My rating:

add to my books

The Piano Teacher: A Novel

by Elfriede Jelinek, Joachim Neugroschel (Translator)

3.50 · rating details · 1,591 ratings · 236 reviews

"The Piano Teacher , [winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature,] is an exploration of fascism, not so much in the political sense as in the personal. In Joachim Neugroschel's excellent translation, the language is simple yet full of imaginative, often-funny metaphors, the view of the world original, if at times almost painfully bizarre."-New York Times Book R

...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published October 1st 2009 by Grove/Atlantic, Inc. (first published 1983)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Nudes

139th out of 169 books — 19 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,981)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 08, 2008

Allison rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Those contemplating suicide, who need a little extra push.

Shelves: drink-the-bleach-drink-the-bleach, i-wanna-be-smrt

This book was, to borrow someone else's phrasing, punishingly unendurable. But in the best possible way. The writing is like a luscious chocolate dessert sprinkled with sparkling shards of glass. The ladies (and gent) in this tome all strike me as the type who would grind up glass and serve it in your dessert. This is the land of the lovelorn and lacerated, folks. And Lazarus is nowhere in sight. Hey, if redemption isn't possible, at least there's always alliteration. Anyway, the real issue here...more

like 8 likes

· see review

Jun 21, 2007

William rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: academia, sex-as-power

This novel from the 2004 Nobel Prize winner reminded me, in its first half, of the works of A.M. Homes and John Cheever. The second half of this work on sex, violence, power, maternity, and identity, was like nothing I’ve read. This novel could be “about” many things, but its approach in presenting a detached view of sex and power turns ultimately into the very physical combination of both of these things. There is more to be said about how identities fluxuate depending on who holds control, and...more

like 5 likes

· see review

Sep 07, 2011

Julia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: austrian, nobel

Elfriede Jelinek bringt in der "Klavierspielerin" das Österreich der Fritzls, von Natascha Kampusch und der nach solchen Stories hechelnden Kronen-Zeitung erschreckend auf den Punkt. Der Leser riecht die Schnitzel, welche die Mutter in der kleinen peinlich-sauberen und trotzdem ranzigen Wiener Wohnung für die ihr hörige Tochter klopft, er sieht die unschönen Kopulierungen im Prater und riecht das getrocknete Sperma auf den getrockneten Papiertaschentüchern, die sich am Boden einer Peep...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Jan 24, 2009

Kellie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: bookring-bookray, 2009-reads, fiction-literature

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like 3 likes

· see review

Apr 27, 2007

Tim rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: People who like literature

This is one of my favorite books. I can't even describe how amazed I was when I finished this book. Jelinek moves the reader from character to character, rarely telling us who we inhabit, yet unlike so many other books that abuse this device, it works. Commentary is mixed in with thoughts. Lurid sex scenes, violence, depression, despair, social commentary. It's all there, everything you need for a good weekend. Just add scotch.
Even the ending doesn't disappoint, which I was so sure, up un...more

like 6 likes

· see review

Dec 04, 2010

Lisa rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: library-book-or-loan, 1001-books-read, 20th-century, austria, nobels-read

I wish GoodReads had a star for 'this was bizarre'!
See my perplexed review http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/2010/1...

like 3 likes

· see review

Jan 05, 2011

thegift rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: translated, austrialit, feminismlit, jelinek, womanauthor, xeslit, eurolit, favoritefiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. intense. i will get back later... well i am back: i thought and thought but could not figure out how to write this review without revealing all. i read this at a brisk pace, easily sweeping through part 1, pausing one day, reading all of part 2 in one more sitting. i do not want to get pretentious, get serious, get theory thick. but this book seems to be asking for serious, pretentiously sincere and theory-laden reading.

i understand there is an entire range of political readings provo...moreintense. i will get back later... well i am back: i thought and thought but could not figure out how to write this review without revealing all. i read this at a brisk pace, easily sweeping through part 1, pausing one day, reading all of part 2 in one more sitting. i do not want to get pretentious, get serious, get theory thick. but this book seems to be asking for serious, pretentiously sincere and theory-laden reading.

