This did not work for me. It's about music, philosophy of life, and a bunch of details of people's life that are mostly a drag to read through. I forced myself to read this and I would not recommend this. Just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to Skyhorse Publishing and Netgalley for the e-ARC.

I was really interested in the synopsis of this book - themes of music and it being an international author. Unfortunately, this one was not one that held my attention. I do think it is one worth checking out for those who appreciate books in translation.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I loved the overview of this book so was excited to dive in. I got about 40% and ended up not finishing as I lost interest and couldn't connect to the characters. I likely wont come back to this one.

I received an advance copy of The Piano Tuner by Chiang-Sheng Kuo from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinions. Meh, didn't love this. I really thought the description sounded fantastic but I struggled. Maybe I'm just not into pianos or famous pianists, I struggled to understand what was going on as I felt it sort of jumped all over the place. I'm sure this is the right book for others but not for me.

I’m still not sure what was happening in this book. There were a lot of time jumps that felt abrupt and were hard to keep up with. There were also abrupt changes of perspective, sometimes in the same paragraph, where it’s first person or third person and I had no idea who was speaking. Neither Lin San nor the piano tuner were likable.

The writing was at times really beautiful and lyrical and poetic but at other times it was too poetic. There was a whole page dedicated to comparing the piano keys to snow and wondering if they had thoughts of their own and I was pretty much done at that point. It just wasn't for me.

I received an advanced digital copy of the short novel The Piano Tuner by acclaimed Taiwanese writer Chiang-Sheng Kuo and am writing this review voluntarily. The story is a sad one involving the relationship between a newly widowed man and the piano tuner he retains to continue tuning his recently deceased wife’s piano in their home. The story takes a brief look into the men’s lives and how they have come to find themselves at their current stage in their lives and then finds in the end that they had something more in common than they ever expected. It is a beautifully well written, short contemplation of life and the choices and assumptions people make. I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for having this available as an ARC.

I started reading this some time ago and thought I would revisit it as it was overdue for a review. A fault on my part.

The story is narrated by a nameless piano tuner who gets into business with a man Lin San. Lin San’s wife has recently passed away and she used to own a music studio and Lin San doesn’t know what he should do with it. Most of the story is the narrator’s recollection of his life passing by - he was once a musical prodigy, but certain circumstances prevented him from pursuing being a performer but instead had become a piano tuner.

I feel like this would be a great read for any musically trained person. There are many references to the beauty of a piano from its structure to the music it produces. Although I can appreciate this to some extent, I feel like someone with the talent to perform music would have far more responsiveness to the writing.

I also can’t help but think with the translation to English, that maybe in its original language, this read may have been even more beautiful. There were times when I was lost throughout it and felt some parts disjointed - either that’s my brain or it’s because the flow of writing would have been better in its original language.

From what I gathered, it’s a book about reflecting on what’s important to you and it’s never too late to pursue a dream if you want to. The ending is open ended and may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I missed something in this book. Im not sure why but it was confusing to follow the characters and whom was whom.

I wanted to read this book mostly because I like trying out books based in different countries. This short novel was not really for me, though.
The book begins with a rich man looking at the building that his wife used for piano classes. The piano tuner is playing one of the pianos to keep it in good working condition. A sort of conversation begins between the two.
The tuner, however, knows more about the dead wife than the husband and some things are never completely elaborated on.
The translation was good, but I am usually not fond of such open-ended stories.
It is not a long volume, and the people and their thoughts are the focus. We are shown the situation through multiple lenses and at varying times, something that would appeal to the more eccentric reader.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Finished ✔️ The Piano Tuner by Chiang-Sheng Kuo

3 ⭐️’s
Kindle Unlimited: No

I honestly felt like it was lacking in all parts and aspects of the book.
The characters were ok but I just wasn’t into them or liking them
This book was lacking more than I liked which is why I only gave it 3 stars
Honestly it felt like it could be shorter
Yes, I’d recommend it because it might be someone else’s cup of tea

