In 1886, Edgar Drake, a quiet English piano tuner, is asked by the British War Office to travel to a remote spot in the Shan States of Burma to repair a rare Erard grand piano owned by Surgeon-Major Anthony Carroll, a physician and eccentric who is using music to help settle conflict in the region. Drake leaves his wife in London and journeys upriver to the jungle post, and finds himself drawn to the place, to Carroll's ideas and to a woman called Khin Myo. Mason tells the story slowly, with detailed descriptions of the landscape and the piano.
It suits readers who enjoy historical fiction with a sense of being far from home, and those who like novels with music in them.
Balanced in tone; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2002
- Language
- EN
