Weight of a Piano (Cander) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
The Weight of a Piano is about memory and identity. A young Californian named Clara wonders if "every single thing" ever played on her Bluthner had "left an afterimage, a shadow of emotion deposited somewhere inside the case." … There’s a lot to process here, but Cander is a smart, deft storyteller who holds her Scriabin-worthy tale together. She understands how something as beloved as a piano can actually be a burden.
James Barron - New York Times Book Review


In The Weight of a Piano, two women are linked by one instrument.… Chris Cander masterfully reveals how these women’s lives connect (and how the piano came to be made) and, in the process, meditates on grief and living in the past.
Elizabeth Sile - Real Simple


(Starred review) [E]legiac and evocative.… Cander’s novel delves into… artistic inspiration and how family legacy… can both ignite imagination and limit its scope. Cander brilliantly and convincingly expresses music and visual art in her writing, capturing both within a near-alien but surprisingly stunning landscape.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review) [T]his beautiful tale of the intersecting stories of Katya and Clara, two strong women working hard to rebuild their shattered lives, is impossible to put down and impossible to forget. —Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
Library Journal


Strong characterization and attention to detail, whether in the manufacture of a piano or in the desolate beauty of Death Valley, elevate Cander's tale about learning to let go of the past.
Booklist


(Starred review) Deftly plotted and well written, a gentle meditation on the healing power of art—and its limitations.… Cander grabs the reader in her bravura, thickly detailed opening pages [and] expertly parcels out her revelations [as] she builds parallel narratives [toward] an odd but beautiful finale.
Kirkus Reviews


A charming, puzzling plot that gets more exciting and addictive the deeper you sink into it.… Cander’s unadorned prose composes some truly beautiful descriptions of the joy of music. —Leslie Hinson
BookPage