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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
A 2019 staff favorite recommended by Jo. Read her review on the Cook Memorial Public Library blog, Shelf Life: https://shelflife.cooklib.org/2019/01/29/jos-pick-of-the-week-the-weight-of-a-piano/
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search?formids=target&lang=eng&suite=def&reservedids=lang%2Csuite&submitmode=&submitname=&target=weight+of+a+piano+cander
Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search?formids=target&lang=eng&suite=def&reservedids=lang%2Csuite&submitmode=&submitname=&target=weight+of+a+piano+cander
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to give this book more stars, because it really was moving and beautiful, but the ending and the interactions between Clara and Greg pulled all of that down to a 3 for me. It just didn’t feel right. I didn't particularly care for any of the characters in this book--I was intrigued by the story, but with the exception of Peter, the characters didn't even have qualities I appreciated. They were just sad. The chapter from the piano's perspective was interesting, but there were also times when I felt the writing was trying too hard to be philosophical.
you go clara! a couple too many sex scenes for my liking. only one of them was really needed for the plot. nonetheless, i'm a sucker for pianos and for music. three and a half i think?
3.5 / 5 . The Weight of a Piano is a touching novel about the solace that art can give to those who are suffering. A single piano’s journey from 1968 Leningrad to 2012 California brings two strangers together as they connect over an upright blüthner that has shaped their lives in various ways.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
🎹 “I want to say that there’s a reason this piano exists in the world. This specific piano. That there’s something important about it, to the people who made it, to the people who played it and lost it and found it and lost it again, thinking it was gone forever. This Blüthner made music out of nothing, it thawed frozen imaginations, and then it burned down and showed up again with its old scratches and a new owner. This piano has been playing in my mind my whole life...”
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📖The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander 🎹.
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There’s something enchanting to me about books centered around music. This story follows the narratives of two women across a contemporary and historic timeline. Katya in 1960s Soviet Union is gifted a piano as a child that quite literally becomes the great love of her life, though becomes estranged from it in her move to America as an adult. In a contemporary setting we then follow Clara, a female mechanic on the cusp of a breakup who is faced with the exhausting task of moving with her beloved piano in tow. After injuring herself trying to move it, she decides to list her piano for sale, a decision which then consumes the direction of the narrative.
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What stood out for me, and moved me so much, was how the Blüthner itself became a character in this narrative. It spoke to the emotional connections we build in our lives with music and to the physicality of possessions that anchor us to memories. I loved the way that the narrative unfurled and the pace with which Cander brought the two timelines together. This was just superb and for the last 130 pages I could not tear myself away from these characters! This was an incredibly moving and beautifully written story, and I now want to read everything that Cander has written.
.
Thanks to @aaknopf for providing a review copy - I’ve already purchased a final copy!
.
📖The Weight of a Piano by Chris Cander 🎹.
.
There’s something enchanting to me about books centered around music. This story follows the narratives of two women across a contemporary and historic timeline. Katya in 1960s Soviet Union is gifted a piano as a child that quite literally becomes the great love of her life, though becomes estranged from it in her move to America as an adult. In a contemporary setting we then follow Clara, a female mechanic on the cusp of a breakup who is faced with the exhausting task of moving with her beloved piano in tow. After injuring herself trying to move it, she decides to list her piano for sale, a decision which then consumes the direction of the narrative.
.
What stood out for me, and moved me so much, was how the Blüthner itself became a character in this narrative. It spoke to the emotional connections we build in our lives with music and to the physicality of possessions that anchor us to memories. I loved the way that the narrative unfurled and the pace with which Cander brought the two timelines together. This was just superb and for the last 130 pages I could not tear myself away from these characters! This was an incredibly moving and beautifully written story, and I now want to read everything that Cander has written.
.
Thanks to @aaknopf for providing a review copy - I’ve already purchased a final copy!
TW: Suicide
This book was good. It was very slow at first and hard to get into. But there are so many unexpected plot twists the more you get into the story. I thought it was boring at first, but the background information is important. This story is heartbreaking, beautiful, and teaches of love, loss, and the safety music can bring
This book was good. It was very slow at first and hard to get into. But there are so many unexpected plot twists the more you get into the story. I thought it was boring at first, but the background information is important. This story is heartbreaking, beautiful, and teaches of love, loss, and the safety music can bring
