I had to sit on this one for a bit before leaving a review. Initially I felt unsatisfied upon finishing, and I'm still not sure how much I liked it. It's a short novel - longer than a short story, but a quick read - told from the point of view of the title character - a 40-year-old piano tuner. It's honestly just kind of a strange and somewhat sad telling. Initially, you think it's the love story of a man the piano tuner works for and his younger wife who recently died. But the further into the book you get, the more it seems it's about the piano tuner. What I didn't like about the story, is that honestly, I was more interested in the old man and his wife's story and I kept sort of skimming over the parts about the piano tuner's life. I felt like I was waiting for an "a-ha" moment that just never came. The writing was good, the character development was great, but I just didn't connect with the narrator. I would, however, read more by this author. I am intrigued by the writing style and the more I sit with my thoughts on this one, the less disappointed I am in the story. I know it's a weird review, but there it is.

This was a nice enough short story. It started off well, but unfortunately, I didn't fully connect with the story. It's a shame it didn't suit me as I was looking forward to reading it. The characters were nice enough. I think I would have liked it more if it had a bit more depth and atmosphere. However, just because it didn't suit me doesn't mean it's a bad story. It might suit you more than me. So, if you like the synopsis, then try a sample to see if it is a perfect fit for you.

Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating this nice story that I am sure others will like more than me.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-piano-tuner-by-chiang-sheng-kuo-skyhorse-publishing-3-stars under ladyreading365

3.5/5

This was a short and beautiful little novel about a piano tuner and his relationship with a recent widower who hires him to continue tuning his late wife’s piano. It follows a nonlinear format and is often very philosophical, with some truly beautiful passages about music, the soul, and pianos themselves. The relationship between piano tuners and the instruments they work on was painted in such a beautiful light, it’s not something I’d ever thought of before but it really touched me.

I do have a background of playing the piano and loving music in general, but I don’t think it’s necessary to appreciate this story.

Thank you to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a short book, but I essentially had to read it twice in order to understand what was really going on. I'm still not quite sure how to rate it, but once I understood the undercurrents I found it much more interesting than my initial impression.

I expect this book will be more poignant for piano players than your average reader. At times the story read like a love letter to the piano. Those were beautiful and lyrical passages. Other times the book was a reflection of what was. It was overall hard to determine who the author wanted the book to be about. There were significant passages dedicated to the recently deceased Emily and her grieving husband Lin. The author did not provide enough development in that relationship to thoroughly flesh out what made Lin seek solace with the Piano Tuner. It seemed that the author wanted to delve more into the life of the unnamed piano tuner due to the revelations about his past. The flashbacks though were not entirely fleshed out and didn't provide all of the context for the Piano Tuner's present state. The Piano Tuner was an unreliable narrator in that it seemed that he was also confused about what his purpose was in telling the story. While it was a short read there was a complex layering of thoughts and metaphors throughout its entirety. As this was a translated work I believe that some of the subliminal messages were lost. Personally I did not find any closure to the story at all.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

This short non-linear novel is narrated by the character mentioned in the title -the piano tuner. When the novel begins it appears that as the narrator we will follow the May-December romance of a widower and his talented pianist wife and what the narrator knows about them. While there are hints of that, it is really about the piano tuner himself. How he held a lot of talent as a piano player but life didn't seem to allow them to make all their dreams come true. Not sure that I always quite believed he was the most reliable of narrators but perhaps others have made me jaded over the years.

I enjoyed the story despite the abrupt ending. I loved all the piano facts and discussions of famous pianists, including Canada's Glenn Gould. A man that I didn't know a lot about but I feel I know much more now.

