Difficult but rewarding - Rated 
At first I found it hard to get into this book. I started reading it expecting an adventure story, and though there is some action involved (precious little however), that is perhaps the wrong way about it. Perhaps the best way to read it is let yourself be immersed in the rich, lyrical language, almost as if you would read a poem.
The plot reminds of `Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad: in this book too an individual sets out to find a military commander, living in a remote area of an Asian state occupied by a Western country. Apart from that however, the difference could not be bigger, `The piano tuner' is almost a mirror image of `Heart of Darkness'. Whereas the latter focuses on the dark side of the human mind, the former concentrates (in beautiful language, I cannot help but repeat), on the beauty of the Shan states and its inhabitants. Edgar Drake (the piano tuner of the title) opens his heart to this beauty, with unexpected consequences.
One to savour!
Evocative and haunting. - Rated 
It took me a few chapters to get into this book but once I was used to the writing style I found I couldn't put it down. The talent that Daniel Mason has to conjure the spirit and feeling of his setting is incredible - if I closed my eyes I felt like I could see, smell and touch Burma and its people. The story kept me gripped, especially once Edgar had reached Burma and the ending was heartbreaking. An incredibly clever twist. Not a perfect book but it is so clever and the writing so evocative and powerful that I couldn't give it less than 5 stars. Certainly one of the most talented authors I've come across in recent years.
A slow burner - Rated 
Not a book I would normally read, but decided to give it a go after reading the back cover and thought it sounded interesting.
I'd definitely recommend this book, but probably to my mum or gran.
Although not my cup of tea, I still enjoyed the read, and have only given it 3 stars based on the fact that I prefer pacier novels. Someone who likes these types of books however, would rate it higher.
Would I read another of his books based on this experience...probably.
buy it, read it! - Rated
I wanted to submit a review so that I could add my five stars to the book's average score because I think it is so wonderful that it deserves the highest rating. Every so often one comes across a book that really deserves to be regarded as a masterpiece; for me this is one of them. Some people have criticised this book for being 'over written' - I pity those who think that enormously!!!
Disappointing but at times magical - Rated
I agree with the reviewer who described this novel as "Far Fetched but Haunting". I also found myself wondering about the competence of the editor. During the first chapters of the book there are jarring changes in tense (switching between past and present, first person and third person). These are used as a rhetorical device but only serve to frustrate and annoy the reader.
At times the writing is truly magical, bringing tears to the eyes and touching the soul. But this is tempered with a continual hope for the meat of the novel, which only really arrives in the final chapter(s). The ending came too soon and produced more questions than answers. Some will enjoy this, others will be sorely disappointed.
The narrative was a diverse mix of historical fact and wonderful fantasy but ultimately it was hard to reconcile the two and this left me with a nagging sense of disbelief. I wanted to embrace the concept of the piano in Burma, but it never quite hit me as real.
I hope that Mason will write again as he clearly has the potential to be brilliant. There are moments of genius in this novel.
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