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A short but moving story of love and loss, wonderfully translated from the Taiwanese author. I'm not too musical, so some of the references and digressions were a bit lost on me, but overall this is wonderful book. As others have pointed out, fans of Ishiguro may well enjoy this.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

The Piano Tuner is a slim book, yet not a page-turner per se and therefore not one for me to read in one sitting. Densely written, Chiang-Sheng Kuo tells the story of a widower, who after the sudden death of his wife, a music teacher, connects with the piano tuner of the same music school. It’s a quiet book that reflects on different topics like grief, memory, solitude through musical themes. I found the narrator, switching back and forth between first and third person, a bit confusing at times. I understand that he’s supposed to be an unreliable narrator but I didn’t quite vibe with the format.

All through the book, I struggled to find out the real reason a musical prodigy would fail to realize his potential as a pianist and instead devote his life to tuning pianos made for and used by famous concert pianists.

The mystery is still up in the air, but there are hints throughout the book of boyhood poverty, lack of family support and interest, his uncomely appearance, and above all, the failure of others to carry out their vague promises or hints of help for his personal future.

Disappointment is the theme of this complex character, who seems to put himself at a lower lever in all aspects of his life, romantic and otherwise.

Also an unreliable narrator, he shows us his world through his ideas of concert pianists, musicians, fame, and tuning versus playing the pianos. We must make up our own minds about this fascinating yet unnerving character and what his interactions with well known musicians, teachers, and would be patrons really show.

This book about a nameless narrator, the piano tuner, examines the lives of pianists and the relationship between artists and their art. We follow the tuner as he befriends the widowed husband of a young violinist in the wake of the violinists death. From this we get the musings and other stories from the tuners early life, his struggles as a prodigy and his statements as to why he became a piano tuner instead of a teacher or a pianist.

I honestly don’t know fully how to feel about this book, I enjoyed the beginning and the tuners statements resonated with me as an artist. I did not care for the way the story ended, in the end we see the tuner essentially have a meltdown when the widower informs him that he is going to spend a year in America trying to repair his relationship with his son, through this we are also given the real reason the tuner didn’t finish school. Part of me found it poignant with the idea that art in a way destroys the artist seems to be the under current of the story, and the other part of me questioned everything the narrator said throughout the entirety of the novel in a negative way.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a such a refreshing and an unique read under just 120 pages, and my first encounter with Taiwanese literature.

Lin is grief-ridden, after losing his young wife Emily for cancer. He is nearing 60, and she was just in her late 30s.

Emily was a pianist but an underachiever according to her standards, so she concentrated on violin. However, she always had a soft spot for piano and pianists.

Lin had gifted her a Steinway Grand piano, but was now unused after her death. It needed maintenance. Thus our Woody Allen-sque first-person narrator and piano tuner in his 40s — once a music prodigy — enters the story in an unassuming manner.

The story travels from Taipei to New York as our narrator forms a business as well as personal relationship with Lin the widower. They travel to the States to venture into secondhand piano dealing.

Meanwhile, the story reveals the piano tuner's past, his poor upbringing, his relationship with his mentor Ms Chiu, and with Emily. His remorse of not becoming a famous musician even though he was talented, and how he landed as a piano tuner, and not a pianist.

The final touch — dark New York city night with snowfall, symbolic of black-and-white keys of a piano — is a masterpiece visual analogy.

*

I was initially immersed in this story, but I found the abruptness and randomness off-putting after a while, and took me a couple of days to finish it.

It certainly wasn't an easy read, as it is layered with varied untold human emotions. I felt there were some jagged edges that could have been smoothened out.

Overall a mesmerizing symphony with measured altos and tenors with great detailing of the history of piano and the stalwarts and mavericks associated with it.

"I'm no piano executioner. I'm a piano tuner. The job of a tuner is to do his best to cover up your defects and make you charming and delightful, so you'll be treasured and adored."