Publication Date 03/01/23
Goodreads Review 04/01/23

What a mesmerizing story. About dreams chased and getting so close. About finding love and passion. And the writing is absolutely beautiful. This is a tender, heart-tugging story. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

The Piano Tuner is the narrator, but not the protagonist of this story. But I’m not sure he’s completely reliable, because the deeper we go into the story, the more it seems to be about him. He describes his relationships to people via the pianos he has tuned and played for them over the years. He has made and lost relationships, always with someone much older, at seven-years-old, at seventeen-years-old, at forty-three. He ponders the existence of a piano’s soul endlessly, but I think he might really be searching for his own soul.

I had a hard time with this one. The language seemed confusing and unnatural, and I don’t know if I should attribute this to the translation, or the poetic nature of the prose. The writing contains metaphors, anthropomorphism, meta moments. It’s a lot to wade though in only 95 pages.

And yet, it is so thought-provoking. I would have preferred a more straight-forward narrative, but the message still hit the target. I just don’t know if I understood it.

I chose this book because I have not read anything from Taiwan before and I have been trying to diversify my reading. I don't know if it was the translation or the story, but I wish that I had not pushed through with finishing the book. It is a short book so pushing through seemed reasonable, but I did not enjoy it. The story felt scattered and like it never reached a conclusion.

3/5
The Piano Tuner was a slow and unremarkable read that seemed to go on for longer than necessary despite being a relatively short book. It is a story about heartbreak and grief and I will admit that the prose is stunning while the novel manages to get its major themes across efficiently. Overall I'd say that The Piano Tuner is not a bad book it is just mediocre. I would still suggest it to anyone who enjoys a good contemporary book without added romance.

This was my first read in 2023. Received the arc a few months back and left it to read it when in need for a short book. This one has less than 150 pages and was perfect for what I wanted.
I will admit that at points I felt it wasn't for me but I ended up enjoying it a lot. The message if this book is beautiful, or at least I felt it that way. The characters felt so real. I know it's a translation and I know most translations aren't perfect but this one was good.
I do recommend it. It's one of those books that when you finish reading it, you can feel it in you. It stays. And if you actually read it, I hope it impacts you the way it impacted me.

Two men, connecting across a spread of piano keys: one having just lost his musician wife, the other the unexpected hero of the story—a piano tuner whose role is to make his own work invisible.

The piano tuner calls himself the narrator rather than the hero of this story, but of course it's more complicated than that. We see the world primarily through his eyes, and our understanding of Lin's relationship with his wife, Emily, comes too primarily through the eyes of the piano tuner. That then makes the piano tuner, perhaps, responsible not only for tuning the musical instruments of the story but for tuning the strings of the story itself.

At well under 200 pages (hard to get an exact page count on an ereader!), this reads in some ways more like a long-form short story than a short-form novel, if that makes sense. With novels, I tend to want all the threads to wrap up one way or another—preferably not all tidily, or with a bow—but with short stories there is, perhaps paradoxically, more room for some of the threads of a story to go off in some unexplored direction. That is the sense I get here: that each thread is an arrow pointing somewhere, sometimes more faintly than others, but that we must use our imaginations to suss out just where those threads will end up.

The Piano Tuner was a smash hit in Taiwan, and although my experience with literature out of Asia is limited (and my experience with literature out of Taiwan very nearly nonexistent), this is the sort of book that makes me yearn for a master's-level literature class in which to dissect and compare and contrast. (And: how would the piano tuner tell this story if he did see himself as the hero of the story?)

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free review copy through NetGalley.

The past disappears like snow in summer, like time passing, like words disappearing without a trace and people dying without leaving their mark on the world. The tuner speaks of the mesmerizing ability to forge sounds and of other sounds in the world that move people. His thoughts about making an instrument and a musician share the same frequency also lead to thoughts about frequency vibrations between two souls. Tuning a piano for a pianist is like marriage mediation; it requires skill to match a person and a piano.

