Reviews

Der Klavierschüler by Lea Singer

belgrade18's review against another edition

3.0

I received a copy of this book as an Early Reviewer on LibraryThing. I have mixed feelings about it. A significant stylistic decision on the author's part made it difficult for me to follow the book in the first 40 pages, when I finally realized that the author was leaving out quotation marks for all speaking parts- before I figured it out, I couldn't tell what was going on; now that I finished the book, I have no idea why the author did this- what positive effect was she looking for? But once I understood that, I was able to add my own quotation marks mentally, and the book got much better. It's mainly a biography of Vladimir Horowitz from the point of view of his young student and lover Nico Kaufmann. It's a sad story, captured so well, typical of what so many gay people endured before about 1990- self hatred, depression, marriages of convenience, dysfunctional family dynamics, etc. Vladimir Horowitz himself, considered one of the greatest piano virtuosos of the 20th century, was a tragic figure, not only a closeted and self-hating gay man, but a toxic narcissist who chose to chain himself to the dysfunctional narcissism of the Toscanini family. He is somewhat sympathetic at first, as he tries to form a meaningful bond with Nico Kaufmann, but it soon becomes clear that he has surrendered himself to the Toscaninis and public respectability; he could have at least divorced Wanda and lived a closeted life, but he chose to stick with her and her family's abuse. Nico is young and somewhat naive at first, and he was a rising pianist, but he should have read the writing on the wall and seen that Horowitz would never show him anything but disdain (a reflection of his self-hatred). The story of Kaufmann and Horowitz is decorated a bit by that of Reto Donati, who accompanies Kaufmann on a little road trip across Switzerland and listens to him recite his life and relations with Horowitz, but Donati's story doesn't make much sense and has several serious loose ends, which start in the mysterious first chapter and never go anywhere. A lot of the Kaufmann-Horowitz story is interesting and well-written, despite the missing punctuation, and I think that lovers of music and of the critical period in Europe as World War II is breaking out will find it enjoyable.

readyfordeath151's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

notizhefte's review

4.0

Ein interessanter Roman über Begehren und Unterdrückung, über Prominenz und Angst, über Musik und Liebe.
Ein fesselndes Gespräch zweier Männer, in dem viele maßgeschneiderte rosa Hemden vorkommen.

ameliakatw's review against another edition

not vibing with the style. too difficult to pleasantly follow all of the scene and time changes. discordant. 

srm's review against another edition

I don't care for the writing, and I really dislike the frame story, which I feel added nothing. 

aimiller's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, and I am grateful to the publisher for the opportunity to read this.

A compelling read based on real life letters between classical pianist Vladimir Horowitz and his student. Singer's frame story may confuse some readers or turn them off, but I found the beats between the content of the letters compelling and I think the ending pushed it from 3 stars to 4 for me; it just feels beautiful and a fascinating bringing together of art and politics, art and the personal, and the personal and the politics. It has that sort of old school melodramatic feeling of older gay fiction which I think can also be polarizing, but seems to work really well with the content of the letters. 

elzecatreads's review against another edition

3.0

The Piano Student is a novel based on letters written by Russian-born classical pianist Vladimir Horowitz to a young student, Nico Kaufmann. The story is told by a much older Nico in the 1980s to a somewhat random stranger who hears him playing piano. Nico describes his erratic student/teacher relationship with the older Horowitz, who was married to Toscanini's daughter, and insinuates that Horowitz was homosexual, despite his marriage to a woman, and that Horowitz and Nico had a brief, romantic relationship.

I did not enjoy this book. While I found the narrative of Horowitz's life interesting, I did not find either him or Nico to be particularly compelling or sympathetic characters and I didn't feel like there was much of a plot or real character development.

lovelybookshelf's review against another edition

Giving up about 50 pages in. I'm frustrated by the lack of quotation marks and indications in the text that make it obvious which character is speaking. Also frustrated by all the vagueness surrounding the characters. I think the author is going for a sense of mystery, but I had to work far too hard - I couldn't settle in and enjoy the narrative.