Please pay for a professional Reader

Would you try another book from Lisa Genova and/or Lisa Genova?

yes

What didn’t you like about Lisa Genova’s performance?

Monotone. The author is a good writer but a horrible reader. I don't understand why a professional reader was not used. The flat and emotionless voice made the book unbearable to listen to at times. I wish that I had purchased this book in book form and not audio. It's a struggle to stay with that flat voice reading this compelling story.

105 people found this helpful

Incredibly stimulating and thought-provoking

This is my first review after 7 years of membership listening to over 200 books. I am 64 and in good health, but this book raised profound questions for me about mortality, how to leave your family and friends when the time comes, and what to do when the time comes. I laughed and cried throughout, but now I have to figure out what I do when (if) something like this happens to me. I can't remember when a book affected me so profoundly. There are not enought stars in the rating -- it deserves 7.

100 people found this helpful

Poor narration!!!

The book itself was interesting enough although a little technical in places but the narration was so bad that I was tempted to give up on the book altogether. The author's narration was flat and stilted making the reading of her dialogue especially jarring. Her voice was also too young sounding to be believable as a 50 year old woman. Some authors should simply not narrate their own work.

89 people found this helpful

Made for TV Movie ..

I'm ambivalent about this book. The author did a pretty good job of capturing 'key' points about what folks experience with Early Onset Alzheimers - so if you prefer a narrative over dry descriptions of what faces Alzheimer sufferers and their families - this book is for you. Yet the book misses the true challenges that face the rest of us. I titled my review "Made for TV Movie" because that's what it appears to be. Well written but superficial.

My complaint is that the author apparently had a 'check list' of points she wanted to cover, so one-by-one she checked them off. Most problems popped up long enough for the author to tell us about them - and then she moved on. The problem rarely occurred in a significant way again. For someone who supposedly suffered from significant language problems, Alice always managed to be fully articulate when necessary. Yeah, right.

Despite Alice's dark plans at one point (another check mark), she didn't really seem to mind having Alzheimer's. Sure it got in the way - but she was not upset for long about anything. There was no fear, no distrust, no chronic anxiety ... it was just a frustrating experience that could be handled and planned for.

I speak from some experience, since my own wife, Barbara has early onset Alzheimer's, although not the fast-acting genetic variety. Comparing Alice to Barbara: Barbara is three years older than Alice. She had symptoms that go back at least six years before diagnosis. Her first mention to her physician about the problems were passed over the first time she made them. It was only a year later that they took us seriously when I accompanied her to a visit, and nearly a year after that before she was diagnosed; ironically the same week as Alice.

Alice has such a perfect life. Professionally successful. Great doctors. Lightening fast diagnosis. Apparently no financial issues. No crazy legal issues. Grown children. (Barbara's were in high school). Everything was manageable except for that pesky disease and her ambitious husband. Good grief, she even got to see and know her first grandchild.

Like Alice, Barbara is loved and cared for. Unlike Alice, Barbara stays in her original home. Her husband is her full-time caregiver, while still working full time.

So nice try, Lisa. I hope you get your TV movie deal.

78 people found this helpful

A Disappointing Look at Early Onset Alzheimer's

Flat and monotone narration by an inappropriately juvenile, flip, teenage sounding voice. Really wish the author had not done the narration. The story is technical and told from a cold observing distance. It is a perfect example of being talked at about the story rather than seeing it unfold and develop through plot and character driven detail. The frequent use of the word "she" (almost every sentence starts with she) nearly drove me over the edge. To me the book just did not ring true. I know great numbers of listeners loved the book, I am not one of them. A much better look at the experience of Alzheimer's Disease through fiction is the book Elizabeth is Missing.

77 people found this helpful

wrong voice for Alice

Although I usually appreciate when the author is involved in an audio book, I think Genova was an inappropriate reader. I was put off by how young her voice sounded.... like that of a 30 year old woman, which I suspect is what Genova is. Her voice didn't have the depth and maturity that was needed for the 50 year old Alice.
For me it was a constant irritant, and I never fully engaged in the book because of this.

