A textbook case
A neuroscientist novelist’s new book is a bit too brainy.
Richard is a famous concert pianist, whose infidelity has estranged him from his wife, Karina, and their daughter. And now fate has inflicted its own punishment, by giving him the incurable motor neurone disease ALS. When he can no longer care for himself, Karina feels obliged to bring him back home, where the tension between them can only intensify as Richard goes downhill. Author Lisa Genova has a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard, so her authority on the subject is unimpeachable. But the extent of her knowledge means that EVERY NOTE PLAYED (Simon & Schuster, $37.99) reads less like a novel and more like a textbook for medical students who wish to gain more insight into the physical and emotional effects of the disease. By the end, you’ll certainly be better educated. And if you can overlook the predictable storyline and platitudes about forgiveness, you might also be moved. Kat Black, well-known TV food presenter, has just turned 50 and fears spending the next phase of her life being envious of all the fun she had in the past one. She decides to embark on a new adventure: to live with a man she’s fallen for but hardly knows and help him run his Venice guesthouse for a year. Kat’s been fully in control of her life thus far, so why should this pose any problems? Nicky Pellegrino’s 10th novel, A YEAR AT HOTEL GONDOLA (Hachette, $34.99), has the Italian setting and focus on food that have made her books internationally popular. But instead of simply repeating a successful formula, Pellegrino continues to add depth. For one, she allows her main female character to be older, and she employs a clever structural trick to show just how complicated our internal responses to ageing can be. Written with intelligence, insight and warmth. Highly recommended.
An athletic and academic star bound for Harvard, Niru is living a life that appears to have only an upward trajectory. But there is one aspect he knows will destroy his conservative Nigerian parents: he is gay. And his concerns prove well founded when his best friend, Meredith, unwittingly gives the game away and Niru’s parents, particularly his father, subject him to an onslaught of shame, accusation and religious correction. Niru has no one to turn to, not even Meredith, who is too caught up in her own crises of identity and family to offer comfort. Author Uzodinma Iweala was named as one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists, and SPEAK NO
EVIL (Hachette, $29.99) has a subtle power. Despite following what seems to be a trend for not using speech marks, it’s a fluid, engrossing read with an ending that hits with unexpected force, even if, in hindsight, it looks to have been inevitable.