i understand there is an entire range of political readings provoked from this study of sadomasochism, but what holds my interest, continues my thoughts, is the personal, internalized, sexual politics. the piano teacher does harm herself, sexualizing this in a desperate way, it seems because she does not know her body, her possibilities, her pleasure, because she sleeps with her mother. psychological separation from her mother becomes impossible when she is not even allowed to know herself separate.

this is easy to read, in one way, in story, hard to read another way, in politics, desire, implicit incarceration of her entire damaged psyche. i even come to understand her act of extreme violence, delayed violence, secret violence, when she crushes that glass and puts the shards in the flautist girl's coat. this is a good indication of how completely immersed i become in her way of thinking.

this reminds me of reading that the truly dominant partner in s&m acts is the apparent victim. erika seeks to dominate and choreograph her own torture, guide her fantasy, plan her pain, but mistakenly believes this cannot fail to be an expression of true love, to which she would willingly surrender. she wants to be the loved victim, but actually the dominant player. but sex is not always only an expression of love. klemmer imagines something more conventionally respecting what he thinks is love: it is apparent in the prose that ventures inside each others minds, that he thinks of her as yet another tool reinforcing his healthy then excessive ego, he does not love her. is this anything more than what society, capitalism, presents as correct in male/female idealized romance.

his desire is to be worshipped, to be in control, and it throws him when she even writes down her masochistic desires, it is revealing she thinks of herself as being in an equal love. all he has to do is love her, and he can do anything to her. he does not love her. he refuses to be her sex toy. he refuses because of pride, then later does sadistically hurt her- but only according to his plan. he refuses to meet her on anything like a shared level of respect, no more than her mother does, but in his hysteria he reveals in a way his much deeper repression than hers, as he later walks the forest in a fury of condemnation, rather as she had earlier in furtive fascination, in peeping on the acts she had previously paid for.

sex infuses this text, perhaps this is why i was swept along, for the entire first half is like prolonged foreplay. play. yes sex is the one arena of play allowed for adults. the play unfortunately becomes too bound up with power, with desire, with the world outside the acts of s&m. this is a tragedy. play mutates to real acts. love is met by power play. i do not know if i am misinterpreting the text, but the way it is radically feminist seems to me in the fact of her bravely owning her desires, when they conflict her nurtured repression, even more when they contradict usual, hetero-normative behavior: and for her expression, her trust, her love, she is viciously rejected, battered, mocked, and abandoned. cruel ending. this also makes me think of the movie 'secretary' which is a romantic comedy of a different sort, reveling in a happy s&m relationship, where this is a sort of tragedy. this is what mundane fiction can do that sf rarely does: hyper-close examination of character. this is a strange novel to call it a favorite.

so now i have read on her work, have read another 3 of her novels, and so there is the horrifying possibility that i have just completely misinterpreted her work. her characterization of the piano teacher is avowedly autobiographical, erika's masochism is indictment of patriarchal power structures, erika is not attempting to manipulate the destructive forces that surround her, erika is not escaping through art- this is perhaps only ironic that schubert is her favorite- have i misread completely? well, in the interests of paying attention to the tale, not the teller, i continue to believe i have found a twisted tragedy of a failed love story. i guess i want to care for erika, want to believe she is not destroyed before the story even begins, but then i am not an austrian, i am a man, i do not want to imagine i am just witnessing her further degradation without escape potential. i want to believe she is using psychic jujitsu, in claiming her own control over the only possible actions toward herself that she imagines- the torture that will be proof of love- for if it not so, i am just watching unrelenting torture. pain without purpose. pain without redemption. i suppose that now i need to see the film, need to read the book again.(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 25, 2009

