Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Piano Teacher

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek

21 reviews

solarnm's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Good metaphors - but sometimes convoluted.

The dynamic between her and her mother and how it affected her was interesting to read. Everything else wasn't for me.

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snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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veelaughtland's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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lucius_gooseman's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

“[…] You stink, piano teacher, you just can’t imagine how bad you stink.”

Jelinek manages to take a fantastic set of characters and a challenging, thought-provoking plot and make it the most sloggish, pretentious, meandering novel I’ve ever read. Don’t even bother with this, watch the movie instead. And that’s so moronic of me to say, but I’m really beside myself. I am usually appreciative of the qualities of both mediums- The Shining for example is both an amazing book, and film with equal merit in both. Sadly, there is no merit whatsoever to this book, point blank period. The way Jelinek writes seems as if she’s intentionally toying with the reader’s patience, and frankly, I don’t have the time for that. The prose is erosive and grating, very very tough to read. Also- a SHOCKING amount of piss play. No thank you!

PS, never use the word “asparagus” in reference to man’s genitalia.

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leonkoenig's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

incredibly well crafted, not really enjoyable to read

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veelovespoo's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Took me soooo many months to finish this, not the best book for a reading slump 😭 the prose was very pretty to read but at times i found it too much and it kinda dragged on a little. Nevertheless, i love Erika she is an incredibly well written character. I think i just enjoyed the film a lot more and was a little disappointed by this book? Mind you i don’t think that’s an issue of the author i think it’s more of an issue with me, would recommend but also would not recommend.

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