Helpful Score: 5
I didn't think this one was all it was cracked up to be. The title character was so annoying and vacant, I wanted to slap her. The plot was pretty predictable and slow-moving. No surprises except that it was a disappointment.
Helpful Score: 5
I decided to read this book because I read a rave review of it in a magazine. After I started reading it, I found out that the magazine that gave it that rave review also has Janice Lee on staff.
I thought the book was just okay. Not good. Not great. To me, it didn't really have a point other than to demonstrate how people's lives can change because of war. The synopsis on the book jacket said that a terrible secret would be revealed, but IMHO there was no big terrible secret revealed. It was actually quite a let-down, waiting for a big reveal and then none was coming. There was one plot twist that might have been the reveal they were talking about, but if that's the case it wasn't such a big shock like it was made out to be.
I gave this book 3 starts, and that's being generous.
I thought the book was just okay. Not good. Not great. To me, it didn't really have a point other than to demonstrate how people's lives can change because of war. The synopsis on the book jacket said that a terrible secret would be revealed, but IMHO there was no big terrible secret revealed. It was actually quite a let-down, waiting for a big reveal and then none was coming. There was one plot twist that might have been the reveal they were talking about, but if that's the case it wasn't such a big shock like it was made out to be.
I gave this book 3 starts, and that's being generous.
Helpful Score: 5
The best part of this book was the cover. It was a poorly written first book with a trite romance theme, there was a little bit of historical background that made it slightly redeemable but I wouldn't recommend wasting your time on this one. I was very disappointed and my book club felt the same way about it.
Helpful Score: 4
I found this to be a remarkable book, particularly for a debut novel. The main characters are fascinating, and connecting them through the juxtaposition of ten years, which encompasses the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong, is masterful.
Enigmatic Will is an Englishman who falls in love with Trudy, a Eurasian socialite in 1942 and then has an afair in 1952 with a married English piano teacher, who becomes embroiled in his past and his present. There are numerous connections that both enhance and detract from both relationships. The ending surprised me and also satisfied my curiosity about what happened to the people in this novel.
It is also a mesmerizing glimpse into an occupied Hong Kong during WWII where people's loyalties are often divided and ambiguous. I hope that Janice Y.K. Lee is already working on another novel of this caliber.
Enigmatic Will is an Englishman who falls in love with Trudy, a Eurasian socialite in 1942 and then has an afair in 1952 with a married English piano teacher, who becomes embroiled in his past and his present. There are numerous connections that both enhance and detract from both relationships. The ending surprised me and also satisfied my curiosity about what happened to the people in this novel.
It is also a mesmerizing glimpse into an occupied Hong Kong during WWII where people's loyalties are often divided and ambiguous. I hope that Janice Y.K. Lee is already working on another novel of this caliber.
Helpful Score: 4
I started out reading the book and then switched to listening to the audio version on my MP3 player. I found when I was reading the book it seemed stilted and awkward. It seemed like the author glossed over certain parts and just assumed the reader was following her thought processes. The audio version did make the words and conversations seem more relevant, but did little to bring the characters to life, especially Claire. I never got a real sense of who Claire was and felt she was not suited to the privilege of being the title character. This was really Trudys story. And maybe even Lockets story, yet we hardly knew Locket at all. Will was easier to understand, except for his relationship with Claire. He said she was like a blank slate, but that doesnt explain it to me. In my opinion, the author missed the mark on this one.
Favorite quote: She reads about Beethoven, Chinese rice farming, biographies of English prime ministers, and finds comfort in the fact that she will never run out of books.
Favorite quote: She reads about Beethoven, Chinese rice farming, biographies of English prime ministers, and finds comfort in the fact that she will never run out of books.
Helpful Score: 3
I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book, but then the tone the author used changed a bit and seemed a bit disjointed. I would recommend the book, because I learned about how WWII affected Hong Kong, which is something I didn't understand previously. Totally worth reading.
Helpful Score: 3
In 1952, an English couple, Claire & Martin move to Hong Kong as the husband has work there overseeing the construction of a new reservoir. Claire, an innocent type, takes a job as a piano teacher, teaching a young girl whose parents are wealthy & powerful. Soon Claire begins to find out dark secrets from the past. The story goes back and forth from the present (early 1950's) back to World War II where we learn about Hong Kong society and the brutal Japanese occupation & after. The secrets uncovered, and the affair she indulges in, change Claire forever. This was a good book and I learned much about Hong Kong that I didn't know; the occupation there during the war, etc. Some portions of the story were a little too long-winded for me, but all in all, I liked this book, sad as it was.
Helpful Score: 2
Interesting characters with tragic love stories. It was a history lesson about how the British and Chinese coexisted in Hong Kong during the colonial period and their involvement during WWII. Plus great description of the tropical landscape.
Helpful Score: 2
I would file this book under the "nice try" section. Good premise for the story. Some parts dragged on, other parts didn't have enough exposition. I found it hard to care about these characters, which is a big obstacle for me with novels.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was intriguing, but lacked spice! It reminded me of a series of book reports put together. The characters lacked luster even though Claire was daring and very much an atypical piano teacher. The characters' lives were pitiful, and you as a reader do feel sorry for them.
This was an excellent book. The story is interesting and it is wonderfully written. The setting is Hong Kong 1942 and then 10 years later. With the same set of characters pre and post War. This is Janice Y.K. Lee's first novel and I thought it was very good.
Helpful Score: 1
I read many books on World War II but am primarily interested in the European theater of the war.
This book provides a chance to visit Hong Kong before and during the war.
It is not a pretty picture. But this book is probably accurate in how people acted at the time.
Very well-written. An interesting story.
This book provides a chance to visit Hong Kong before and during the war.
It is not a pretty picture. But this book is probably accurate in how people acted at the time.
Very well-written. An interesting story.
Helpful Score: 1
Janice Y.K. Lee's debut novel The Piano Teacher glides over mid-century colonial Hong Kong the way the expats she writes about must have done so prior to the Second World War. The title character, Claire Pendleton, is like a new card shuffled into the worn deck of players in Hong Kong expat society when she arrives in 1952. A provincial English newlywed, Clare is hired to provide piano lessons for the daughter of a wealthy local couple, only to become drawn into an affair with their Englishman driver Will. We learn that Will is emotionally unavailable because of a prior love affair with Trudy Liang, a flamboyant Eurasian socialite, and choices made during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong by members of their expat circle. Split between two timelines -- pre and post Japanese conquest -- Lee's writing never carves deep into the lives of the characters she has created. Clare is not very likable, boring and stagnant as a tepid cup of tea. Much of the action is related through confessions or reminiscences that only hint at the vivid anguish experienced by those involved. Although the storyline has the potential for an in-depth historical novel--including a dash of mystery thriller intrigue--it is never fully realized in a narrative full of impressionistic sentence fragments. I had no regrets about leaving the yet-unfinished book home during a week-long trip.
It was interesting to learn about life in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation of WWII.
Helpful Score: 1
A perfect vacation read since it is an exciting spy/romance novel. A surprisingly good first novel, if only the author cuts back a bit next time on the flowery writing. One chapter- and a main one, in fact, with the most "reveals"- is written in this highly intolerable line-by-line manner. "There was this girl...blah blah blah...There was this boy...blah blah blah" you see. BUt don't let that stop you from reading. This book does an excellent job capturing Hong Kong's history. The idea of cultural identity may be a bit confusing for Americans but consider how small HK is and how many times it has been occupied by foreigners. There really was a blur between cultures and during the war when it was important to choose sides, lots of natives dropped thru the cracks as this book shows. Very sad.
Another plus of this book is in the descriptions themselves. Author J Lee obviously loves Hong Kong, and you will, too after reading this book. I missed Hong Kong so much that I wanted to go visit Stanley and Tsim Sha Tsui and all the other places mentioned inthe book.
Another plus of this book is in the descriptions themselves. Author J Lee obviously loves Hong Kong, and you will, too after reading this book. I missed Hong Kong so much that I wanted to go visit Stanley and Tsim Sha Tsui and all the other places mentioned inthe book.
This book was very enjoyable. I enjoyed the historical aspects of it and the impact of the past on present events and relationships. It could have developed the recent events a little more
This is an interesting historical novel about Hong Kong just prior to W W II and during the war also. It was an enlightening read.
The Piano Teacher's title may be misleading at times. however, the piano teacher is a part of the book. Much history of Japan's occupation and involvement in World War is revealed through the characters. The book's plot covers a 10-yr period of time; the 1940's and the 1950's. The story line can be quite involved at time; the reader can either appreciate, or perhaps not understand . The reader will find impossible choices unfolding, love and safety, courage and survival entertwining the present as well as the past
Yup. The first part of this book was very good, then the story just seemed to fall apart. By the end, I'd really lost interest.
ARgh. Slow and boring beginning almost made me give up on it. Then, right about page 120 or so it started to pick up and all of the sudden I couldn't put the book down...And then came the ending, which SUCKED big time.
Loved the book. The description of Hong Kong during the war was chilling. Characters were well developed and believeable. Most of the members of my book club enjoyed it, too.
I was really impressed by this book, which flips back and forth between 1940s wartime and 1950s postwar Hong Kong, with some characters in common. This book is about people, and how circumstances can change you - and bring out the best and worst of everyone. Lovely to read, and kept me enthralled to the end.
i realy liked this book. great characters living in difficult times. the history and place were written as well as the characters themselves. i like books like this that jump in time to reveal characters past and present...but i know some readers don't.
For whatever reason I could not really get into this book. The different character stories don't intertwine smoothly, which became confusing.
I loved this book. The author's descriptions of pre and post WWII Honk Kong took me away to another world. Very vividly imagined. I will say that I was a little disappointed in the ending - it seemed to just fade away and left the reader to surmise much of what happened. Despite that, I still thought this was a fantastic book. Highly recommend.
Great story about a 15 year old boy & his relationship with an older woman. Gripping, compelling story & a surprise ending.
I think this book has not lived up to it's hype. It was ok but weak, I thought. A story well told, but the story wasn't that interesting.
I had to force myself to finish the book. I couldn't get into it. The whole thing was tragic and sad. There was no happy resolution at the end. Glad I am done with it so that I can read something I will like better.
