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Description
A New York Times Notable Book A San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, and Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year “A gripping and resonant novel. . . . It immerses the reader in a distant world with startling immediacy and ardor. . . . Riveting.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times In 1886 a shy, middle-aged piano tuner named Edgar Drake receives an unusual commission from the British War Office: to travel to the remote jungles of northeast Burma and there repair a rare piano belonging to an eccentric army surgeon who has proven mysteriously indispensable to the imperial design. From this irresistible beginning, The Piano Tuner launches readers into a world of seductive, vibrantly rendered characters, and enmeshes them in an unbreakable spell of storytelling. Read more
Publisher : Vintage
Publication date : August 19, 2003
Language : English
Print length : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 1400030382
ISBN-13 : 85
Item Weight : 8.8 ounces
Dimensions : 5.2 x 0.75 x 8 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #66,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #166 in Military Historical Fiction #568 in War Fiction (Books)
#166 in Military Historical Fiction:
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Hardcover
A quiet, bespectacled, home-bound English piano tuner is sent into the wide, wonderful, exotic world of 1886 in this outstanding first novel by Daniel Mason. Specifically, his job is to repair an out-of-tune piano which has somehow preceded him into the jungly wilderness of Burma, but in general he experiences the world as it was then, particularly that part of it at the furthest outpost of the British Empire. Thanks to the author's careful attention to detail, derived unquestionably from his own overawed sense of wonder, we get to experience it too. With the piano tuner, Edgar Drake, we see the coast of Africa one hot morning off the starboard side of his ship; we sail through the Red Sea; we disembark in Bombay, then make the overland journey across India; and finally there is Burma from Rangoon to Mandalay to the final destination in the wilds of the Shan states, Mae Lwin. Mae Lwin, with its children playing in the river, its tattooed men, its women with their strangely beautiful, lined "thanaka" make-up. Mae Lwin, built on the side of a mountain, with stairs slanting everywhere connecting its buildings. Mae Lwin, surrounded by a jungle filled with butterflies, flowers, snakes, mosquitoes, heat, sheeting rain, and various birds such as parrots, mynah birds and kingfishers. It is so exotic that we, like our besotted piano tuner, become enraptured by it. But beyond this the novel is a pretty good intrigue also. The British, you see, had to be concerned with the French incursion into Indo-China, and also the never-ending Russian menace. The fierce Han warriors in the region had to be subdued either through alliance or war. Our piano tuner, summoned to Burma for a reason, suddenly finds that piano tuning is only one of the missions in which he is to engage. There is also the beautiful and delicate Khin Myo, who initially is his guide, but who eventually becomes something much more to him. "Stay away from matters of love," his superior tells him. Finally, with the exotic locale as its backdrop, the plot functions as a metaphor for the journey we sometimes take outside ourselves. The search for beauty and truth is not always a straightforward and easy one; there are many distractions along the way. Indeed, the signs can be confusing, and one can become lost. This excellent novel exhibits a bit of clumsiness here and there, particularly with some early narrative exposition, but on the whole this is a fine, well-written, almost lyrical first effort. May there be more.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2002 by Paul McGrath
Format: Kindle
“The Piano Tuner” by Daniel Mason hinges upon a request by a mysterious, seemingly indispensable British officer in colonial Burma to send a piano tuner to aid in securing peace. Edgar Drake, who specializes in fine Erard pianos answers the request. Drake, who loves music but doesn’t think of himself as a musician, possesses a quiet personal side disposed to the romantic and exotic and proves a perfect match for the job. The book’s style and subject matter heartens back to the days of Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene and, on the surface, seems odd for a modern-day book. But the slow pacing and detailed description fits and rewards the reader who sticks with it. All seems well in this Victorian, imperialist world, but although Drake finishes the job, he has difficulty leaving the seductive locale and its people. Then, as the reader trots along at a steady pace, everything turns on a dime when nothing is what it originally appears to be. Any more information would spoil the conclusion. “The Piano Tuner” is a worthwhile book for the reader who is willing to put forth the effort to learn new things and display literary patience.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024 by Kindle Customer
Format: Kindle
A travel book. A history book. A story book. A book of dreams. 1886. British Empire. Senior officer in Burma (a military surgeon named Carroll) requires a piano and is granted an Erard. After a while, the Erard needs tuning. The war office hires the services of a piano tuner for 3 months, for a year's pay. The hired man is Edgar Drake. He accepts for the love of music and country, though it means leaving his loving wife alone for so long. The novel was published in 2002 and is Mr. Mason's first. Surprisingly, he is American. Not surprisingly, Werner Herzog is reported to film the story. His kind of story. My kind too, though I am not always with Herzog. The introduction to the task doesn't convince. The war office writes a letter to Edgar Drake and tells him all. So unlikely. Then Drake is interviewed by the colonel in charge, and the over-communication continues. Imagine: a colonial military old-timer takes a complete outsider, a mere civilian, whom he has never met before, into his confidence and talks freely about the problems of another colonel in a critical position ... Why would a piano tuner, even under the specific circumstances, be briefed on military matters? This would strictly have been a need to know case. When we are with Drake and his world, all is well for now. He is a normal man with a normal life. That will change. After a month and two chapters of travel preparations, Drake sets off. He writes lovely travel letters to his wife. All that he sees is new to him. He chats with the ship captain who likes to gossip. A fellow passenger, a deaf Arab, tells him a story straight out of Arabian Nights. Drake reads the colonel's paper on Shan history. He learns that the region is in rebellion against British rule. One wonders why a piano tuner is a good person to invite just now. On the other hand, Drake