Jim's review
The Piano Tuner: A Novel by Daniel Mason
The The Piano Tuner is a novel about British colonial rule in 19th century Burma and a really nice untuned Erard Piano. Edmund Drake's journey from sophisticated London to end of the world uncivilized Burma is a long path across many pages. Unfortunately, I got bored in many of the descriptive stretches. It wasn't until the last quarter of the book that I truely began to embrace the novel. What I enjoyed most is Mason's treatment of the piano. To me the Heart of Darkness aspect of the novel takes a back seat to the story of the piano. Dake's obseesion with the instrument is what got me through the first part of the novel. Mason's word weaving is worthy of mention. This being his first book I believe that he definently has a future and am looking forward to seeing what he produces. Although not one of my favorite reads of the year, The Piano Tuner is a worthy adventure story. Mason must have devoured Kipling and Conrad because these authors resonate through out t...more