58 people found this helpful

Authors-please stop narrating your own books!

Would you consider the audio edition of Still Alice to be better than the print version?

No-This might be the third book that I am having a problem finishing because the actual author is narrating. Please, unless you're Amy Poehler or an actual entertainer, please allow Audible to hire a trained reader.

What did you like best about this story?

This horrible disease runs in my family and I am always interested to read about different experiences.

Any additional comments?

I have been listening to books from Audible for over 12 years and have rarely been disappointed with the readers. This is actually the first time I have written a review because I am compelled to beg Audible to stop having the author narrate their own books. When you are used to exceptional readers, these narrators fall short and almost always ruin the experience!

51 people found this helpful

Very poor narrator, I returned it

What would have made Still Alice better?

A different narrator, ie: Caroline Lee

What could Lisa Genova have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Have it read by somebody else

What didn’t you like about Lisa Genova’s performance?

Her voice is very monotone and she sounds much younger than the character's age

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I have not finished reading it yet but it seems very interesting so far

Any additional comments?

Thanks Audible for allowing us to return a book!

50 people found this helpful

Authors (or some of them) shouldn't narrate

The story was brilliant and the writing was excellent. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had read it myself as the narrator/author really did not do it justice. Unfortunately she had minimal depth, inflection, emotion. At times it was quite mundane to listen to. Excellent story though.

35 people found this helpful

Great book, so so performance.

I’m delighted that this novel is written by a Neuroscientist. Even though the book is fiction, the science behind the disease diagnosis & treatments is accurate; there is nothing fictitious about it. Lisa Genova also managed to put the readers into the ‘head space’ of Alice, the frustration & fear she felt as her conditions get progressively worse. Alice, a celebrated Harvard Linguistics professor, pride herself on having incredible brain power. To feel her own mental capacity steadily diminishing with each passing day, to watch the reaction & attitude of her family & colleagues whenever she’s in the room gradually eroded her confidence in anything & everything she did. The story is very engaging, however, the way Lisa reads her own book is not. Usually I love books read by the author, but in this case I think the book could have benefited from a less monotoned narrator.

One of my favorite parts of the book was shortly after Alice received her diagnosis, when her condition was not quite perceptible to others yet, Alice wished that

“… she had cancer instead. She'd trade Alzheimer's for cancer in a heartbeat. She felt ashamed for wishing this and it was certainly a pointless bargaining, but she permitted the fantasy anyway. With cancer, she'd have something that she could fight. There was surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. There was the chance that she could win. Her family and the community at Harvard would rally behind her battle and consider it noble. And even if defeated in the end, she'd be able to look them knowingly in the eye and say good-bye before she left.

Alzheimer's disease was an entirely different kind of beast. There were no weapons that could slay it. Taking Aricept and Namenda felt like aiming a couple of leaky squirt guns in to the face of a blazing fire. John continued to probe into the drugs in clinical development, but she doubted that any of them were ready and capable of making a significant difference for her, else he would already have been on the phone with Dr. Davis, insisting on a way to get her on them. Right now, everyone with Alzheimer's faced the same outcome, whether they were eighty-two or fifty, resident of the Mount Auburn Manor or a full professor of psychology at Harvard University. The blazing fire consumed all. No one got out alive.

And while a bald head and a looped ribbon were seen as badges of courage and hope, her reluctant vocabulary and vanishing memories advertised mental instability and impending insanity. Those with cancer could expect to be supported by their community. Alice expected to be outcast. Even the well-intentioned and educated tended to keep a fearful distance from the mentally ill. She didn't want to become someone people avoided and feared.”


This is an incredibly thought-provoking and absorbing book. It hits frighteningly close to home, I saw many similarities reflected in the book as I watch my grandmother steadily fade away from us over the last few years due to Alzheimer’s disease, and my mother who juggles many things to care for her.

25 people found this helpful