“Every note played is a life and a death.”

Most of us won’t get the time to reflect upon our lives and make amends before we die. Some people do and Richard is one of them. A renowned concert pianist, he first notices signs of his disease when his right hand won’t play the notes on time and he keeps dropping things. He is diagnosed with ALS and the only thing worse is realizing he has the disease and no one who loves him.

I requested an advance copy of Every Note Played from NetGalley to review. The plot looked very interesting. It was published in March. I have not read any of Genova’s other books, but plan to after reading this book.

Richard’s ex-wife, Karina, finds out about his ALS diagnosis from some friends and despite the bad blood between them (lies and affairs), she ends up taking him back to their home to take care of him. While Richard focuses on possibly making amends with his own father, he starts to realize he should also make amends with his own daughter and his wife. As his disease progresses and he can no longer talk, he thinks more about how life could have been different for all of them if he had loved them as much as he loved the piano.

I really enjoyed this book as it’s about love, redemption, forgiveness and regret. All the characters grow in the book and it is very realistic in its presentation of relationships and ALS. The book is for adults as there are adult-themed thoughts from some of the characters and death is a central theme to the book. It is a very memorable read.

What is your favorite book with a redemption theme? Share on the blog!

Buy the book here (affiliate link).