Timothy rated it

· review of another edition

This is the novel that introduced 2004 Nobel Laureate Elfriede Jelinek to the English-speaking world. The Piano Teacher is biting social criticism. Parental relationships, public parks, morning commutes, and (especially) sexual relations take on an unsavory character. Perhaps most notably, this is a deeply feminist work. The Piano Teacher comments on the gendered nature of social power. By my take, there is a “trapped” sense to Erika Kohut, the piano teacher of the title – an entrapment that is ...moreThis is the novel that introduced 2004 Nobel Laureate Elfriede Jelinek to the English-speaking world. The Piano Teacher is biting social criticism. Parental relationships, public parks, morning commutes, and (especially) sexual relations take on an unsavory character. Perhaps most notably, this is a deeply feminist work. The Piano Teacher comments on the gendered nature of social power. By my take, there is a “trapped” sense to Erika Kohut, the piano teacher of the title – an entrapment that is shaped by the social expectations placed on women in Western society. She is trapped by her zealously protective mother, by the stigma of aging alone, by the need to rely on feminine accoutrements to maintain her beauty. Her masochism seems to be her response to this entrapment. In some respects, it is a response of strength, albeit a somewhat unfortunate one (provided we accept societal norms). Psychology suggests that when trapped in an inescapable, aversive environment, it is common to give up, a la Seligman’s dogs. Erika Kohut has not given up. Seligman’s dogs accepted pain because they had no choice. Erika seeks it out and embraces it.

Erika Kohut has choices. The social barriers she faces are not so monolithic that she could not choose to behave differently. This is an issue that social theorists have wrangled with for years – if macro-level social factors shape human behavior, and these social factors are always with us and reproduce themselves, then how does social change occur? Ultimately, change occurs because people make it happen despite obstacles. Some readers may find Erika Kohut to be weak or even contemptible in her self-degradation and reliance on her mother. I find her self-degradation a form of maladaptive strength; a strength that does nothing to change her situation, or the gender inequities that partially shape her situation. Our heroes tend to be persons who “stand up and overcome despite the odds.” Such persons are the topics of Hollywood storylines. This is not Erika Kohut.

On another level, The Piano Teacher is about power, particularly gendered aspects of power. Jelinek seems to believe that power is fluid and shifting. In sections describing interactions between Erika Kohut and Walter Klemmer, power and control shifts rapidly as the mismatched lovers make sense of their relationship. On a broader scale, Erika’s letter (in essence a grand concession of power on her own terms) and Klemmer’s response, are major aspects of the plot.

I also appreciated Jelinek’s writing style. On the surface, the writing is straight third person narrative. But, some of the expressions and turns of phrase reveal biting sarcasm. This has the effect of lending subjectivity to the writing – so much so that at the beginning of the novel, before acclimation, one wonders at times if the events being described are truly happening. It also has the effect of distancing the reader from the characters. No aspect of the story is told in what may be labeled “realistic” narrative. Jelinek’s style would lend itself well to a rhythmic, spoken word reading in some avant garde coffee shop.

Jelinek herself is an interesting person. Aspects of The Piano Teacher are auto-biographical. Like Erika Kohut, Jelinek is a trained musician with a demanding mother. She has suffered from anxiety disorders and social phobias, and did not attend her Nobel Prize award ceremony. Yet, she was an outspoken critic of Jorg Haider (now deceased), and his far-right politics.
(less)

like 8 likes

· see review

Jul 03, 2008

Tom rated it

· review of another edition

Umm, lord,lord, where to start??

How about disgusting, revolting, disturbing -- and utterly fascinating and entertaining.

Jelinek puts reader (or this reader,anyway) in position of being both an addicted voyeur and a moral scold. As strange as this may sound for story filled with so much sexual neuroses, it's quite funny at times. Just at the point where you're ready to call the Vice Squad on these characters for crimes against good taste, and sentence Jelinek to 20 years i...more

like 3 likes

· see review

May 27, 2008

Leslie rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone depraved and up for a downer

Recommended to Leslie by: steven s.—and robert, sort of.

Shelves: read-in-2008, fiction, grotesque, misanthropes, dazzling-undertows

Jelinek is an image-driven writer and, as a result, her novels are full of delicious metaphors and other gems for word nerds. I read this whole book out loud and it was great. The "cutting" scene toward the beginning is particularly memorable: beautiful and shocking at once.

