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Still Alice
- Narrated by: Lisa Genova
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
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Still Alice
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Editor reviews
The heart-wrenching tale of 50-year-old Alice Howland and her early onset Alzheimer's diagnosis is narrated eloquently by author Lisa Genova. Alice, a successful linguistics professor at Harvard, is married to John, an equally esteemed Harvard professor, and together they have three grown children. Her biggest worry in life is her youngest daughter's move to L.A. to pursue acting until Alice starts forgetting things. It begins innocuously enough: misplacing her BlackBerry, missing unimportant appointments on her to-do list, searching her mind for tip-of-the-tongue phrases. But when she goes on her familiar daily run through Cambridge, and becomes disoriented just one mile from home, Alice knows something is terribly wrong.
A battery of tests and multiple doctor visits later, her worst nightmare is confirmed she is in the first stages of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Told from Alice's perspective, it's a frighteningly keen insight to the slow deterioration of a debilitating disease. Every nuance of pain, frustration, fear, and sorrow is captured in Genova's voice and she expertly utilizes the pregnant pause, and short, choppy sentences to convey the confusion and pain of Howland's thoughts during testing and diagnosis.
Genova's slight Boston accent lends authenticity to the story, and she doesn't oversell the emotion behind the words. Her transitions between character dialogue are smooth and subtle, but she so embodies the main character Alice, it's hard to remember that it is Genova, and not Howland herself, telling her story. Knowing its being read exactly as it was intended by the author creates an even stronger connection to the work. Equally present is the devastating effect this illness has on Alice's husband, children, and coworkers. And while there's obviously no happy ending in sight, Genova still manages to paint a story of hope, reminding listeners that even in the midst of great loss and suffering, love remains. Colleen Oakley
Summary
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At 50 years old, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she begins to grow disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life - and her relationship with her family and the world - forever.
At once beautiful and terrifying, this extraordinary debut novel by Lisa Genova is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Ordinary People.
Critic reviews
"With grace and compassion, Lisa Genova writes about the enormous white emptiness created by Alzheimer's." ( The Improper Bostonian)
"A masterpiece that will touch lives in ways none of us can even imagine." ( Alzheimer's Daily News)
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What listeners say about Still Alice
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sonia
- 06-09-15
Alice
Loved it , a great and enjoyable listen which is loving, deep and thought provoking.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sophie
- 13-05-15
Very good, well worth a listen
Any additional comments?
I thought this book was really well written, a book about such a serious and sad subject, but almost made positive and even funny at times. I read Elizabeth is missing, I can't help but compare the two- it also really gave a good insight into what this disease is all about, but unlike Elizabeth is missing it did it without being repetitive, or depressing, and it was a really easy listen. It wasn't too long either- just right. Narration was good, not excellent, but definitely didn't ruin the book in any way.
Would definitely recommend to anyone searching for their next audio book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lisa Sims
- 11-04-15
No one knows what the future holds
Loved this book .. I work in a nursing home with dementia residents and see on a daily basis the anguish of not only them but their families ... I now want to watch the film
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CarlyAL
- 18-01-23
Spoiled by narration
Such a shame! This could have been a brilliant listen, utterly spoiled by the poor flat narration of the author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sara
- 30-03-15
Beautiful
A beautiful story, touching without being over sentimental. An interesting and thought provoking account that brings to life what it must be like to be affected by Alzheimer's.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rachel Ramage
- 20-03-15
Amazing
Was extremely moving, realistic and grabbed me with every word. Would definitely recommend.
Heartfelt and devastating at the same time
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- K A Simpson
- 29-11-20
Thought provoking subject.
My wife who lives with dementia listened with me and enjoyed it. We discussed the issues contained within it, which helped me better understand her condition. It was true to life as we know it now.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. McBride
- 05-12-15
Intelligent, sensitive and very moving
Would you listen to Still Alice again? Why?
That speech! Enough said. I would love to have this printed and stuck on the wall beside my desk in work. Remind me of where real priorities lie.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Treehugger
- 06-03-23
Great story, flat delivery
I really enjoyed this insightful and thought-provoking book. It seems to have been written from the perspective of experience and real life, so the story comes across as totally believable. The characters are all quite vividly drawn, all different. The members of Alice's family and their responses to her increasing degeneration into early onset Alzheimer's is very real and believable. The tragedy of the whole thing, where Alice is a relatively young and fit highly intelligent 50-year old Harvard professor, is acutely painful.
Sadly what spoils this wonderful story is the narration. If ONLY authors wouldn't insist on narrating their own books! Lisa told the story as if she didn't give a crap what happened to the characters, as if she didn't even enjoy the story she had written but found it boring. (Even my husband, overhearing it playing in the background, commented, "No enthusiasm!") This story would have been so much better brought to life with an actor doing the narration! There are several passages where the characters (mostly Alice) are distraught or angry or worried, or screaming in frustration or anguish, or in tears, with plenty of textual cues, but Lisa narrates it all with a flat, emotionless intonation. To her, it seems this is all just flat words written on a page. Any author would surely feel insulted if anyone else delivered their master work in such a disinterested way. I can only guess that Lisa has gone over and over this manuscript so many times getting it just right, that she's heartily sick of it.
One thing that also could have been improved was that she didn't change her voice at all for different characters, so whether it was Alice or her husband or her daughter or someone else, the voice stayed exactly the same. In my opinion, one mark of a good narrator is not only the varied range of expressiveness and intonation in their voice, but the ability to change the voice for different characters so you know who is talking before it says "said Alice" or "Dan screamed in frustration". (without the text spelling out those descriptions, I'd never guess that the characters are actually feeling anything!!)
So while this didn't exactly ruin the book, it could have really bought the book to life so much more had there been a professional narrator.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A Walker
- 08-04-15
A brilliantly written and narrated heartfelt story
Clearly a well researched story about the impact of Alzheimer's on the person, her family and her life. It terrified me and enthralled me in equal measures. I highly recommend this audio book if for no other reason than it may leave you as it did me, extremely grateful for the memories I have that confirm who I am and long may that be the case.
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