The Piano Shop on the Left Bank


Subtitled Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, this is a delightful and even captivating book especially for those who enjoy playing or listening to the piano. The author, Thad Carhart, has an engaging style and a beautiful story about the spirit of a place that seems almost like a fairy tale in the telling. Perhaps living in Paris gives you that feeling, as it is certainly captured by this memoir. Thankfully, according to the acknowledgements by the author, he was encouraged by Alberto Manguel, himself a fine editor and observer of elegant prose. Carhart's prose is a wonder and the spirit engendered in reading it certainly rekindled and expanded my own love for all things pianistic.


The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by Thad Carhart, 2001. Random House, New York.