A Romance on Three Legs

Partly because a friend gave it a good review, and partly because he then mailed the book to me, I recently read A Romance on Three Legs, by Katie Hafner.

The book is a four-part fugue about a piano, the company that made it, the gifted and quirky pianist who finally found it, and the much-put-upon blind piano tuner who lovingly maintained it.

Sound dull?  Norm said he intended to read only the prologue, but instead read the entire book in one sitting.  I must echo that caution.  I made the mistake of starting it late one night, and was irritated to have to leave it so I could sleep.  This book is inexplicably fascinating, and difficult to set aside.  I want to read another book by this author, to see if it was her writing gift or the subject material that so caught my interest.

At any rate, I highly recommend it.

Another caution: after reading it, you will have a powerful urge to buy a Steinway and Glenn Gould’s recordings.  (I might be wrong about the Steinway; I have always wanted one, but even more now.)  So far I have both recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and they are excellent.  And, no, you can’t just get one of them.  They are both great, and very different from each other.

For a free sample, watch this.