December 2009

THE PIANO TEACHER   In 1952, Claire Pendleton moves to Hong Kong with her husband and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughter’s piano teacher.  As a provencial English newlywed, Claire is seduced by the colony’s glamourous social life.  Her new husband is boring and works long hours.  She begins an affair with an Englishman whose mysterious past during the war years in Hong Kong adds to her taste for excitement.  Soon she is embroiled in the sadness and darkness of a past war that wasn’t hers, yet makes her question everything she thought she was. 

This book was a page turner.  It is a tale of survival, the choices we make and the price we pay.  Definitely worth a read.

Janice Y.K. Lee was born and raised in Hong Kong.  She graduated from Harvard College and was a former features editor at Elle and Mirabella magazines.  She lives in Hong Kong.  This is her first book.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS   If you read The Kite Runner, by Kahled Hosseini, or even if you didn’t, don’t miss his second book A Thousand Splendid Suns.  It takes place in present day Afghanistan.  Mariam is already living a life of marital misery under male-dominated tradition when the Taliban take over.  She finds life even harder and more challenging with the introduction into her home of Laila, a younger second wife.  Starvation, fear and brutality both inside and outside their home forms an unexpected friendship between Mariam and Laila that leads to great sacrifice and bravery.  This book grabbed my heart.  I couldn’t put it down.  It is powerfully written – a tragic and beautiful book. 

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and moved to the United States in 1980.  His first novel, The Kite Runner, is an international best seller, published in 34 countries.