The Piano Teacher: A Novel
by Janice Y. K. Lee
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Book Reviews of The Piano Teacher: A Novel
Book Review: I wish I could say I LOVED this book
Summary: 3 Stars
I wish I could say I LOVED this book, but it left me wanting more. First off, the title is misleading. I don't think that the piano teacher, Claire is the main character. Rather she is simply the vehicle by which we as the reader find out about the politics and the events in Hong Kong during the 1950's after WWII. The main character is Will Truesdale, who is Claire's lover and he is the only character that is really fleshed out. I cared about him through the whole novel; the rest of the cast of characters seemed barely sketched out. I constantly wanted to know more about them and I never got to really care about them.
Janice Lee's writing is beautiful and lyrical. I really got a good sense of the time and place, but I soon became bored with the plot and did not much care for the characters, other than Will Ms. Lee also did a wonderful job of portraying the caste system and people's social standing. This is a decent story of a tortured love affair in war torn Hong Kong. If one were to read this as simply a romance novel with some historical bits thrown in, they may not be as disappointed as I was.
Book Review: Blah
Summary: 2 Stars
My main reaction to this book is "eh." Perhaps it is that I was reading it a bit at a time, before bed, that I found it hard to follow. It bounced back and forth between WW II Hong Kong, and some of the same characters in the 1950s. The main character, Claire, just seemed very bland but also criminal if that is possible. She stole valuable knickknacks, scarves, and other things from her weathy employer. That whole plot line never went anywhere although there were hints that people knew this. She married young and came to Hong Kong with her husband, and their marriage seemed to be one of checking off the "marriage" checkbox with no passion, so Claire starts an affair with Will Truesdale, one of the characters who spans both time periods of the book. I get that these people were damaged during WWII but the author never really goes to more than a superficial depth with any of them. There is a lot on the surface and all this hidden pain, which you could say is the point but did not make for a real good story, though it had interesting parts to it, and has potential. It left me wondering what I just read.Book Review: depressing, but good
Summary: 4 Stars
Captivating. Truly it was. Janice created a beautiful love story in a war torn Hong Kong. A love story that is not perfect, but reality.
War. It is never a pretty thing. They either bring out the best or the worst in a person. Wars divide families and devastate friendships. This book was not an exception. The love between Will and Trudy, Trudy and her cousin Dommie, Trudy and her family, and the relationships with friends were stretched so thin that they broke in most places.
Trudy was a very complex character, and it was not till the end of the novel that I even understood who she really was. She, at times was a survivor. She was flamboyant, smart, cunning. I liked her. Will was honorable and honest, maybe even a coward at times. Claire was the odd character of the bunch. She was naïve, young, inexperienced and simple. I almost believe the book could have and might have been better without her. I saw nothing in her that would draw Will's eyes and attention.
However, this book was quite depressing. I do not like to read depressing books.
Book Review: searingly accurate portrayal of the ex-pats...
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed this book very much, the writing is beautiful and the characters intriguing, and setting the story line in two different times meant I simply couldn't put it down as it unfolded. The expatriate/white characters of Hong Kong were especially well described, giving us the sense that in some ways nothing changes (!) and it was a wonderful contrast to see how many of these minor characters coped as war broke out and the subsequent range of reactions by them as they struggled to survive.
My only criticism, and what kept this book at solid 4 star rather than higher is the almost abrupt ending, and the lack of further development of 3 other very key characters, Victor and Melody Chen, and Dominick. I think given the incredible impact they had on the plot their figures were very shadowy, and we didn't have enough of an idea of their motivation. Conversely I loved the characters of Will, Trudy and Claire, and I thought the naive Claire was an extremely effect catalyst for the events that had to come to pass, even if they were sadly understated at the end of the novel...
Book Review: A pretty good casual read...
Summary: 3 Stars
I didn't know much about Hong Kong during World War II, so this part of the book was interesting to me. But I couldn't understand why the author kept switching from past tense to present tense, because it wasn't consistent and it drew my attention away from the story and its characters.
Lee seems to be better at plot than characters - I thought the storyline was pretty good and, although it dragged a little in the middle, Lee tied up the details well. SPOILER ALERT - I would say that Locket's lineage was pretty easy to figure out.
Her characters were a little stereotypical, particularly Trudy. We have all read books with a character like her mixed into the plot. And at times I felt like I was reading Gone With The Wind goes to Hong Kong!
I was disappointed that the initial storyline of Claire stealing from the Chens never developed. That was one of the more interesting traits of Claire's character, who, like some of the other characters, were a little flat.
Overall, however, I'd say it was a good, casual read.