Lainey’s Reviews > The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier > Status Update

"I was again struck with how deeply satisfying it was to play any kind of music at all on my piano. Emotionally, physically, intellectually, spiritually: it satisfactions were limitless, its impact on my life profound." I love this quote so much because I can really relate to it. Thad is able to put into words what I feel when I play a piano piece well. (F, c)

As the end of the book nears, Thad begins to remember all of the great memories he had at Luc's. "I recalled all of the times that Luc had let me try various pianos in the atelier," They way he's remembering is making me feel very nostalgic!!

It's crazy how Thad just encounters all of these amazing people who love pianos as much as he does. In this chapter, he meets Fazioli, an owner of a piano shop. The way he describes the shop, makes me think of one piano shop I've been in before. It was lined with pianos and people were playing them. (C)

The past few chapters, Thad has gone back and forth between the present and something else that had gone on in his life. He talked about when he was a child, when he went to the master class, when he was with his family, and just about anything else that connects to the piano. I really like that because having it gives me a nice break from the story. (W)

Thad introduces us to yet another intriguing character, Peter. He is a consultant in a master class that Anna is taking and Thad is watching. He's a very soft yet firm man who is always on track. I really enjoy Peter because he is very different from a lot of the characters introduced. He doesn't have this bubbly and whimsical personality; his is more subtle, and I think that is what makes him truly intriguing. (F)

Luc makes a cautious deal with a person who says he can bring him a piano tomorrow for a large sum of money. Luc is hesitant because they won't show him a picture of the piano, but he buys it anyways. I was really nervous during this part bc I really didn't want Luc making a mistake, but he didn't! The piano he got was old and almost unplayable, but Beethoven played it! Good call Luc! (S)

In this chapter, the fun character I had Ben talking about earlier, Jos, messed up! I'm so mad at him! He showed up drunk to tune Thad's piano teahcer's piano, and he did it completely wrong!! The piano sounded terrible and one of the strings even broke! I feel so bad for Anna, but it's okay because Jos felt terrible and went back to re tune her piano. Now it sounds fine except for the missing string. (S)

In this chapter, Thad's daughter decides she wants to take piano lessons. He finds a school called Shcola Cantum for her to take lessons. This is really cool because famous musicians like Debussy and Messiaen have studied here. Attached is a picture of the school. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...

In this chapter, the characters talk a lot about a piano's death, something that hasn't been discussed before. They say the main killer of a piano is heat. The cold will do nothing, but the heat will kill it. One quote I thought encapsulated the horrific beauty of a piano's death was, "For this man who gave pianos a kind of life, there was also such thing as a death: final, irrefutable, and sure." (S, f)

The characters Thad introduces in this book is what truly makes it as good as it is. They are so incredibly interesting. A character that enters in this chapter is named Jos, and he is the piano tuner. Despite the rocky start when he couldn't find Thad's front door, he is still filled with immense laughter and joy. The characters Thad introduces really brings the story to life. (F, s)