A review by belgrade18
The Piano Student by Lea Singer

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.