Book Review: Still Alice by Lisa Genova

The most recent novel i read is Still Alice. i got to know of it's fame from the New York Times, where it was highly praised & rated. ordered it at a book store & hit the pages right away.

Best part about fiction is that it pulls you into it, it makes you believe you are living it, rather than just reading it.

Alice, a professor at Harwards and highly successful on professional front, is diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. & that's the central theme of the plot that revolves around Alice and people around her. Depicts, in a remarkable way, the impact Alzheimer's leaves on the sufferer & people around her. Alice is brave, with spectacular, sharply defined attributes, & so are the members of her family. I was shaken by the story. & still, as i knew there was no hope for Alice, i wished she remained as brave as she had always been. i could empathize with Alice. I felt like living a hellish life like her while i was passing through the pages with a heavy heart.

I won't desist to say that i hate John, Alice's husband. I hate him. I pray i never happen to wear his shoes, but i'd never have done things he chose to do. But i know it's tough - i've had some experience with that. Depression made me behave somewhat like Alice years ago. i know it's tough for others.

Love is the theme of life. Love is the only fragrance we actually know. Alice is no different. I was amazed how beautifully Lisa strung the melodies of love amidst cruel realities of life. I was skeptical about the climax, because story was gradually developing into a heartbreakingly sad mist. but i couldn't have dreamt of a better one. I was shattered, but smiling after i read the last few lines, & closed the book. i kept smiling for a while, & reflected what love means to me.

Book contains educative and brief terminology of medications involved here & there, but that ain't out-of-the-world. That never made me feel i'm reading some journal on medicine. If a disease is the theme, those gotta be there.

Personally, i believe it wasn't just about Alzheimer's. It was more about life. More about fear, loneliness, & a few other negative attributes of life. But mostly, it was about love !!

I'd strongly suggest this book to anyone & everyone who loves to read about life, who loves fiction, who wants to delve into not-to-discussed & heartbreaking nuances of life, & who respects life, in all it's wrath. I'm really proud to posses a copy of the same. & i feel good about the fact that i've read a very good book.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Winner of 2008 Bronte Prize
Simon & Schuster/ 320 pages
Price: Rs. 640/$10.20/€9.50