Sophia C. reviewed on 1/5/2010 + 289 more book reviews

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.

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