EVERY NOTE PLAYED

Lisa Genova’s story of early onset Alzheimer’s in Still Alice struck a chord worldwide. In her latest novel, she explores ALS (the progressive neurological disease the late Stephen Hawking battled). Six months after being diagnosed with ALS, acclaimed concert pianist Richard is gripped by rapid seizures. His arms paralysed, he is a fish without water. At the clinic they say he must order his wheelchair, decide if he wants a feeding tube, and does he want to “bank his voice” or have it computer generated? Ex-wife Karina, who still blames her unfaithful husband for her own unfulfilled life and abandoned jazz career, becomes his reluctant caregiver. As Richard’s health inexorably declines, will the couple be able to reconcile their past hurts and find forgiveness before it’s too late?