The novel is structured in two parts. Part one can be dense and a little slow going; some passages are almost oppressively detailed and melodramatic in a way that is equally pleasurable and frustratin...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Oct 01, 2007

Garrett Tezanos rated it

· review of another edition

This book is pretty intense. If I didn't know I'd have thought a man wrote it. I don't know what I mean by that. Here is a sample of the writing that will give you a good sense of how she writes:

"HER instinct for cleanliness is astonishingly sensitive. Dirty bodies form a resinous forest all around her. Not only the dirt of bodies, but the grossest kins of flith struggling out of armpits and groins, the subtle urine stench of the old woman, the nicotine gushing from the networ...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Feb 25, 2008

Natalie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-2008-earlier

I really wanted to like this novel more, considering its award-winning status, but it was a very hard one to swallow. It reads more like a pervese fairy tale than a longer fictional piece of substance. While I understand the whole using-violence-as-cleansing thing, I still think the characters weren't as developed as they could have been (Klemmer in particular). The translated version I have must have slowed the book down a bit too; there were even a bunch of typos in my version! Despite my medi...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jul 15, 2008

Nicole rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

This is a haunting, brilliant portrait of the power struggles between a mother and a daughter and a teacher and a student. I suggest either reading up on Vienna or being already familiar with Vienna before reading the book. There were times when I felt that if I knew more of Vienna that Jelinek's very image driven writing would have been more effective. Regardless of my lack of knowledge of Vienna, the book was amazing. Jelinek's writing is so visual, it's very unlike most modern fiction. Th...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Aug 18, 2011

Tania Brzovic rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This book is not for everyone -- I was disturbed by all the graphic violence in it, particularly in the last quarter. The only reason I'm not giving it five stars, in fact, is that I think the author went a bit farther than necessary with the violence.

That one point aside, the novel is a good one. The characters of Walter, and Erica in particular, are tragic. Their relationship is twisted, but I could understand how he got caught up in her web, and why she acted the way she did. Eric...more

· see review

Jul 28, 2011

Derek Baldwin rated it

· review of another edition

Trapped in an oppressive relationship with her suffocating mother, Erika Kohut treads an uneasy line between bourgeoise expectations of someone of her class, occupation, and upbringing - not to mention gender stereotypes - and her secret desires. Erika slyly pokes or pinches or jabs or punches people on the street car, she spies on couples making love in the park near the docks, she sneaks around the peep shows, she cuts herself with a razor, she buys inappropriate and expensive clothing that sh...more

· see review

Mar 19, 2011

Andrii Mironchenko rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classical-literature

Элинек слывет феминисткой, и я, прочитав когда-то пару страниц еще более убогого романа «Любовницы», ожидал увидеть поток вонючей жижи, вылитой на представителей моего пола.
Но нет! Элинек изливает потоки отвращения к жизни на всех и вся, причем женщинам достается больше, чем мужчинам! По крайней мере у некоторых из мужчин, изображенных в романе, есть здоровые инстинкты (хоть что-то). А женщины в романе такие же морально убогие, как и мужчины, но только вдобавок постоянно унижаемые и испол...more

· see review

Feb 14, 2011

Aquavit rated it

· review of another edition

I think I should be clear that I hated everyone in this book. There is no redemption here, nothing pleasant to read, and no respite from damaged people acting terribly damaged. The 'excusable cruelty' Erika perpetrates on everyone around her is really unbearable. Her mother is unbearable. Klemmer is unbearable with his youth and vim and vigor. Even stylistically, it is unpleasant with its short staccato sentences, and burdensome repetition. It is like sitting down with a porcupine. But, i...more

like 1 like

· see review

Nov 19, 2010

Abdelhamid bouhssine rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: مكتبة-الأبدية, favorites

