Lee s intensely readable debut novel, the piano teacher, alternates between that nightmarish moment in history and a decade or so later, when claire pendleton, a peachesandcreampretty, unhappily married young english piano teacher with a tenuous connection to hong kongs expatriate society, finds herself drawn to the ambivalent. Transports you out of time, out of place, into a world you can feel on your very skin. The piano teacher tanenbaum book, a nonfiction book by robert k. Rich with intrigue, romance, and betrayal, this wonderfully written, utterly captivating novel dazzles with its sharpeyed renderings of beau monde hong kong as it is plunged into the crucible of war. The piano teacher, by janice yk lee the independent. Ambitious, exotic, and a classic book club read, the piano teacher is a combination of tenko meets the remains of the day. Paperback verified purchase a story about the life thru the eyes of an expat community in hong kong before, during and after the japanese invasion.
Lee s blockbuster hit debut, the piano teacher, was called immensely satisfying by people, intensely readable by o, the oprah magazine, and a rare and exquisite story by elizabeth gilbert. Normally this drives me bananas but lee was skilled enough to divide the stories without everything and every character blending together as one big mess. All that aside, this is the story of clare, a piano teacher to the wealthy chens daughter. Lee advance reading copy the piano teacher now available. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Rich with intrigue, romance, and betrayal, this wonderfully. She is a former features editor at elle and mirabella magazines in new york. The piano teacher, which is less about the title character, than it is about several other characters is a shallow, but fairly interesting tale of life in hong kong before wwii, during the japanese occupation, and for about a decade thereafter. The piano teacher is laced with intrigue concerning a hoard of chinese artifacts called the crown collection that went missing during the war. Lee, the piano teacher will muddles his way through the club and into the upper tier, where the boxes are filled with chattering people in jackets and silky dresses. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws.
A story about the life thru the eyes of an expat community in hong kong before, during and after the japanese invasion. In 1942, will truesdale, an englishman newly arrived in hong kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with trudy liang, a beautiful eurasian socialite. About the piano teacher a rare and exquisite story. The piano teacher janice yk lee the piano teacher janice yk the piano teacher janice yk the piano teacher takes place in hong kong and basically deals with how the characters in the story are affected by the japanese occupation. Certainly, if one is to do ones own thing, hong kong, with its population of rebels and fawners, is the place for it. Will truesdale, a rootless, handsome briton, arrives in the colony in 1941, and is swept up by trudy liang, the blithe and glamorous daughter of a shanghai millionaire and a portuguese beauty. The piano teacher from the author of the new york times bestseller the piano teacher, a beautiful, transporting novel about motherhood, marriage, and friendship. Rich with intrigue, romance, and betrayal, this wonderfully written, utterly captivating novel dazzles with its sharpeyed renderings of. Based on a set of wonderful characters interlinked by marriage, friendship and relationships. From the author of the new york times bestseller the piano teacher, a beautiful, transporting novel about motherhood, marriage, and friendship. He comes through the door of number 28 and trudy spies him right away, pounces on him, and introduces him to everybody. Taking a job as a piano teacher to a wealthy chinese couple, the chens. These are big subjects for any veteran writer, and yet, in her first novel, janice y.
Lee was born and raised in hong kong and went to boarding school in the united states before attending harvard college. Lees debut novel is a tale of love and betrayal set in wartorn hong kong. Choose from over 50,000 books from the premier collectible book site. Lee makes a powerful entry into the literary world with this lush, intriguing novel of hong kong. Sometimes the end of a love affair is only the beginning. Lee set in hong kong during the outbreak of world war ii, and its aftermath 10 years later, the piano teacher alternates between the lives of two vastly different women whose destinies are linked by the events of the war. Lee s exceptional first novel, claire the eponymous piano teacher eventually lands at the far end of the arc of independence she hadnt realized shed been following from the beginning. Exotic hong kong takes center stage in this sumptuous novel, s.
