The Piano Teacher: A Novel
by Janice Y. K. Lee
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Book Summary Information
Author: Janice Y. K. LeeEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2009-01-13
ISBN: 0670020486
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Viking
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780670020485
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Book Reviews of The Piano Teacher: A Novel
Book Review: No Music Entered Here
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is not so much about the piano teacher, Claire Pendleton, as it is about her unintentional entanglement with people whose lives were affected by the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong that happened 10 years before she arrived on the island. She arrives in Hong Kong after marrying an older man to escape from a dismal life in England. She is hired by a rich Chinese family to teach piano lessons to their daughter, and she finds herself stealing from the family. She realizes that she is becoming a different person, and that she has become part of the social life of the English colony of Hong Kong. She begins an affair with a handsome Englishman, Will Truesdale, and she unwillingly becomes involved in events that are a result of his past.
This story is about Truesdale and Trudy, the Eurasian beauty and socialite that he loved. This is a story of what happened in Hong Kong when the Japanese invaded the island during WWII. It is a story of love, friendship, betrayal, and cruelty. It is a story of collaboration with the enemy; imprisonment of the English, Americans, and other foreigners on the island; and a graphic look at the lives of the Chinese and how they survived the invasion.
The story has a different twist at the end that makes it more dramatic. The book is written almost as a script for a movie, and the descriptions and events seem to have a picture book quality. I think it would make an excellent movie. I don't think it has the depth that would make it an adequate subject for discussion. It's a short novel that I read in one evening. It is not a book that the reader enjoys, but rather a disturbing look at an ugly period of history.
Summary of The Piano Teacher: A Novel
In the sweeping tradition of The English Patient, a gripping tale of love and betrayal set in war-torn Hong KongIn 1942, Will Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite. But their love affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the Japanese as World War II overwhelms their part of the world. Will is sent to an internment camp, where he and other foreigners struggle daily for survival. Meanwhile, Trudy remains outside, forced to form dangerous alliances with the Japanese-in particular, the malevolent head of the gendarmerie, whose desperate attempts to locate a priceless collection of Chinese art lead to a chain of terrible betrayals.
Ten years later, Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughter's piano teacher. A provincial English newlywed, Claire is seduced by the heady social life of the expatriate community. At one of its elegant cocktail parties, she meets Will, to whom she is instantly attracted-but as their affair intensifies, Claire discovers that Will's enigmatic persona hides a devastating past. As she begins to understand the true nature of the world she has entered, and long-buried secrets start to emerge, Claire learns that sometimes the price of survival is love.
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