ظل صارم لأم تنحت مسار ابنتها" إيريكا كوهوت" ،مسار يذهب كطريق سيار في اتجاه واحد:أن تظل لعبتها الدائمة،أن تخضع للعزلة الضرورية التي تراها الأم كفيلة بصناعة عازفة بيانو ناجحة..الحياة تركن في زاوية بعيدة عن الموسيقى و مشنقة الحرير التي تحولت إليها الأم
تتحرك يلنيك ببطء عبر هذه العلاقة لتيحث عميقا عن مفهومي التسلط و القمع الذين يعيشان جنبا الى جنب مع إيريكا،نجحت في ذلك لتِؤكد ما كتبه كونديرا في كتابه فن الرواية : "الرواية التي لم تكتشف قطعة مجهولة من الحياة رواية ناشزة،فالمعرفة...moreظل صارم لأم تنحت مسار ابنتها" إيريكا كوهوت" ،مسار يذهب كطريق سيار في اتجاه واحد:أن تظل لعبتها الدائمة،أن تخضع للعزلة الضرورية التي تراها الأم كفيلة بصناعة عازفة بيانو ناجحة..الحياة تركن في زاوية بعيدة عن الموسيقى و مشنقة الحرير التي تحولت إليها الأم
تتحرك يلنيك ببطء عبر هذه العلاقة لتيحث عميقا عن مفهومي التسلط و القمع الذين يعيشان جنبا الى جنب مع إيريكا،نجحت في ذلك لتِؤكد ما كتبه كونديرا في كتابه فن الرواية : "الرواية التي لم تكتشف قطعة مجهولة من الحياة رواية ناشزة،فالمعرفة هي الفضيلة الوحيدة للرواية" او ما قاله هرمان بروخ:"المبرر الوحيد لوجود الرواية،هو أن تكتشف ما يمكنها أن تكتشفه فقط"
مشاعر إيريكا الملتبسة تجاه الأم و استسلامها شبه التام للشرنقة التي حيكت حولها،مع بعض الانزياحات النادرة:التلصص على عري النساء في دائرة رجالية تماما،البحث عن أجساد ملتصقة في العشب..
مشاعرها المغيبة تجاه أب وضعتاه في مصح عقلي،السقوط في فخ كلمر الطالب الذي يصغرها سنا و إعادة انتاج مكبوتاتها في علاقة متسلطة (تمنعه من إتمام عمليية جنسية بدأها معها ،شرط الرسالة المازوشية التي كتيتها له حيث تضمن استسلامها الكامل إن قبل بتعذيبهاجنسيا )
كلمر الذعاشق العبثي سيتحول الى قامع ،سيهاجم بيتها (مركز سلطة الأم) يبدأ بضربها لينهي الليلة باغتصابها..لم تشعر بشيء،كلمر يفوز الآن،و هي التي ترى العالم من فوق تضع حفنة زجاج مكسور في جيب معطف فتاة حملقت في كلمر بطريقة لم تعجبها.الدماء و فرحة النصر،لن تستسلم لأي أحد الأم فقط!
بعد اغتصابها تقرر قتل كلمر ،لن تفعل ..ستتطن نفسها في الكتف كإعلان عن تسلط لن يسلم منه جسدها أيضا (less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Aug 01, 2010

Laura rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: literary-canon

Jelinek deserved that 2004 Nobel Laureate in Literature as my first foray into her written world proved.

The main tortured character Erika allows her mother's insistence on musical perfection and achievement to control most of her movements and actions. Mother handles daughter as Jelinek would write. The love and hate in equal measure swing Erika into a emotional pendulum. In retaliation she haunts the peep shows and engages in voyeuristic experiences intrigued and abused by these...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Nov 16, 2009

Caroline Picard rated it

· review of another edition

This book is amazing. Totally twisted and dark and psychological. While i'm not sure what the category would mean, exactly, it felt like a post-feminist story--meaning that while there is heightened awareness of gender issues (particularly women striving for independence) there is a larger, more general sympathy towards a more general peversion; a perversion, I believe, that comes out of the more endearing and awkard aspects of human trial. In saying as much, I make the book sound endearing. It ...moreThis book is amazing. Totally twisted and dark and psychological. While i'm not sure what the category would mean, exactly, it felt like a post-feminist story--meaning that while there is heightened awareness of gender issues (particularly women striving for independence) there is a larger, more general sympathy towards a more general peversion; a perversion, I believe, that comes out of the more endearing and awkard aspects of human trial. In saying as much, I make the book sound endearing. It isn't, but the portrayal of the inner workings of characters' minds is brutally honest and, I think, fair. It was that even handed narration which, despite the self-inflicted tragedy/meanness (what seems a result of old societal expectations and values) gave me a sense of hope.

