Richard and Karina divorced several years ago. Richard a famed pianist, now has ALS. Karina (also a pianist, tho of lesser repute), often accused of divorcing Richard over jealousy, has tremendous guilt..... all the mixingsngir a romance.
I am not a romance fan. I do see the need to discuss harrowing diseases such as ALS, but this novel just didn't do much for me, other than another breezy-read tragic romance for a snowy night.
If you want something of greater substance, read Genova's Still Alice instead.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Lisa Genova once again tackles a difficult and heartbreaking subject when she writes about Richard, a well known and accomplished pianist who is struck with ALS. The impact this has not only on his life but on the lives of others in his life is examined closely and unflinchingly.

Richard was not always a likable character, even as I felt horribly sad for him as he progressed through ALS I often didn't like the person he had been and sometimes still was. The same could be said about Karina and his daughter as well. My frustration with the characters interfered at times with my overall enjoyment of the book, but it was still compelling and well written.

Ms. Genova is, in my opinion, an outstanding writer. Her subject matter is always compelling, well researched and thought provoking, and I have read every book she has written.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to pre-read this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions here are solely my own.

An excellent read!! I would read it in one seating if I didn't have to get up the next day. Lisa's writing evolved and matured to the point that I felt disappointed when the book ended, because I didn't have her next novel to focus on.

Every Note Played surpassed my expectations. It wasn't a novel only about ALS but also about family, courage, disappointment, betrayal and forgiveness. Its a beautifly written tale about Richard, a famous pianist, who has ALS. His estranged Ex-wife takes him in when he has nowhere to go. Together they unravel many truths about themselves and each other. Genova takes the reader through the bad and the worse of this monsterous diseas. Its a well worth read that deserves to be prized!!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Here is that review:

Lisa Genova has carved out a unique niche for herself. She writes about the cruelest diseases and how they affect not only the patient, but everyone in his life. This one is about ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, a disease we have all heard of but know little about. We know about Stephen Hawkings, but what, exactly, is wrong with him? Well, after you read this you will know, in excruciating detail.

Richard is a world-renowned concert pianist, travelling the world and doing what he loves most. He has an ex-wife and a daughter, but he barely gives them a thought. His life is the piano. And then his right hand starts disobeying him, and soon his entire right arm is paralyzed. He is diagnosed with ALS and he learns about this disease as we, the reader, also learn, in excruciating small steps. The only end is death, but this disease takes everything away from you before you get there.

I could not put this book down. It is so well written, and the subject is so compelling, that I just devoured it.

Lisa Genova never disappoints. Her intense scientific and medical background serves to help the reader navigate through the various pathologies she writes about with such insight and humanity. She writes with a passion that envelopes the reader and gives us a deeper understanding of ALS and its impact on the main character and those who are a part of his life. Genova's writing just gets better and better.

This book was so great that I hated to reach the end. Lisa Genova continues to give us books that teach us about health issues while giving us a real look into the lives of people dealing with these issues. I am deeply moved by her writing.

Wow....Lisa Genova does it again. Some people may think Lisa writes about an illness and that's true. But Lisa puts such a human side to the whole ordeal that the information in enlightening and very heartfelt. She gets the perspectives from the patient, the family, and the caregiver just right. The reader feels everything they are feeling. Love her writing! She doesn't disappoint.

I started this book on a beach in Maui--and ended it the same afternoon.

Genova had me spellbound with her matchless prose and her heartbreaking--yet somehow inspiring story. Her writing is thick, descriptive and crisp, keeping me in the moment and needing to know what happened to each character with every paragraph. She elevates and illuminates ALS, weaving in redemption and self-discovery along the way.

This book is amazing and it will definitely stay with me--and has already impacted me personally. I'm off to find the ALS donor page referenced in the acknowledgements.

Brava Lisa Genova!

I liked this book but it is such a sad disease. It was hard to read about these two unhappy people . I guess three people including the daughter. I want a cure so bad for this. You are a great writer but this was a just sad subject matter.

**Big thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy to review!**

Richard is a brilliant pianist, and all the things that go with that. Yup, he's the narcissist that you love to hate. His ex-wife, Karina is also a brilliant pianist from Poland. She's much easier to love, but she has her issues, too.

His world is knocked over when he is diagnosed with ALS. Actually, he doesn't really get depressed until his right arm is paralyzed.

Karina takes him in and helps care for him when she discovers he is completely alone in the world with this disease. Is she hoping to absolve her guilt? Will Richard make things right with Karina and his daughter before it's too late?

I couldn't put this one down. Lisa Genova is a brilliant author, she knows just how to pull you and push your buttons. That's right, I cried a few times.

Wonderfully paced, and it held my attention non-stop.

Every Note Played is a tremendous book that deals with ALS and the complicated relationships among people. I feel like I just went through the wringer with Richard and Karina. They are both so flawed and yet who among us isn't? I learned so much about ALS. I can't imagine the horror of losing control of your body bit by bit and still wanting to go on. Lisa Genova never disappoints in weaving wonderful stories while educating us about difficult medical conditions. This is a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Threshold Books for providing me with an ARC of Lisa Genova’s newest novel Every Note Played.

