The Piano Teacher: A Novel

by Janice Y. K. Lee

"A rare and exquisite story . . . Transports you out of time, out of place, into a world you can feel on your very skin." —Elizabeth Gilbert

The New York Times bestseller 

Janice Y.K. Lee's latest novel, The Expatriates, is now available from Penguin

In the sweeping tradition of The English Patient, Janice Y.K. Lee's debut novel is a tale of love and betrayal set in war-torn Hong Kong. In 1942, Englishman Will Truesdale falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite. But their affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the Japanese as World War II overwhelms their part of the world. Ten years later, Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong to work as a piano teacher and also begins a fateful affair. As the threads of this spellbinding novel intertwine, impossible choices emerge-between love and safety, courage and survival, the present, and above all, the past.

• ISBN10: 0143116533
• ISBN13: 9780143116530
• Publish Date: 17 November 2009 (first published 1 December 2008)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: The Penguin Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780143116530

Reviews

[Eve1972]

I enjoyed this novel, it is a bit like The English Patient, but lacks the same intensity. The portrayal of wartime and post war Hong Kong is especially well done and since I was not overly familiar with that bit of history, I found it to be quite interesting. I think that the author did a fabulous job of developing Trudy and wish the same attention had been given to Claire, as I found her character to be most interesting and wanted to "get to know her" more. Overall though a pretty good read!