sympathizes with the colonel. He sees commonalities. He is puzzled because nobody has thought of giving him specific info about the piano that he is supposed to cure. He writes a short history of the Erard pianos, from which we learn how special the piano in question is likely to be. Drake arrives in Burma after 3 chapters of most diverse text and information. In Rangoon, Drake is beset by the contradiction of colonial luxuries and native poverty. He joins a tragic tiger hunt with Cheney style results. Drake is clearly not cut out for being part of a master race. The memory of that incident haunts him on his inland journey. From fellow passengers on the river boat to Mandalay, he learns many stories about the colonel, who turns out to be a hero among common soldiers. A man without darkness in his heart. That doesn't necessarily endear him to his peers in the officer class, of course. Half way through the book, Drake is nearly stuck in Mandalay. The Shan region is restless. Go on or not? He proceeds in an unofficial small group, and now the adventure starts.. Drake finds himself siding with an outsider, an outcast from his caste system. Enough. Go for it. Ignore the mediocre reviews. When a book hits a head and it sounds empty, it need not be the book's fault.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2012 by H. Schneider
Format: Kindle
“And one last thing … perhaps I should have told you this first: most of them know why you are here, and they will extend the hospitality due a fellow countryman. But you are not among friends.” (p125) This is a very good story – the plot and the characters are compelling, and the prose is excellent. It has much in common with Homer’s Odyssey (including numerous references and allusions), Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, and (arguably the closest comparable modern work) Ann Patchett’s “State of Wonder”. There’s a great deal of sharp social commentary on a variety of important subjects, and the book explores deeply the power and limitations of idealism. Enigma is a defining motif: the motivations of a host of characters remain a mystery throughout. Ultimately, though, I finished the book frustrated and bemused: it ended with every meaningful plot question left unanswered. I would have been fine with a few mysteries left unresolved, but all of them? The author drops a few tantalizing hints regarding what he might want us to think, but I needed a little more than that. I think his readers deserve better.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2025 by DJ
Format: Paperback
“The Piano Tuner” (2002) was Daniel Mason’s first novel. I don’t know how I missed it until now (I ADORED 2018’s “The Winter Soldier”) but I’m glad I finally got to it because it’s wonderful. In 1886, Edgar Drake, the eponymous Piano Tuner, is been summoned to Burma to tune a rare piano owned by an enigmatic surgeon. What follows is a gripping tale of Edgar’s adventures and miss-adventures and the fascinating characters he meets along his journey deep into Asia. Daniel Mason is an incredibly talented writer; his prose is both beautiful and completely captivating.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2021 by Mary Lins
Format: Paperback
I loved Daniel Mason's A FAR COUNTRY, and due to several recommendations from Amazon reviewers I thought I'd try THE PIANO TUNER, his first novel. I was most impressed with the author's curiosity as a person and his intelligence. He spent a year studying malaria on the Thai-Myanmar border while at the same time working on this book. Mason imbues Edgar Drake, the protagonist, with much of what he learned. For instance, the native Shan people believed in divinations: "omens from the sky, the omens of flying birds, the omens of feeding fowl, and the movements of four-footed beasts . . . . one must look for augury in the eggs of hens, in the swarming of bees, and not only if but also where a lizard, rat, or spider drops on one's body." When Drake arrives in Mandalay he is exposed to Burmese street theater known as "pwe." He is especially impressed by "yokthe pwe," or puppet theater. Some of the "pwes" tell stories of the Buddha's lives, one of which has Nemi, one of the Buddha's incarnations, visit heaven and hell. The main story involves Drake's commission to tune Surgeon-Major Anthony Carroll's Erard grand piano. Carroll is integral in British negotiations with the Shan peoples. Carroll is a complex man who uses music in his efforts to placate the Shan. Drake falls in love with the place and finds himself reluctant to leave. There is also a romance of sorts with Carroll's female assistant. Once again Mason shows his impressive craftsmanship, working piano tuning into the narrative. Drake is very attuned to his senses. He hears music in everything, including swarms of mosquitoes. Mason also uses an actual historical incident when the British were trying to subjugate the Burmese people. The Limbin Confederacy of Burmese princes fought back, as did brigand Twet Nga Lu. As you will see in the denouement, it's not clear on whose side Surgeon-Major Carroll really was. I cannot recommend Daniel Mason highly enough. The man is one of our most skilled young writers. Here he describes the music in the laughter of children playing in the water: "I feel both a tremendous sadness and a joy, a wanting, a welling from within me, something ecstatic . . . .it rises in my chest like water from a well, and I swallow and my eyes brim with tears as if I will overflow." I don't think I've ever read a writer with so much profound respect for other cultures.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2007 by Dave Schwinghammer
Format: Kindle
This story has been written by an old soul, a wordsmith with a fantastic fire…the story seems to swirl around the reader, voices and rhythm, and tone…truly other-worldly. A story I will read again and again.
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2026 by eclectic reader
Keep an open mind and let the narration carry you away. This is a fascinating audio book that begins as a simple narrative and completely turns into stream of consciousness dream sequences. I didn't realize what was happening but was able to let go of predictive story themes and let the author take me where he wished. Having been to Burma, read many books about it's people and history as well as seen a movie about a monk who played the flute during the Japanese invasion, I could understand the purpose of the author's style. Burma is a place of mystery, superstition, Buddhist principle as well as untamed primal and tribal lawlessness. People do disappear, and we can only wonder what happened. When I arrived in Burma, I was told that Burma would change me, and it did in a way I can hardly explain, as if I'd been there before. It's a place to get lost, where anything can happen, and it made sense that this simple piano tuner, whose life was about to change could even imagine what lies before and after him.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2012 by Felice Willat