The young Éric-Emmanuel has been fascinated by the music of Chopin since hearing his adored aunt Aimée playing it when he was a small child. But his piano-lessons have never brought him to the level where he can play Chopin adequately. When he comes to Paris to study (literature) at the ENS, he takes the opportunity to look for a more advanced teacher, and finds his way to Mme Pylinska, the Miss Jean Brodie of the keyboard, who gets him to do all kinds of absurd-seeming mental and physical exercises, none of them actually involving a piano. And, of course, this, coupled with his love for his aunt and a few possibly reincarnated animals, brings him to the point where, just once, he can treat the master's music in the way it deserves. And shows him the way into his real career as a writer...

Enjoyable romantic nonsense that would obviously make a great film, wittily told, but not a book anyone really needs in their life. ( )