The Weight of a Piano (Large Print / Library Binding)
February 2019 Indie Next List
“A hulking black piano of Russian origin links the stories of two women: Katya, who must leave behind her beloved instrument when she immigrates to the U.S., and Clara, who is forced to sell her family heirloom when she loses her boyfriend and her home. The obsessive love each woman holds for the piano unfolds as the instrument journeys across continents. Chris Cander has crafted a novel of compelling beauty and characters who are complex, deeply flawed, and magnificently haunting. This will be a five-star beginning to any avid reader’s 2019 book list.”
— Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior, MN
Winter 2019 Reading Group Indie Next List
“A young girl is gifted a unique piano by a blind virtuoso. Half a century later, that same piano belongs to a troubled young woman who is trying to make sense of her life and understand the piano’s place in it. She is drawn into a quest that takes her to Death Valley and to a quirky photographer who may have the answers she seeks. This beautifully written, witty adventure, featuring a cast of marvelous characters from the past and the present, is highly recommended.”
— Bob Sommer, Changing Hands, Tempe, AZ
Staff Reviews
Set in California, with a particular and vivid cameo in Death Valley, this unassuming yet poignantly told story of a rare piano brings together cultures, love, history and the generations of people whose lives it touched in the motion that the instrument left behind.
- Reviewed by Robin, book club member