At any rate, the story is as follows: a daughter lives with a mother who is obsessed with protecting her daughter from the world of men. The mother is needy, herself, and as narcissistic as she is protective/coddling. Meantime, the daughter is a piano teacher and, in that way, is entrenched in the white-male historical cannon of classical music (though it’s never explicitly called as such). The daughter vies for her independence in small acts of rebellion; she goes to peep shows after work, or parks to watch people have sex; she has an affair with a student, and in some way tries to assert her own, albeit repressed, power by asking for domination. Which just blows up. I think it’s an incredible book in as far as it describes with such precision the ways that people think and try to work through or around societal/familial constraints.

It reminded me of a friend of mine who posted a note on Craigs list, announcing that she could give piano lessons. She was a piano teacher. A man replied asking if she could also whip him. She agreed, so long as she could bring her two male friends. She also increased her hourly fee. He never replied.

Another time, a few weeks ago, I met a young American man who grew up in Germany. He happened to be wearing a beret and he had dark eyeliner on, in an apparent attempt at Halloween. He started talking about a piano teacher he'd had who was especially strict and as I was still reading the Jelenick book, I mentioned it, then went on to describe the plot. The young man got up abruptly and went outside without any further explanation. (We were in a group of people). Something about the look in his face made me think the book even more true, somehow, though afterwards I can't say I know why.(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 11, 2009

camilla rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-2009, world-lit

I really liked The Piano Teacher until the very end. Jelinek's writing is hurried and detailed in the best way. Erika, the piano teacher, is sheltered and molded by her obsessive mother. They even share a double bed. Still, unbeknownst to her mother, Erika delights in walking through the seedy underbelly of Vienna's peep shows and secluded parks where lovers meet. When a charming young piano student falls in love with his teacher, Erika's desires of pain and humiliation are revealed with strange...more

· see review

May 26, 2009

Meredith rated it

· review of another edition

I started reading The Piano Teacher with great enthusiasm because it was described as Nobel Prize winner Jelinek's 'masterpiece' and an intense psychological study involving sadomasochism, peep shows, and classical music. Normally, I eat up that stuff like cake.

Erika is a sexually-frustrated, 38-year old failed concert pianist-turned-teacher who lives with her suffocating mother. A younger student named Klemmer decides to pursue Erika, partly as a game, and partly because he wants ...more

· see review

Jun 19, 2009

Cathy rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: not my mom

I wish I had read this book before seeing the movie, so it would have been more surprising.

I read the book because I recently saw the movie. I didn't read it because I liked the movie (it made Requiem for a Dream feel like it came from Disney), but because the movie made me wonder what book could birth such a production.

PROS: I found the psychology in the book to be very interesting, whether I could relate or not.

CONS: It was an extremely difficult book for m...more

· see review

Sep 23, 2009

Veterini rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: austria, prix-nobel

Finalement il s’agit avant tout du portrait d’une femme. Une femme assez malheureuse, piloté par sa mère pour devenir une pianiste de réputation mondiale, mais qui ne réussira jamais se contentant d’être une simple prof de piano. Ce qui d’ailleurs ne découragera pas sa mère à régenter sa vie à plus de 30 ans passé.

Alors on pourrait plaindre cette pauvre femme, mais Jelinek n’est pas tendre avec elle, la décrivant comme une sadique ne sachant comment se débarrasser de ses frustrations...more

· see review

May 05, 2011

Rick rated it

Elfriede Jelinek won the 2004 Nobel prize for literature, and THE PIANO TEACHER is regarded by many as her best novel. The novel tells the story of a 38 year old teacher at the prestigious Vienna Conservatory, Erika Kohut, who still lives with her domineering mother.

