The Piano: A Novel [Paperback]

Jane Campion (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0786880961 | ISBN-13: 978-0786880966

In the award-winning film The Piano, writer/director Jane Campion created a story so original and powerful it fascinated millions of moviegoers. This novel stands independent of the film, exploring the mysteries of Ada's muteness, the secret of her daughter's conception, the reason for her strange marriage and the past lives of Baines and Stewart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Campion releases the novel form of her Academy Award-winning screenplay about a mute woman forced into an arranged marriage in 19th-century New Zealand.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Miramax Books (July 7, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786880961
• ISBN-13: 978-0786880966
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TO understand is to feel., September 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Piano: A Novel (Paperback)

If you have ever loved someone and couldn't explain your feelings. If you've ever looked into the eyes of someone who says they love you and felt nothing. If you've ever stumbled blindly, or stood in a room screaming but no one paid you a glance, this book is for you. Ada is easy to identify with for any woman who lives with their hearts, and gets slighted for it in the world. She speaks with her soul and with her hands on the piano, and it says more than her tongue ever could.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ada`s way to talk, January 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Piano: Screenplay (Paperback)

After I saw the video "The Piano" I wanted read the book. I was very fascinated by the story about Ada's life, or rather her way she started her new life. And the whole life without a word. In the video the features of the people are very important and I wondered how it would be in the book. The language is very poetic! The description of the characters and the surrounding is very exact. You think you can feel her feelings and see what she sees.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars simple and succinct...but watch the movie, November 11, 2005

By 

Critique that "Riss" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Piano: A Novel (Paperback)

i'm still undecided on whether or not i enjoyed the novel, doubtless the film is better than the book (something i don't say very often!) Many are familiar with the plot of the silent Ada and her daughter who arrive in New Zealand taking with them the enigmatic and magnetic piano. Her husband ends up swapping the piano for a plot of land and Ada is forced into giving its new owner (George) piano lessons. However he is content to just let her play...if he can do whatever he wants to her and perhaps she just might get back her piano.

It is an astounding, heart wrenching concept that Campion devours, bringing in a deeper emotional intensity as we finally delve into George's past, why Ada is strangely silent and her husband's incurable loneliness. It is a profound glimpse into the awakening of one Victorian woman's sexual awakening.

BUT...I have a few problems with it, firstly it is too succinct, sometimes a few descriptions and dalliances along the way are a welcome distraction to the sometimes oppressing thoughts that Campion evokes. Secondly it is frustrating that the all encompassing piano is mute throughout the novel, well in the sense that one only hears it through the mind's ear...which is why i woul recommend the movie, as you also get a chance to listen to Nyman's haunting melodies.

but the book, a good foundation if you plan to watch the movie.