the first couple of pages were not from people or publications you might have heard of. I know such recommendations need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but is anyone really going to want to get stuck into a book where the loftiest praise comes from "Pippa, Gloucestershire" or "Sheila, Hertfordshire"?
Then there is the relentlessly detailed narrative; detailed to the point of product placement (BlackBerry, Windex, Neutrogena, Playtex, Trojan, Starbucks etc.) And detailed to the point where you want to scream "Yes, we know you know all about Harvard, but we don't need to know about the details of every brick in the place."
The topic itself is of course a fascinating one (losing one's mind to dementia), but why does it have to be about the star intellect of her generation in a family of star intellects? I'd have warmed to it much sooner if it had been an ordinary family with none of this "how are the mighty fallen" stuff. I think we know from John Bayley's books about Iris Murdoch what it's like to see a mighty intellect laid low by this disease; and, for what it's worth, I think he actually deals with the realities of this far better than this fictional account.
However, I did eventually find myself rather enjoying the gradual accumulation of degeneration, even if it became absurdly sentimental at one point, with Alice's rousing speech, which was, of course, such a huge success. In fact, I think this mars the whole novel: a sentimental optimism and a manipulative narrator, where there is no room for moral ambiguity. Only John appears to struggle with any moral issues - even Anna, the daughter who has inherited the gene, manages to screen her own embryos so that the disease won't be passed on. The book rather avoids the ethical and moral implications of this.
The thing I particularly liked, though, was how the carefully laid out plans for ending her life once Alice lost control gradually became unworkable. I think this is at the heart of suicide and assisted dying in such circumstances - we largely look at it from the point of view of loss of intellect and not being able to do or remember the things we seem to live for. The strength of this book, and it probably needs to be a bit sentimental to be able to do this, is that it shows how life can be meaningful even in an apparently degenerating organism.
So in the end, I'm glad I read it and persevered to the end. An interesting question remains, however, as to how far it is really possible to describe "what it feels like to be inside the mind of an Alzheimer's patient," as one of the comments on the back cover puts it. -
Message 8
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Sunday, 22nd August 2010
Meen, I hope you deliberately didn't read my post
about the book, as contained "spoilers".
Herb, My copy of "Still Alice" doesn't have anything printed on the inside cover, and the only quote (on back cover) is from Rosie Boycott. I think I would be put off if I'd come across what you are talking about before I'd even started, though.
I am so used to reading books with "product placements" that I think I must subconsciously block them out. I do notice that books written by American authors often seem to spend an inordinate amount of print describing meals, and food and snacks in loving detail, when there is no real bearing on the story. Um, actually not in this book, though.
I suppose the author chose a high-flying academic because for dramatic purposes, and because Alice lived the kind of life very familiar to her.
I haven't read John Bayley's book, just excerpts in the Sundays, so can't comment. I have read several books, one non-fiction, at least two fiction, which are about the lives of ordinary people living with/caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's and I found them all well worth reading in their different ways:
"Lost for Words" by Deric Longden
"Guppies for Tea" by Marika Cobbold
"Have The Men Had Enough? by Margaret Forster
Okay, John did struggle with the moral issues, but I couldn't forgive him for constantly (imo) throwing the responsibility back at Alice, until he did a complete volte-face towards the end, which I found equally upsetting. Selfish man.
I loved the letter that the still quite well Alice wrote to her diminished self; that was when I cried. It was also when I really hoped she'd take those damn pills. I would have. Frankly, there are times when love just isn't enough.
Rusty -
Message 9
Posted by Rhona D aka Meen Bonkers (U219830) on Sunday, 22nd August 2010
Rusters (wave, wave), don't worry about the "spoilers": I assume in reading a thread like this, that will happen. In any case, I'm the kind of person who sometimes flips to the end of a book to see how it ends. (Not always. As much dependent on mood as anything else.)
I have read both of John Bayley's books ("Elegy for Iris" and "Iris and her Friends"). I found them good in many ways, but he also got on my nerves a lot.
I'm glad you mentioned "Guppies for Tea" -- I was thinking of it when I posted before and couldn't remember either title or author. For Small World purpose, the copy on my shelves was passed on to me by Jan Holden, "the Doyenne" of these boards back in Blue Board Days and the first poster to be profiled when Keri used to do that sort of thing.
Meen, avoiding "Fings ain't wot they used to be" mode, because although I miss folk like Jan, there are lovely posters around nowadays. -
Message 10
Posted by Herb Robert (U14072548) on Sunday, 22nd August 2010
Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:54 GMT, in reply to Rusters in message 8
Rusty, I agree with you about John as a character in the book - he is deeply unsympathetic and is portrayed as this hard-hearted, over-achieving academic who will not let his life be derailed by anything so mundane as his wife's gradual mental and physical decline. However, I felt that he at least struggled to continue in the face of what we must suppose is great difficulty. The problem is, I think, that the author is just not good enough to develop any depth of character in him (perhaps she just can't write male characters?) To a lesser extent I felt this about most of the other characters in the book too: they were largely "representative" (top intellectual protagonist, bohemian daughter, woman with conception problems etc.)
The only real sense of developing relationships that I got was between Alice and Lydia - there seemed to be a real growth here that was quite delicately handled. Having said all that, it must be rather hard to write what is essentially an "issue-based" story rather than one that is built on character. In fact that is a discussion I'm sure we could have another day.
I read this book at the same time as I was reading, for the first time, /Anna/ /Karenina/. It is of course completely unfair to compare these two authors and works (but isn't our reading life sometimes like that?), and after the depth and magic of Tolstoy's narrative, I just felt /Still/ /Alice/ was too shallow. I admit that is a fault in me.
