Title: The Piano Tuner Author: Daniel Mason type of book: Fiction call number: Fic

This book is strong in character, story, language and setting.

Summary:
Edgar Drake lives a quiet life in Victorian London as a tuner of rare pianos. When he's summoned to Burma to repair the instrument of an eccentric major, Anthony Carroll, Edgar, with his wife's encouragement, begins the months-long journey east. Much of the book details his trip, and the narrative tends to drag. Things pick up when Edgar meets the unconventional Carroll, who has built a personal paradise in the jungle. Edgar tunes the piano, but this turns out to be just the start of Carroll's expectations. Edgar's musical services are needed to make peace between the British and the local Shan people. During his stay at Carroll's camp, Edgar falls for a local beauty, learns to appreciate the magnificence of Burma's landscape and customs and realizes the absurdity of the war between the British and the Burmese. A VERY unexpected plot twist at the end then makes the reader wonder about Carroll and his motives.

I might recommend this book.

Why?
Mason's writing effectively captures Burma during the heyday of British Imperialism, but I am mystified about the behavior of all the characters. The book is mystical and dreamy, so I know the author intended for them to be ambiguous and mysterious. I can't agree with the rave reviews proclaiming this book "magical, fascinating and dazzling" -- my book club read this and only one person said she liked it! But I enjoyed reading about a time and place with which I was unfamiliar.

Additional comments:
This is most often compared to E.M. Forster's A Passage to India.

Employee Initials: SB Review Date: March 2004

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