The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee

ISBN-13: 9780007286386
Publisher: HarperPress
Published: 2009
331 pgs

The year is 1951 when Claire Pendleton arrived into Hong Kong, together with her newly married husband Martin who had transferred there to oversee a water project. Claire's marriage to Martin is based more on convenience rather than love; one reason being to escape from her family and it is not like she has many options to choose.

She took up a job as a piano teacher to the daughter of the Chens, a wealthy Chinese family but Locket Chen is not that keen in playing. Intrigued with their extravagance lifestyle, Claire started to steal little things from Mrs Chen and enjoyed how those little luxuries brought some joy to her, even if it means she has to lie and wear them in fear. She then got acquainted with their chauffeur, Will Truesdale when the Chen family invited her and her husband to a party, and from there their relationship blossomed and turned into an affair.

The story then goes back to the 1940s when we would learn more about Will Truesdale's past, and more characters are being introduced. One of them is Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite whom Will has fallen in love with. Unfortunately, their relationship is a short-lived one due to the Japanese invasion and left many affected and deeply scarred . Will was left in an interment camp along with other foreigners but he had refused assistance from Trudy, since she was cast as an outsider due to her mixed race.

Some events happened thereafter which caused a strain between the Chens family and Will (for whatever happened I would not say) as it seemed the Chens harboured a deep secret that involved Trudy. And after the war, no one seemed to know the whereabouts of Trudy and one wondered if she was left dead by a vicious gendarmerie, who was anxious to get some information on the Crown Collection (a Chinese artifacts which is believed to be missing during the war).

However, there is not much mystery surrounding the artifacts as I felt the book focused more on the characters and their life before and after the war. I would say the relationships dominates the most in this story, mixed in with the cultures and some history. Towards the ending, the readers will learn about those characters who survived the war and what they did in the past will continue to haunt them in years to come.

Although The Piano Teacher is a beautifully well-written story, I felt there is not much explanations given on the relationship between Will and Claire. I am not even sure if they were in love in the first place, as it seemed both needed an escape from their unhappy past. Despite these, it is still an enjoyable read in my opinion.