Falling without words

The tuner often talks about Rachmaninoff’s Song Without Words, and I understand why it reminds him of something falling around him. The way he lives his life is influenced by his upbringing: piano lessons did not quite fit his parents’ view on education. He and Lin san are the narrators of the book, and they alternate frequently and without warning. Lin san clings to his memories, and he wants the sound of his deceased wife’s piano to reflect that, even if it damages the hammers, while the tuner wonders whether you should tune an instrument to reflect its original timbre, to honor a sound etched in memory or to fit a changed person.

(My) thoughts

Not all thoughts the piano tuner shares “fit” him as a person. I was disappointed by the interesting and beautiful thoughts that are expressed in a single sentence and not explored further. They are isolated rather than incorporated into the story. Or is this how the author illustrates that dreams are not meant to be pursued any further? That they are like your conscience: a sincere melody in your heart rather than something you carry out?

The “happy days” of the piano tuner are over; what remains are lost dreams. “The distance between me and excellence at the moment was that I too am disgusted with myself. That’s all.” This quote describes the vibe the book left me with. The Piano Tuner exhibits loneliness, like a life dragging on past its expiration date. It suits the narrators, but falls out of tune with the beauty of the music that is mentioned. I have read more inspiring, upbeat and philosophical books than this one.

After the quote, the story continues with a piano tuner’s kind of hell. The joy he feels at this kind of hell says it all. His actions, including those in the closing paragraph, illustrate the way he chose to live his life as a result of his upbringing and environment. Does this make it a good book? For me, the piano tuner was not the person whose thoughts I wanted to share this week.

The Piano Tuner is a book about passion, love, loss, dreams that are out of reach and a devotion to music that goes hand in hand with a deep sorrow at being reminded of said dreams. The piano tuner himself is the narrator, but his story is woven in between his account of the grief a customer‘s widower goes through after the loss of his wife. I really liked how this choice of narration reflected the piano tuner‘s work in the shadows and his character as someone who never has the chance to take the spotlight.

The book was written so beautifully and I liked how it kept circling back to the story of souls and music that was told in the beginning. The love for music is omnipresent in the book and it was what really made this novel stand out to me as even though I don’t know anything about classical music, I think enjoying a beautiful piece of music is a shared human experience.

I have to admit that at times especially in the beginning, I was overwhelmed and confused by who was speaking and who the characters were. Few of them are ever called by name, so that didn’t help with my confusion.

All in all, this was a very captivating and emotional story that I enjoyed reading.

4/5 stars.

An interesting read -- part way through, I realized that I was reading a translation, and that made me really wish that I had just read this in Chinese instead. I feel like while I may have gotten the essence of the writing, there was inevitably something lost by reading this in English. The language and slow characterizations were beautiful, and I found the descriptive musical language to be quite enchanting. While I didn't necessarily *like* the main character, I found his story and the interconnected stories to be interesting. I'm not so sure about the ending though -- it didn't seem to do justice to the build up and intrigue of the rest of the book.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

After the death of his musician wife, 20 years his junior, Lin grieves for their short marriage, lost time, and the pianos he doesn't know what to do with. Enters the piano tuner, a 40-year-old man employed by Lin's wife, and a balding and unattractive "loser" by any standard. Moving forward and backward in time, our unnamed narrator slowly reveals the secrets he holds. From being a teenage piano prodigy to his insights into Lin's marriage, the readers are treated to a musical feast that explores the sounds of music and the vibrations of our hearts.

At its core, PIANO TUNER is a tender story of finding "your person." With beautiful prose and brilliant plots, Kuo juxtaposes soul and body, talent and hard work, dream and reality, and asks the readers to examine the options we're given and the choices we make in life.

I read PIANO TUNER twice in one sitting, first in Mandarin and then in English. The Taiwanese title 尋琴者 (the piano seeker) is a homophone to 尋情者 (the love seeker) and 殉情者 (someone who dies for love). The multiple layers of the title give a glimpse into how the story is full of metaphors that may or may not be straightforward for the readers. Even after reading the Mandarin version, I still needed to Google analyses of the book to better grasp all the elements in the story. As such, it's quite tricky to write a review without giving anything away or clouding others' interpretations of this book.