In 1942, will truesdale, an englishman newly arrived in hong kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with trudy. Lees exceptional first novel, claire the eponymous piano teacher eventually lands at the far end of the arc of independence she hadnt realized shed been following from the beginning. Claire finds a position teaching locket chen, the tenyearold daughter of melody and victor chen, the latter a successful. The piano teacher is more than an epic tale of war and a tangled, tortured love story. K lee i found this book in a second hand shop and was unable to put it down. Lee s latest novel, the expatriates, is now available from penguin. In the sweeping tradition of the english patient, janice y.
Married clare falls in love with the emotionallydistant will. But their affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the. When clare ends her piano lessons, she is driven home by will, the chinese chens white chauffeur. Gary shteyngart rarely does one encounter a debut work as beguiling and assured as janice lee s the piano teacher. The piano teacher takes place in hong kong and basically deals with how the characters in the story are affected by the japanese occupation. The piano teacher lee novel, a 2009 novel by janice y. The piano teacher of lees story is claire pendleton, a callow, rudderless young woman who comes to hong kong in 1952 as the bride of a british engineer. Lee, author, orlagh cassidy, read by, read by orlagh cassidy. This book switches between the the early 1940s and the early 1950s.
It had great possibilities, but ultimately disappointed. Lee s first novel, the piano teacher, opens with the newlywed claire traveling to hong kong in 1951 with her husband, martin, an engineer. The piano teacher was published to critical acclaim from the new york times, people, and o magazine, among others. Elizabeth gilbert the new york times bestseller janice y. One of the most insightful, elegant, and atmospheric novels ive read in a long time. However, despite the book being about presumably the piano teacher, claire, shes actually very much a sidecharacter in all of this. In 1942, englishman will truesdale falls headlong into a passionate relationship with trudy. Lees first novel, the piano teacher, opens with the newlywed claire traveling to hong kong in 1951 with her husband, martin. Piano teacher, a private or classroom instructor of piano performance. An excerpt from the gripping tale of love and betrayal set in wartorn hong kong, from a magnificent new voice in fiction. Lee, brilliantly evokes trudy, will, and claires tragic love triangle against the relative calm of 1950s hong kong and the glittering prewar eras decline. Rarely does one encounter a debut work as beguiling and assured as janice lees the piano teacher. Gary shteyngart rarely does one encounter a debut work as beguiling and assured as janice lees the piano teacher.
Lee this cinematic tale of two love affairs in midcentury hong kong shows colonial pretensions tainted by wartime truths. In 1952 he meets claire pendleton, the piano teacher of the title, whos come to hong kong with her dull and unimaginative husband, a civil engineer overseeing the building of a reservoir. The piano teacher is a tale of love and betrayal set in wartorn hong kong. In alternating narratives, debut novelist janice y.
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title the piano teacher. Lee about a love story set in hong kong in the 1940s and 1950s. Lees first novel, the piano teacher, is a bargain, because it has not one but two epic romances. Set in hong kong, it is easy to follow these jumps from from one era back and forth to the other. The revelations that follow of wills only love, trudy. Lee s debut novel is a tale of love and betrayal set in wartorn hong kong. The piano teacher is a spellbinding tale of human frailty and passions reminiscent of the english patient and empire of the sun. Lee confronts them admirably washington post evocative, poignant and skilfully crafted, the piano teacher is more than. Lee s latest novel, the expatriates, is now available from viking the new york times bestseller in the sweeping tradition of the english patient, janice y. But it is a question, who will be the lovesclaire, with her blond and familiar femininity, english rose to trudys exotic scorpionand the unsparing way lee. The piano teacher npr coverage of the piano teacher by janice y.
It is the kind of novel one consumes in great, greedy gulps, pausing grudgingly only when absolutely necessary. Despite an occasional clunkiness to the narrative, janice yk lees debut novel does a good job of explaining the consequences of japanese. The piano teacher by lynn york and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Lee that can, i guess, best be classified as an historical romantic thriller, is set in hong kong, one of the most beautiful and exotic of all cities. Based on a set of wonderful characters interlinked by marriage, friendship and.