A Book That Made You Cry:
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
So I just finished watching Still Alice and I am very impressed by the book/movie over all. Last night I finished the book by Lisa Genova, and while the movie wasn't an exact replica the characters, plot, significant incidents were all still within the movie. I didn't plan to use this for my Popsugar Challenge, but it made me cry, so that takes care of that. Not to get all emotional, but both the book and the movie are really beautiful. I highly recommend both to everyone really, but fair warning if you have a history of any type of serious disease in your family, including Alzheimer's I would
caution. The book is rather jarring and you may have a restless night of sleep after finishing. It'll keep you awake thinking about your own uncertain future.
If you don't know about Still Alice , have never heard of the book or aren't into award shows like I am than here is a little snippet of what I was blubbering over last night...
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life--and her relationship with her family and the world--forever.
At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Judith Guest's Ordinary People.
In terms of the movie being like the book it was closer than other movie adaptations I've seen in the past. It was the same plot baseline and some of the events in the movie happened in a different order in the book. Now if you want to get really picky which I tend to do, there were a couple of things that jumped out right away at me. First the opening restaurant birthday scene didn't happen, I don't remember it happening at all in the book and the overall pacing of the movie was quick. It made it seem like Alice's decent into Alzheimer's took place within a month, when really it was over the course of a year. Had they clarified that within the movie I wouldn't of had a problem, but hey I told you I tend to get picky.
Other things that were a bit different were the setting, book takes place in and around Boston/Cambridge and our movie takes place within NYC/Hamptons. They also don't mention that she is a PhD, they change the first noticeable sign to family members at Christmas dinner (instead of Thanksgiving) and the person she forgets is Tom's (her second born) new girlfriend. Another thing I picked up on right away is how quickly she told her husband. When really in the book it took her 2 visits to a neurologist before she informed him. His reception of her diagnosis was spot on though because he was true jerk within the book and Alec Baldwin played that very well. One thing that was the same was my dislike for her husband. I get that you don't want to accept that the person you love is about to die, but seriously dude you were a jerk and Alice didn't deserve to spend the rest of her life with you, even if she wasn't going to remember it.
Overall seeing the book brought to life was really heartbreaking. I'm very sorry that this happens to people because it really is awful. I just really can't get over how much I disliked the husband. Every time there was an interaction with him in the book I cringed. I totally thought he was having an affair instead of just being busy with "research" all the time, but I guess he really was busy researching. I'm sure many people will be able to look past that and enjoy this beautiful book and its cinematic counterpart. Once again highly recommend and it is a rather quick read coming in at 292 pages, so really you could finish this book during a 1.5-2.5 commutes (like I did) or about 4 sittings. Next up I'll be reading Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, which also has a movie that came out with very good reviews (81% according to Rotten Tomatoes). So I'm excited to read/watch that, perhaps do another comparison of the two? Maybe, I'm trying to switch things up a bit. I also just got my October Birchbox today, so that review will be up soon. That's all for now!
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
So I just finished watching Still Alice and I am very impressed by the book/movie over all. Last night I finished the book by Lisa Genova, and while the movie wasn't an exact replica the characters, plot, significant incidents were all still within the movie. I didn't plan to use this for my Popsugar Challenge, but it made me cry, so that takes care of that. Not to get all emotional, but both the book and the movie are really beautiful. I highly recommend both to everyone really, but fair warning if you have a history of any type of serious disease in your family, including Alzheimer's I would
If you don't know about Still Alice , have never heard of the book or aren't into award shows like I am than here is a little snippet of what I was blubbering over last night...
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life--and her relationship with her family and the world--forever.
At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Judith Guest's Ordinary People.
In terms of the movie being like the book it was closer than other movie adaptations I've seen in the past. It was the same plot baseline and some of the events in the movie happened in a different order in the book. Now if you want to get really picky which I tend to do, there were a couple of things that jumped out right away at me. First the opening restaurant birthday scene didn't happen, I don't remember it happening at all in the book and the overall pacing of the movie was quick. It made it seem like Alice's decent into Alzheimer's took place within a month, when really it was over the course of a year. Had they clarified that within the movie I wouldn't of had a problem, but hey I told you I tend to get picky.
Other things that were a bit different were the setting, book takes place in and around Boston/Cambridge and our movie takes place within NYC/Hamptons. They also don't mention that she is a PhD, they change the first noticeable sign to family members at Christmas dinner (instead of Thanksgiving) and the person she forgets is Tom's (her second born) new girlfriend. Another thing I picked up on right away is how quickly she told her husband. When really in the book it took her 2 visits to a neurologist before she informed him. His reception of her diagnosis was spot on though because he was true jerk within the book and Alec Baldwin played that very well. One thing that was the same was my dislike for her husband. I get that you don't want to accept that the person you love is about to die, but seriously dude you were a jerk and Alice didn't deserve to spend the rest of her life with you, even if she wasn't going to remember it.
Overall seeing the book brought to life was really heartbreaking. I'm very sorry that this happens to people because it really is awful. I just really can't get over how much I disliked the husband. Every time there was an interaction with him in the book I cringed. I totally thought he was having an affair instead of just being busy with "research" all the time, but I guess he really was busy researching. I'm sure many people will be able to look past that and enjoy this beautiful book and its cinematic counterpart. Once again highly recommend and it is a rather quick read coming in at 292 pages, so really you could finish this book during a 1.5-2.5 commutes (like I did) or about 4 sittings. Next up I'll be reading Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, which also has a movie that came out with very good reviews (81% according to Rotten Tomatoes). So I'm excited to read/watch that, perhaps do another comparison of the two? Maybe, I'm trying to switch things up a bit. I also just got my October Birchbox today, so that review will be up soon. That's all for now!
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