Erika did not succeed in becoming a concert pianist – of which her mother constantly reminds her – and is in theory earning the money to move the two of them to a nicer apartment. She is constantly urged to economy, again...more

· see review

Jul 27, 2009

okyrhoe rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, bookcrossing, favorites, austria

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I find Jelinek's writing extraordinary. A dark and disturbing tale, sharply critical of contemporary Western society, punctuated by moments of (black) humor. Just when you feel the narrative is too oppressive or overpowering, here comes a tragi-comical moment, or a sarcastic word pun to provide relief.

Although I know nothing of musical composition, the pacing of Jelinek's writing must in some way resemble a musical piece, with respect to the narrative style. Mostly Jelinek is brutal...more

· see review

Oct 19, 2011

Kristel rated it

· review of another edition

This review may contain spoilers.

Whee! I did it. I finished. This book, The Piano Teacher by the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature winner, Austrian author Elfriede Jelinek, is a tough read. I think Ms Jelinek is a powerful writer but I did not enjoy this story of Erika Kohut, a piano teacher at the Vienna Conservatory. Erika lives with her mother who controls Erika's every move. Walter Klemmer is one of Erika's piano students. Walter wants Erika but only for the chase. This is a...more

· see review

Aug 13, 2011

Kevin Tole rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-novels

A strange book - having finished it I'm not sure if I enjoyed it or not. How the 'story' develops you can get from elsewhere. It has two parts merely to create a hiatus between parts 1 and 2. The first part is unremmittingly sado-masochistic but at the same time shows the struggle and care between a mother and a single daughter brought up to be the showpiece child and denied the exterior world of the everyday for the toil to perfection of music. I admired and disliked the piano teacher at the sa...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 27, 2011

Meika rated it

· review of another edition

I thought this book was sick and twisted. Then, right around page 262 (ok, exactly on page 262) it completely broke me. And yet, it shouldn't have taken me by surprise because all the clues were there, I was just blissfully ignoring them.

The story is perfectly constructed. And Elfriede Jelinek is a cruel, cruel storyteller. Actually, I think she took lessons from the Marquis De Sade in how to twist the lives of characters so brutally that it's terrifying and will cause readers ...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Aug 07, 2009

Mazel rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: littérature-étrangère, roman

prix nobel de littérature 2004
*

Elle ne boit pas, ne fume pas, couche encore à 36 ans dans le lit maternel et aime bien rester chez elle.

Chaque fois que ses horaires de professeur de piano au conservatoire de Vienne le lui permettent, elle se plaît à fréquenter les cinémas pornos, les peepshows et les fourrés du Prater.

Et quand un de ses étudiants tombe amoureux d'elle, Erika Kohut ne sait lui offrir en échange qu'un scénario éculé, propre à redorer la...more

like 1 like

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (35)

More editions...

Genres

European Literature > German Literature

15 users

Literature

9 users

Contemporary

9 users

Novels

8 users

Nobel Prize

8 users

Womens

7 users

Sexuality

5 users

Music

5 users

Feminism

4 users

Literary Fiction

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Elfriede Jelinek

Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."

More about Elfriede Jelinek...

Books by Elfriede Jelinek

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About The Piano Teacher

2 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Piano Teacher

“Every day, a piece of music, a short story, or a poem dies because its existence is no longer justified in our time. And things that were once considered immortal have become mortal again, no one knows them anymore. Even though they deserve to survive.” — 10 people liked it

“Sicherheit erzeugt Angst vor dem Unsicheren.” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved The Piano Teacher

Boxall's 1001 Books You ...

10998 members

last activity 7 hours, 3 min ago

shelf: read

Exceptional Books

1235 members

last activity 11 hours, 33 min ago

shelf: read

Read a book from each cou...

392 members

last activity Feb 09, 2012 12:58am

shelf: read

title link	preview: The Piano Teacher: A Novel
avg rating	preview: The Piano Teacher: A Novel Goodreads rating: 3.50 (1591 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7008801-the-piano-teacher?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328822476m/7008801.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7008801-the-piano-teacher?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Piano Teacher: A Novel by Elfriede Jelinek[/url]

The Piano Teacher: A Novel

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website