Thanks for your recommendations, by the way - the "to read" list grows ever longer!
Herb -
Message 11
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Sunday, 22nd August 2010
Me too, Meen, much to my OH's bemusement. I also find it impossible to discard even a book I loathe without at least reading the last few pages.
My sister lent me her "Guppies for Tea", then asked me to pass it on to our mother, who absolutely loathed it. Better for her to steer clear of "Still Alice" too, though the themes are only broadly similar really. I shall be recommending it to my sisters and friends though.
The Blue Board Days were before my time but I know a lot of, um, old-timers do feel "fings ain't wot they used to be". Actually even I feel like that now and I've only been around for about four years! Not necesarily a bad thing, of course.
Rusty -
Message 12
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Sunday, 22nd August 2010
I think you've put your finger on it, Herb - the book is issue, rather than character, driven. Alice's and John's son Tom hardly got a look in, so perhaps the author isn't good with male characters.
Can't remember who mentioned the plethora of similar names, and I think there were even two "Ben's", one a young work colleague, the other an Alzheimer's sufferer. Careless.
What I did like were Alice's internal monologues, and the daily irritations of domestic life, with or without Alzheimer's.
Rusty -
Message 13
Posted by Bette (U2222559) on Tuesday, 24th August 2010
Hi Rusters, Herb and Meen. What interesting comments you make, and thanks for the tips on other books.
I agree with most of the various points made. I didn't like John, and agree that perhaps the author just can't write male characters. I don't mind all the Harvard stuff as the author was clearly writing from her own experiences and environment, though I agree it would be good to read another narrative from the perspective of a less lofty family. Very interesting point about this being an issue-driven story rather than character-driven. I also found Alice's stirring speech to be rather cringe-making. As for the readers comments on the inside pages, well I generally shut my eyes to those as far as I can. I prefer to read a book without feeling swayed by such blurb.
At the back of my copy, is the beginning of Genova's next book, due out in January 2011 - about a 7yr-old with ADD. I expect I'll read that too! This author certainly seems to know how to sell her books! -
Message 14
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Sunday, 29th August 2010
I have just looked at "Still Alice" again, before putting it ready to take back to the library.
Although this edition doesn't contain recommendations from "Pippa, Gloucestershire" - or indeed from anyone except a short one from Rosie Boycott on the back cover - at the end it does contain a "Readers Club Guide" of discussion questions, which I haven't bothered to read after the first skim. This isn't the first time I've encountered this type of thing.
Of more interest, there were also a few pages of "A Conversation with Lisa Genova". No mention of her next book, but I have noticed that many books now contain the first couple of chapters of their next book. Clever marketing.
Rusty -
Message 15
Posted by Jenny111 (U2912527) on Saturday, 11th September 2010
Coming to this thread late as usual! I enjoyed Still Alice in an almost light hearted way - which is strange considering the subject matter. I had spent the previous two months (yes I know two months is a long time!) reading Wolf Hall which I found very good just time consuming so Still Alice with its short sections was a contrast and I read it in 3 days.
In my mind it was very much written in a 'made for TV movie' style. The scene towards the end when Alice gives her rousing speech at the conference surrounded by her friends and loved ones just typified this.
John's character was never developed and yet he really seemed at the end to be the only one to have a grip on reality. While it is lovely to think that the two daughters could provide the care for Alice I find this unrealistic especially as Anna had twins to look after and Lydia was taking classes - by the time of the last scene Alice as needing constant supervision.
I hadn't noticed the product placement until I read this thread but then it did begin to annoy me somewhat. I agree that some of the comments in the inside cover of my copy were rather off putting.
All in all I did enjoy the book and am glad to have read it - I did think it was rather a 'light read'
Jenny x -
Message 16
Posted by Rusters (U11225963) on Monday, 13th September 2010
Jenny, I haven't read Wolf Hall yet, but from what I know of it, I'm not really suprised that "Still Alice" came almost as light relief.
<<"John's character was never developed and yet he really seemed at the end to be the only one to have a grip on reality. While it is lovely to think that the two daughters could provide the care for Alice I find this unrealistic especially as Anna had twins to look after and Lydia was taking classes - by the time of the last scene Alice as needing constant supervision.">>
Yes, I can agree with that: it is lovely to think that the daughters would be able to care for Alice BUT. To be honest (and I think I said so above) I think it would have been a more realistic end for Alice to have committed suicide, as the "old" Alice wanted the "new" one to do.
Rusty -
Message 17
Posted by Herb Robert (U14072548) on Tuesday, 14th September 2010
Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:47 GMT, in reply to Jenny111 in message 15
I think you've captured quite a lot of what I felt about the book in saying that it had a "made for TV" feel about it. And in my view, that's not a complimentary comment! It's extraordinary really, isn't it, how a book with such a serious theme should be so light? I can imagine dealing with the same theme in a humorous way (just about), which would be by no means 'light'.
Interesting that you were reading Wolf Hall and I was reading Anna Karenina at the same time as we read this book, which in both cases meant that Still Alice was light relief. I wonder what the author would make of this?
I still find that rousing speech towards the end a step too far in the direction of sentimentality.
Rusters, I think that the whole question of whether the new Alice could in fact commit suicide as the old Alice might have wished is one of the moral ambiguities in the novel that I would have liked to be explored some more. As I suggested earlier, we make decisions in our right senses made on what we as rational beings think we want, but in reality it's never quite like that. The boundaries keep changing. This is an extremely complex issue, but one that we face increasingly often. The "rational" mind thinks of Dignitas, but the actual changing human being may well think otherwise. Can we base decisions about our lives on what the lucid, coherent, "rational" and probably youthful self would have wished? I doubt it somehow, but I struggle to come up with cogent thoughts about this.
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