It seems that books concerning piano tuners are a very niche sub-genre that I seem to really enjoy. There are few similarities to "A Forest of Wool and Steel", but some of the descriptions of the piano as an instrument, of the process of its building and tuning, reminded me of Miyashita's book.

Before I discuss anything, I must commend Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin for their work on the translation. I believe this is my first venture into Taiwanese literature, and it left a positive impression.

This is not a story about the piano tuner, or so he claims as the narrator. It's a story about Lin, a widower whose wife left a piano studio behind. However, the tuner is not someone you'd consider to be a reliable narrator. Through the tentative relationship he builds with Lin, and their shared grief, he uncovers, layer by layer, the events of his life that led him to where he is today – a genius would-be pianist who took an unexpected path. He leaves a lot implicit, not uncovering the subtleties, particularly in terms of relationships and sexuality. While short, the novel keeps you hooked, reeling you in slowly, one movement after another, until the final crescendo.

The story, which is told non-linearly, is interspersed with the histories of famous pianists, focusing particularly on the 20th century, that tie back to the story in its finale. The flashbacks to the tuner's childhood and youth balance out the slow pace of the present day.

While the novel may make more sense if you already have some background knowledge of music theory, it's nevertheless an intriguing and captivating read.

This novella felt long but I couldn't help wanting to finish this peculiar story about a piano tuner and a grieving widower. As the povs, anecdotes, and storyline subtly shift, the story itself gets confusing to follow. I'm not really sure what I gained out of this but I did like the brief history lessons on pianists and watching this weird relationship unfold.

Thanks NetGalley and Sky Horse Publishing for my arc!

Taiwanese author Chiang-Sheng Kuo’s The Piano Tuner is a short, non-linear novel narrated from the point of view of a 40-year-old tuner with many secrets. Once a child piano prodigy, he meets Lin, the widower of much younger Emily, a music school owner who has died of cancer after their short marriage, leaving behind her business and her beloved, but now neglected, pianos formerly maintained by the unnamed narrator.
As both men grieve their losses, they are drawn into a temporary association as a result of Emily’s death. As Lin tries to bring meaning to his life by salvaging what he can of his wife’s school and instruments, he sees the tuner as one means of keeping Emily alive.

Throughout the book, Kuo introduces prominent musicians, often focusing on their own artistic and personal choices. Although brief, this is a multi-layered, somewhat complex, but emotional and worthwhile read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Skyhorse Publishing for an advance reader copy.

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I had a hard time keeping an interest in The Piano Tuner because the flow and language felt off tempo and slightly confusing. Even though it is short I never felt connected to the story or to Lin, the main character. Parts were beautifully written but overall I never go excited about the story.

This short novel was one of those where I really enjoyed the writing itself but the story left more to be desired. For me at least. It seemed more like snippets of life than an actual tale.

Narrated by the unnamed piano tuner, it seems like it will be about his association with Lin San, an older businessman and his young wife Emily who has recently passed away. Emily ran a piano studio and the instruments were tuned by our narrator.
While Lin San is an important character in the story, it is the piano tuner himself it focuses on. His childhood dreams as a musical prodigy, the teacher who encouraged him, the circumstances that affected his plans and how he came to be where he is now.

The most enjoyable part of the story was the references to music, the piano, several legendary players in history and the description of the world of pianists and their relationship with their instruments and the tuners who keep these in shape. These kept me wanting to read on even as I wondered where the story was going at times as it does not have any clear sequencing and shifts between timelines and topics frequently.

I can best describe it as vignettes of the piano tuner's thoughts and experiences folded into a framework of wonderful words. My first read by an author from Taiwan, this was nevertheless interesting enough to make me want more. I think it's my preference for a more neatly tied up story that's not quite so open ended that is the reason this didn't fully work for me. It did have a lot of positives though.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for a totally honest review.