Piano [Import] [Paperback]

Jean Echenoz (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: VINTAGE (RAND); New Ed edition (November 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 009946943X
• ISBN-13: 978-0099469438
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,069,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jean Echenoz won France's prestigious Prix Goncourt for I'm Gone (The New Press).
He is the author of six novels in English translation and the winner of numerous literary prizes, among them the Prix Médicis and the European Literature Jeopardy Prize. He lives in Paris.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful...until the last page., January 15, 2008

By 

Jed Verity - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Piano (Paperback)

This is a fun story, told in a straightforward and lively manner. A lonely pianist chases after opportunities for love without success, dies, and spends some time in purgatory while his fate is decided. Echenoz maintains an intriguing plot throughout, his brief character sketches are elegantly rendered, and the prose is tight, accessible, and, at times, poetic. My only complaint, and the only thing that kept this from being a five-star review, is the last page -- the last paragraph, even! A successful ending that satisfies everyone can be brutally difficult, if not impossible, to write, but the worst kind is the one that feels tacked on, unnecessary. In this case, it's as if Echenoz felt he hadn't explained himself well enough. In the process of explication, he undoes the subtlety and intrigue he so deftly delivered throughout the rest of the book.

Overall, however, a very enjoyable read. Better than expected!

5.0 out of 5 stars Piano: A Novel, August 15, 2010

By 

Carlotta di Como "kittykitty" (maine) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Piano: A Novel (Hardcover)

Just the book to give the man who doesn't appreciate what he has (and who may or may not get the point of this subtle tale, but at least you can say you tried). Beautifully written prose to savor, daring premise. A fine read by one of France's premier writers.