Chapter 4: The Piano Shop on the Left Bank

If you know me at all, you’ll know that two of my favorite things in this world are (1) pianos and (2) Paris, France. Okay, okay. I lied. But only about the second one. I do love the piano and have been playing for almost 20 years. Playing the piano truly is one of my favorite things. But as for Paris, I’ve never been there and have no particular like or dislike for the place. My only connection to the place is that I’ve heard of it (yes, most of us have) and that I think it would be nice to visit there someday. However, if you like either or both of these topics, you’ll absolutely love the book I’m reviewing today. It’s called The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier. This book was recently recommended to me (Thanks, Steph!) and I really enjoyed it. In addition, one of my goals of BytheBook is to introduce books on a variety of topics. That way over time I can hopefully recommend something for everyone. I realize, for example, that maybe not everyone is thrilled about reading Looming Tower or Killing Pablo, so this book represents a nice change of topic. While I’ll probably end up covering mostly biography and history, I’ll also try to throw in some other topics such as current events, science, religion, etc.

The Piano Shop is written by an American man named Thad Carhart and is a memoir of sorts about his experience living in Paris with his family. On his way to take his daughter to school every morning, he would pass by a small piano shop. One day, he stopped in. The owner acted strangely and was careful not to let him see back into the main area of the store. He told Thad that he was a piano repairman and when asked if he knew of anyone who might be selling a piano, the owner said he didn’t know, but would let Thad know if he heard of anything. Eventually, Thad discovers that the shop does indeed sell pianos, but you need a personal referral from a past client just to get into the back room to see the pianos, let alone to buy one. After some time, he secures a referral and thereby enters the enchanted world of Luc, a piano repairman, restorer and lover, and his piano shop, The Atelier. With his frequent visits to Luc at the Atelier, Thad rediscovers his love for pianos. He had played the piano as a child (quick question….by a show of hands, how many of you played the piano when you were younger, but no longer play now? That’s what I thought…most of you). He eventually buys a baby grand for himself and starts taking lessons again. The wonderful part of this story is the vivid descriptions of the pianos he sees at the shop. They almost come to life as their ‘personalities’ are described and the differences between different brands, models, etc. are explained. The book left me wanting to spend some quality time with our old, beat-up, upright piano so that I could become better acquainted. It also made me appreciate the quirky aspects of our piano (that we got for free, by the way) like how half of the keys click when pressed and others don’t sustain even when the pedal is pressed. Our piano definitely has its own personality. The book also gives a glimpse into life in an old, quaint neighborhood of Paris. The people are lively and entertaining and add a lot to the book. The other aspect of the story that is very interesting is the insight into how pianos are built, how piano building has changed over the years, and other interesting historical tidbits on piano construction. There’s even an account of an interesting visit to Italy that the author makes to meet Mr. Fazioli himself, the man behind the world’s most expensive pianos.

All in all this is a wonderful book and a quick, easy read. Like I said, if you like pianos (or would like to like pianos) or if you love Paris, it’s people, and it’s culture, and especially if you like both of those, you’ll love this book. And I would recommend that you….
Buy the Book!!!

I also want to thank Scott Wilson again as he is still the only person to post a comment on my blog. So, to inspire you to add a comment on this or any past posting, I’m offering an all expense paid 4 day, 3 night vacation to Paris, France and a set of ginsu knives to the first person to post a comment on my blog. Okay, okay. I lied again. No free trip. And no free knives. But maybe some of just posted a comment anyway. I thank you in advance. But really, I’d love to hear from you. Let me know if you’ve read the books that I’m reviewing and if so what you thought about the book. Or also please send along recommendations for good books. I’m excited about a book I just bought off of Amazon.com called The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which was a recent recommendation (thanks, Tom!). Until next time!