MADreads

Piano teacher

August 31st, 2009 Mary K. - Central

Post World War II Hong Kong is full of intrigue and danger in Janice Lee’s first novel The Piano Teacher.  In 1952 Claire Pendelton, bored and trapped in a loveless marriage, takes on a job teaching piano to young Locket, daughter of a wealthy Chinese couple, Victor and Melody Chen.  Locket is a lackluster and disinterested student, but Claire remains on the job because of her curiosity about the Chens and because of her affair with Will Truesdale, the Chen’s chauffeur.

Will, a British expat, was in Hong Kong during the war and has never recovered from his wartime experiences during the Japanese occupation.   The story of what happened to him as well as his love affair with the beautiful Trudy during that period, is juxtaposed with current happenings in the city.

Like another recent first novel I read (and liked less), The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The Piano Teacher explores a turbulent wartime period and gives us a fascinating look at Hong Kong, life in detainment camps, and the ability of some to take advantage of wartime for their own benefit.  Of the two, The Piano Teacher is a much more complex and readable book, with a lot more depth in its depiction of turbulent war time history.  So if you’re in the mood for some wartime angst and intrigue, give Lee a shot.

Entry Filed under: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction