The Piano Tuner

Rating:
Summary: Lush and Mysterious
Review: Daniel Mason has written a fascinating novel about Burma, a country I, and I suspect most Americans, know very little about. Set in the late 19th century, as the British are solidifying their hold on east Asia, this is the story of a very conventional English man who receives a summons to travel to Burma to tune a fine piano owned by a mysterious and unconventional British officer. Mason has thoroughly researched his subject, and his descriptions of the journey, the territory, the flora and fauna, are beautiful. It is easy to imagine the sense of timelessness and distance that takes over as Edgar Drake moves deeper into the jungle and away from civilization. I found the descriptions of the Han people equally fascinating, and Drake's comment on the mission of the British, to bring civilization to them, very telling. After he hears the stories, watches traditional theatre, and above all hears the music, he realizes that while it may be worthwhile to introduce Western culture to Burma, they already have music, utterly different and amazingly seductive.
My only reservation is that I found the plot a bit cloudy in a few respects--there are hints that Drake accepts the commission for a mysterious reason--that he is looking for something, or trying to escape something--his wife seems to know something about all this, but we never really find out what it's all about. Similarly, we are thrown a curve ball at the end, and are told there's a possibility that Anthony Carroll has set Drake up for his own unsavory purposes. We are left to decide for ourselves--but we are never told why Carroll would have done such a thing, what he would have gained. How would having Drake around helped him? If he was using music to seduce tribal leaders, wouldn't the piano tuner in Rangoon have served the purpose just as well? For an author to do an ending like this effectively, the reader should be startled, should suddenyly realize "Why of course!" Here my reaction was--"Huh?"
But never mind--if you're interested in learning about this strange country, you'll enjoy this novel.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific read
Review: I read The Piano Tuner and thoughts of many other books...Heart of Darkness, Passage to India and the Odyessy came to mind....to say nothing of the works of R. Kipling. Nevertheless, this book is an amazing first novel filled with beauty, intrigue, mystics and seers, stories within stories, a journey to self-discovery and uncertain realities. All this in 300+ pages!
The poetry of Mason's language sings, bringing to the reader's eye a foreign world of great beauty, not just the lush green jungles of Burma, but of the people who inhabit this mysterious and dangerous country.
Why Carroll needs a piano tuner from England is never made entirely clear and perhaps it doesn't really matter because the story is really about Drake, the mild-mannered introspecive piano tuner who travels from Victorian England to a tiny village deep in the jungles of Burma to tune a French piano.
Drake undergoes profound changes as he first travels to Burma and then lives in the tiny village of Mae Lwin. My first criticism of the book is that I wanted more of the interior life of Drake, a better understanding of how and why he changed. Mason didn't offer enough.
Secondly, the trip to Mae Lwin took at least half the book. At times, despite the beautiful prose, it was an effort to continue the trek with Drake. I'm glad I stuck to it.
The ending was abrupt but I thought perfect for this book.
Last but not least. The pages were jammed with the author's knowledge of Burma. Depending upon the reader, this could be a
plus or minus.

Rating:
Summary: Difficult to Categorize
Review: If I were to give a three word description of this book it might be Shangi-La meets reality. It is the story of a British piano tuner who is sent to Burma to tune a piano of a British Army surgeon. The surgeon is either idolized or reviled as the Brits attempt to completely colonize Burma. The tuner is convinced that since the surgeon wanted a piano in the jungle and then wanted it tuned, he wants to make peace through music rather than force. The tuner's idealism has a focus and that idealistic view carries through his Burmese experience.

The book traces the tuner's trip and then his experiences with the doctor. There is more description than plot. The writing is best described as elegant, and the author captures his character's rapture at the country and its people. The descriptions of both are terrific and the historical references are informative. The reader also gets an interesting primer on piano tuning.

The tuner himself is a shy innocent easily taken in by Burma and several of the people he meets. He believes he has found his Shangri-La. The book seems to float with him through his travels and interaction with the piano.

There is an undercurrent throughout of intrigue that wraps up nicely in the end.

One criticism I had is that there are a few instances where the character may or may not have dreamt a sequence. I do not think the author had to leave those sequences up in the air. He is adept enough to have carried them through either way or at least identified them as dreams or reality.

As noted, the writing is elegant and at times almost dreamy (which makes those few possible dream sequences more frustrating). Combined with the author's unique ability at description this book will be one long-remembered for the writing, if not for the plot.

Rating:
Summary: A Magical Trip to Burma!
Review: In 1886, expert piano tuner Edgar Drake receives an unusual request from Her Majesty's War Office to service a rare grand piano in a remote area of the Burmese Army's division. Surgeon-Major Carroll heads a post of strategic interest to Britain there, and the government has reluctantly agreed to deliver a grand piano to him or risk his threat of resignation. Thus Drake's services are requested and his adventure to Burma begins. As Drake leaves his wife behind, he sets out on his long journey that lasts for months. The reader begins to wonder if he will ever reach his destination. We are rewarded after this long beginning and journey in the second half of the book, with a story that is filled with beautiful descriptions of exotic pre-colonial Burma, its people, and their dramatic history. After Drake finally meets Major Carroll, and finally tunes the piano, the story picks up at a fast pace that will keep you glued to your seats. Drake finds himself more involved than he ever expected in Major Carroll's affairs. When Drake meets a new love interest, Khin Myo, both of them set out on an adventure that is quite surprising, and we are soon rewarded with an unexpected climax to this stunning novel.

I truly enjoyed Mason's debut historical novel. It's a beautifully written story that will take you away to a time when things were so much simpler. It's a great travelogue, and a peaceful way to spend a few hours relaxing. I know I am now definitely a fan of Mason's writing, and look forward to his next endeavor. "The Piano Tuner" is quite an achievement!

Joe Hanssen

Rating:
Summary: Time for your lesson
Review: Take Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" throw in the movie "The Piano" and add a few other exotic touches, and you've got THE PIANO TUNER. Oh, and also some "Frizcaraldo" (remember that movie?)I'm not knocking this book, but rather trying to get you to understand what it's about. The author treats us to an unlikely protagnist, Edgar Drake, piano tuner, commissioned by the British War Office to tune a very special piano in the heart of the Burmese jungle. Unlike Conrad's Kurtz, the goal of Drake's journey up the atmospheric Salween river, Doctor Anthony Carrol (a piano-lover and medical doctor in the British Army), wins his natives with kindness rather than horror. Mason gives us a surprising twist for an ending. At times I was reminded of either Boyle or perhaps McCrae in the writing style (think BARK OF THE DOGWOOD for the McCrae or perhaps WATER MUSIC for the Boyle). The themes are vastly different, but the words flow like the style of those two writers. I highly recommend this exotic tale, told by a master storyteller.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, but not captivating
Review: The PIANO TUNER is an exploration of exotic locales and a personal awakening undertaken by a shy, reticent, middle aged man whose profession, piano tuning, perfectly matches his personality. The setting moves from sedate London drawing rooms to a part of the world where time is measured by seasonal change. The slow, languid pace of the book which seems to bother some reviewers is the only way this character and his experiences can be depicted.

I found the book often fascinating, learning about the piano tuner's trade, the Burmese culture, and what others have critically referred to as the author's travelogue-like descriptions of Burma. But I was seldom captivated. At times I was even conscious of the writing style or the dialogue, something that seldom happens when I'm reading a truly great book.

This is an ambitious book in scope and creativity. What it lacks most, as pointed out by one reviewer, is passion. That said, it is definitely worth reading; and I look forward to the next offering by this talented young author.

Rating:
Summary: Elegant blend of history, myth, music and imagination.
Review: Was Edgar Drake a hapless foil? Was he really mixed up in espionage, codes and a plot against his own government? The reader must decide. Nonetheless the reader's trip from England to Burma is an exotic, engaging one. Edgar, a devout piano tuner, is summoned by the military to make an arduous trip to Burma to tune an Erard, an instrument that is to the piano what the Stradivarius is to the violin. He's honored that his reputation is so sterling that he willingly undertakes the mysterious journey in what he believes is in service to his queen, leaving behind a loving wife to whom he is equally devoted.

The story takes place in the 1800s. Britain, as a colonialist country, has laid claim to portions of India and Burma and is fighting multiple (Burmese) regional princes who are not about to willingly give up their country or their way of life.

As Edgar travels by train and boat, he's fascinated by his novel surroundings. Rather than passing judgment on the different food and customs and beliefs he encounters, Edgar is smitten. Finally, he meets the mysterious Surgeon-Major Anthony J. Carroll, who is so important to the English that they would accede to the unusual request for both the Erard and a piano tuner who must put it right because of the piano's own perilous trip, Burma's humidity, plus having been through a full on military attack by an enemy!

Enter a beautiful woman. She is intelligent, attentive to Edgar, escorts him about the mountainous environs where Carroll is in charge, introduces him to the local flora and lore. What the mysterious Khin Myo's relationship is to Carroll is speculative but her importance is obvious and she is omnipresent.

Carroll appears to be the antithesis of the British conqueror and introduces a fascinated Edgar to the small medical clinic he has founded where he assists the local people as best he can using both meager supplies of western medicine, as well as blends of herbs from the local area. Carroll is an avid scientist and social scientist. He has studied malaria, for example, although he has no archives to search or modern day medical journals, he's surmised that it is a mosquito that bears the disease.

The good doctor is also well schooled in local myth and lore and uses his ample negotiating skills to make peace with the local warlords. He's convinced he can bring about peace without firepower. Music is also a preferred tool to his anticipated peaceful outcome. Edgar is fascinated and Carroll completely wins him over.

However, over time the doctor seems to elevate Edgar's role from piano tuner to one involved in bringing about peace to the area. Edgar is perceptively unwilling to return to England and the western ways. This proves his undoing.

The beautiful Khin Myo's allure is fundamental to Edgar's remaining with the Shan people. The relationship remains chaste but promising? Then everything falls apart and Edgar is accused of being the doctor's accomplice in betraying his country. To describe the plot more is to spoil the journey for the reader.

The author is impressive in his storytelling, although parts of the tale are slow moving...perhaps intentionally. Especially in the descriptions of Edgar's journey to Burma. Nonetheless his research into the country, its history, its music, its lore is certainly evident. Finally, the descriptions of the Erard, of the tools of piano tuning, as well as the painstaking process in tuning a piano are just as impressive!