The Piano Shop on the Left Bank

Some cover quotes about the book The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thard Carhart.

 

In recounting his rediscovery of a passion of his youth, Thad Carhart has made both the technology ahnd the culture of the piano come alive. His skillful interleaving f the engineering considerations that go into making a great piano with the human satisfaction that comes of playing one has produced a totally engrossing book."  (Some of the tech stuff was not correct."

 

In this quirky and tender book about the rediscovery of his childood passion for music lies a deepre meditation on the voluntary dreems of acceptance by his chosen city.

 

Engaging...Carhart conveys his affection for Luc, the atelier and the piano with such enthusiasm that readers mught be inspired to return to their own chilhood instrument....A warmhearted, intelligent insite into a private Paris.

 

A captivating book , as desultory as an evening stroll, uyet full of knowledge,. It is suffused with Parisian sensations, the smell of fresh bread from the local bakery, water washing down the gutters in the morning....You can read it in an evening, but when you close it you feel you have gone on a holiday.

Grand Obsession

I recently read Grand Obsession by Perri Knize. The author has written articles on environmental policy and has had articles in The Atlatantic Monthly, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, Conde' Nast Traveler, and Outside.

 

Here is the book cover synopsis:

 

A fastinating, lyrical memoir about one woman's obsessive search for the perfect piano--and about finding and persuing passion at any age.

 

How can a particular piano be so seductive that somewne would turn her live upside down to answer its call? How does music change human consciousness and transport us to rapture? What makes it beautiful? In this elegantly written and heartfelt account, Perri Knize explores these questions with a mjusic lover's ardor, a poetps inspiration, and a reporter's thirst for knowledge?

 

My thoughts:

 

Obsession seems crazy after more than half the book.

 

I think she started writing the book, and then went into the research mode with forty hours of recordings of interviews. She does have quotes that are exactly what was said.

 

As a piano technician, I learned some stuff and felt on other points were diffused by her telling me technical things that others had told her--much was lost in translation.