Synopsis
Erika Kohut, a piano teacher who has lived with her mother all of her life, develops an obsession for Walter Klemmer, her young student
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Reviews
Sexuality and violence are coupled in this brilliant, uncompromising book set in modern-day Vienna, by the winner of the 1986 Heinrich Boll Prize. Erika Kohut, a spinster in her mid-30s, has been selected by her domineering mother to be sacrificed on the altar of art. Carefully groomed and trained, she's unfortunately not gifted enough to become a concert pianist. Instead, she teaches piano at the Vienna Conservatory. She still lives at home, and in the eyes of the world is the dutiful daughter. But there's another, perversely sexual side of Erika that she finds difficult to repress. She goes to a peep show, frequents the local park where Turks and Serbo-Croats pick up women and, just for kicks, slices herself with a razor. When one of her students, Walter Klemmer, falls in love with her, Erika demands sadomasochistic rituals before she'll agree to sleep with him. While the subject matter is deliberately perverse, Jelinek gets behind the cream-puff prettiness of Vienna; this novel is not for the weak of heart. Violence is a cleansing force, a point that brings back uncomfortable overtones of an Austria 50 years ago.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Teaching piano daily at the Vienna Conservatory is all that remains of Erika Knout's once promising career. Lately, however, her love for her star student, Walter Klemmer, is disrupting both her well-ordered professional life and her emotionally rigorous world at home with Mother. This neurotic love triangle, in which violence is confused with love, evolves toward inevitable breakdown as Erika finally defies Mother and, through Klemmer, excites chaotic passions. With her facility for metaphor and stylish narrative, Austrian Jelinek bears comparison to Schmidt and Boll at their best. Hers is a powerful debut in English; with five other novels awaiting translation, she should develop a large audience among serious readers. Paul E. Hutchison, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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The Piano Teacher
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Seller Inventory # S07D-02523
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The Piano Teacher
Seller: Chaparral Books, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. First Edition. First printing with full number line. Shelf wear to binding on corners, edges & spine with small tears on pastedown of front board. Light wear, foxing and soiling to edges of text block. Light foxing on pastedowns & endpapers. Text is unmarked. Dj shelf worn with scuffs & small scratches in a mylar cover. Seller Inventory # SELjelTPT
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The Piano Teacher (English and German Edition)
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Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks413206
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The Piano Teacher
Published by
Weidenfeld and Nicolson, New York, 1988
ISBN 10: 1555840523
ISBN 13: 9781555840525
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: MARK POST, BOOKSELLER, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hard Cover. First U.S. Edition, First printing. Stated First American Edition with "1" in full number row. FINE IN FINE DUST JACKET WITH 418.95 PRICE. Translated from the German by Joachim Neugroschel. Seller Inventory # 32772
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The Piano Teacher
Published by
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, New York, 1988
ISBN 10: 1555840523
ISBN 13: 9781555840525
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Capitol Hill Books, ABAA, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988. First American Edition Stated. Octavo; publisher's cloth-backed boards in pictorial dust jacket retaining original price; [4],280pp. Dust jacket creased along edges. Boards show light shelfwear; spine ends nudged; touch of sunning and couple smudges to edges; else Very Good and sound, The Austrian author's most acclaimed work, adapted into the 2001 film directed by Michael Haneke starring Isabelle Huppert. Jelinek was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2004. Seller Inventory # 33340
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The Piano Teacher
Seller: Glands of Destiny First Edition Books, Sedro Woolley, WA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Like New. Dust Jacket Condition: Like New. First American Edition. Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, New York, 1988FINE hardcover book in FINE dust-jacket. As new. Unread. First US Edition, First Printing. All of our books with dust-jackets are shipped in fresh, archival-safe mylar protective sleeves. Seller Inventory # 2204010006
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The Piano Teacher (English and German Edition)
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Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 22K40_37_1555840523
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The Piano Teacher
Published by
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, New York, New York, U.S.A., 1988
ISBN 10: 1555840523
ISBN 13: 9781555840525
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Signed
Seller: Daniel Montemarano, Newfield, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good +. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st American Edition/1st Printing (complete number line). SIGNED by Elfriede Jelinek on a bookplate affixed to front end page (signature only). Faint pen mark on bottom page edges with hint of spine slant. $18.95 price present on DJ flap; mylar protected. Also includes laid-in the original Philadelphia Inquirer article announcing that Jelinek won the Nobel Prize. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Signed by Author. Seller Inventory # 020141
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The Piano Teacher (First American Edition)
Published by
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, New York, 1988
ISBN 10: 1555840523
ISBN 13: 9781555840525
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Dan Pope Books, West Hartford, CT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (Wheatland), New York, 1988. First American edition. First printing, with full number line to 1. A fine copy in a fine jacket. A clean copy with price ($18.95) intact on front flap. Some slight spine slant. Comes with archival-quality jacket protector. Note: A couple spots of foxing (from previous owner's sticker, though without any residue) on front endpaper. Translated from the German by Neugroschel. Movie source, adapted into the eponymous 2001 film that won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Rear-Stacks. Seller Inventory # FLAHIVE-3418