Lisa Genova is the perfect conductor of pulling heartstrings and taking the reader on a symphonic journey of emotions. I went from strongly disliking smug, self absorbed concert virtuoso Richard to full on bawling and rooting for him as the pages turned.

Every Note Played highlights the debilitating process the patient and family goes through from diagnosis through logistics until life and death decisions. It’s a cruel disease and Lisa Genova writes it as such.

I especially appreciated the character of Bill, Richard’s loving, kind, big hearted, humorous home health care aide who provides so much physical and emotional strength to both Richard and his ex-wife Karina.

Make sure to have the tissues handy and make sure to read the author’s notes and acknowledgments (you’ll probably need more tissues).

This was such an educational look at life with ALS. What an absolutely awful disease. My heart aches for the individuals that are living with ALS.

I loved that Lisa Genova used a pianist as the focus of this book. To use so much of your body for your career and then to have it ripped from you. To slowly lose the ability to do the thing you love most in life. Gut wrenching.

Richard and Karina's story is beautiful and heart breaking. Both if them feel so wronged by the other. To spend so much of your life blaming someone else for your unhappiness is disease in itself. It was clear to me that both Richard and Karina still had strong feelings for each other. Karina taking Richard in when he had no where else to go, giving up her life essentially to care for him. In living together again it was easy to see that they would each come to realize their own responsibility in their unhappiness.

My heart broke at the end of this book. It had me weeping and wiping away tears to finish and not blur the words. I love Lisa's books. I have read all of her books and always feel I have learned something in addition to reading a wonderfully written novel.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Threshold, Pocket Books

Karina finds out just by chance that her estranged ex-husband and famous concert pianist (Richard) has ALS. When she sees how quickly he's deteriorating, she ends up taking care of him. Like in Still Alice with Alzheimer's, Genova writes in a way that let's the reader feel the pain, indignity and hopelessness of what it's like for someone suffering from these terrible diseases.

Not only does Genova do such a good job illuminating all the different aspects of the disease, she is a great fiction writer as well. Her characters seem so real and their flaws make them believable and empathetic. Richard was a pretty much a jerk, but to watch him go become helpless and paralyzed by ALS was painful and heartbreaking to read. Karina wasn't perfect either. I wanted to shake her out of her lethargy and martyrdom. While the subject matter is hard to take at times, especially if you know someone who has suffered or is suffering from ALS, I commend Genova for not sugarcoating anything. This is a powerful and engrossing story.

I love this author. I think she takes inside of diseases we wouldn’t normally delve into. She makes them real and relatable. Every time I read one of her books I think she will never top this but... of course she does. This book is nothing short of brilliant. Can’t wait for the next one. I can only give 5 stars but it deserves so many more!

Whoa. I couldn't sleep last night, so I picked this up and finished it at 3:30am. As I put my iPad down, I continued to sob as quietly as I could to not wake my husband. Blah. I don't remember the last time I cried when reading a book. This book touched me. BUT, I didn't like how it touched me.

I love, love, love Lisa's writing. Love it. However, even within that, I didn't think this one had enough build up. It felt like it went immediately into doom and gloom. Then, it just got deeper and deeper in Richard's failures -- body, mind and soul. I understand that this was about just that. That's what ALS does. It's beyond miserable. I can't think of any pleasant diseases, though, can you?

So, ultimately, I learned an incredible amount about ALS and respect Lisa's diligence in getting it out into our hands. This is not a joyful story, but a very plausible one. Sometimes those are the most difficult to read.

I always enjoy reading a Lisa Genova novel, Both heartbreaking and informative, this novel takes on the topic of a concert pianist who develops ALS. I always feel so much more informed after reading one of Genova's books. This book made me feel I was living with Richard, Katrina and Grace. I had tears in my eyes during the ending but it w as worth it,. Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book definitely lived up to previous books by Lisa Genova. While it is the heartbreaking story of a concert pianist gradually losing his ability to play, as well as to perform even basic activities of daily living, it was also the story of a family managing to come back together and forgive the past under very difficult circumstances. I hated to see the story conclude, and wished that there could be a different ending for Richard.

Lisa Genova always manages to teach us so much — about illness, about life, and about relationships. This time, she tackled ALS, which I've know of, of course, but didn't know how quickly and how debilitating it could be.
This story is sad, yes, but this is also a novel of love, courage, second chances, responsibility and family. I liked getting a look into the hardships of caregivers, the fear of failing, and the amazing people who make this their career. It is humbling, scary, and emotionally engages the reader. Genova is an author who does her research and brings to us things that need to be seen, that aren't always. And by doing so, both informatively and personally, she has created another unforgettable story.

This was a sad book that brought out so many emotions for me. It was bursting at the seams with regret, and ultimately, forgiveness.
This man. This sad, hardened, arrogant, talented man made my heart break. I can't begin to imagine how it feels to know that you're dying. And to know that the death is going to be miserable. To know what is coming next, to wait for it and then check it off the list, just to wait for the next terrible thing. The characters in this book were easy to fall in love with, to root for, and to mourn. Thank you for this.