I recommend THE PIANO TUNER to those who love translated literature, highbrow books, classical music, and those looking for a short yet poignant read.

The Piano Tuner is original, poignant and unexpected. Lin's pianist wife died and he wants to honour her memory by keeping her out-of-tune Steinway serviced. Interestingly the author chose not to name the piano tuner but his life experience is a source of wisdom. As a child he was an incredible pianist but he chose the road of the underappreciated technician rather than accolades. The story is about reflection, introspection, grief, love in various forms and hope.

You needn't know anything about pianos or tuning in general to learn from this novel. An appreciation of the nuances and beauty of music and exploration of emotions is all that is required. Other interesting aspects are piano tuning itself, an intricate skill, as well as Taiwan history. In ways the story felt a bit disjointed to me and I was left with more questions than answers, though that can also be a good thing.

My sincere thank you to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for the providing me with an early digital copy of this fascinating book.

I was intrigued by this title on Netgalley because of the title and the author, not to mention the dreamy, beautiful cover art. Chiang-Sheng Kuo is a celebrated writer from Taiwan, and I’m keen on everything Taiwan and Hong Kong, whenever I get the chance. The translators’ team, Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-Chun Lin, are renowned for the quality of their work, and whatever they choose to translate comes with a strong recommendation.

And then, piano tuner? What a great idea to have a novel centered on such an understated, often ignored and yet essential profession. I lived for a few years close to a piano tuner, and the shop full of old pianos was very mysterious. How does one become a piano tuner, rather than a piano player or teacher? I was full of questions.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure I got what I expected. The novel is short, but it is quite slow to start. I had to check several times (because it was a Kindle edition), but Goodreads says it’s a mere 168 pages. I must say it felt like more, especially as the story is not told in a linear way, so you need some time to find your bearings.

The story is told from the point of view of the piano tuner, who remains nameless throughout the book. As a child he used to be a piano prodigy, but he didn’t become a famous concertist, just an anonymous technician that people despise. As the story starts, Emily, a piano teacher who owned some great instruments, has died of cancer, leaving her grieving husband behind, her neglected instruments and her piano tuner. The relation between the husband and the piano tuner develops, but remains fragile. The piano tuner has his own disappointments and grief over his past failings and missed opportunities, but he also has secrets about Emily.

It’s a tough book to love but for the exquisite language, the melancholy tone and the remarks about music, sound and famous musicians (Glenn Gould, Sviatoslav Richter…). I enjoyed the last part where the piano tuner’s character really gained some depth, but then the book was over and I was a bit disappointed.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book for review consideration.

This was a short novel, about a man, who is grieving at the death of his wife. He is a piano tuner and as a child, he used to play the piano, playing the likes of Schubert, Chopin and Beethoven but now he is a piano tuner and only gets to play the piano while he is at work.

This book is beautifully written, the story connecting to the themes of classical music. As a piano teacher, I do feel connected to this book and already recognize some of the pieces mentioned in the book. The story itself is written in a lyrical way and is very beautifully woven story and the narration was different as well. Only bad thing about the book is it was a little too short and I wish I can explore more about the relationship between Lin and his wife. Overall this book worth 4 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Thank you to NetGalley, Chiang-Sheng Kuo, and translators Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-Chun Lin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'm glad Goldblatt and Lin could translate this work. I love celebrating literature in translation and embracing other bodies of literature. I've read some Taiwanese works before and like other Taiwanese novels, Chiang-Sheng includes details of Taiwan's past, such as Japanese colonial rule. Chiang-Sheng like other Taiwanese novelists embraces transnationalism and the intertextuality of Western references and texts. The novella is really short, and the prose is sparse, but Chiang-Sheng makes ample use of the novella format. I immensely enjoyed the reading experience and would recommend this work to someone else.