Rating: 
Summary: A Very Average book
Review: Daniel Mason has obviously done his homework. He presents fascinating details about Burma, Victorian England and the arcane art of piano tuning. However he has failed to weave an interesting and compelling story. The book is overwritten and often turgid. Mason also uses annoying stylistic devices such as compressing dialogue between two characters into a single paragraph without the use of quotation marks. This is supposed to give the feeling of rapid, intense discussion. Rather it causes the reader to slow down to figure out who is saying what to whom, and therefore achieves the opposite effect. I also found that too often the author stops the action (what little there is) to discourse on some facts about Burma, England, the military, etc., rather than allowing us to see these things through the characters eyes, and come to realize them through the dialogue. I think this author has promise and hope his next book will show some evidence of growth.
Rating: 
Summary: Lyrical and Lovely
Review: The debut novel by Daniel Mason, "The Piano Tuner" is a wonderfully ethereal and descriptive book about the travels and journeys of Edgar Drake, hired by the British War Office in 1886 to travel to hostile Burma to repair a rare piano vital to the their interests. I loved the tone, descriptions, settings, language and all around loveliness of this book. At points -- the story does drag a bit, but all in all the characters and plot are strong enough to drive the story. It's a wonderful debut and I really enjoyed it. It was just a beautiful book.Cheers!
Rating:
Summary: exceptional read
Review: A wonderful amalgam of adventure, romance, history and music. I could not put it down. Read it and be mesmerized by the journey.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book for PR...
Review: I'm amazed about all the hype on this book. It was a painful read. His tempo is much too slow. His writing is rough and choppy. I read the back cover and they were talking of his lyrical prose. What lyrical prose? He is no better of a writer than most people out there. And by that I mean non-published authors. Seems to be just hyped up because of his pedigree background.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written story of a journey from one to another
Review: The Piano Tuner is a lovely book. Edgar Drake is carefully drawn to show the introverted English piano tuner who changes as he is compelled to travel in the East. His journey changes him and forces him to leave his old life (and wife) behind. The lotus eaters of India entice him but we understand them as we read.
I didn't mind the ending because it had been foreshadowed after one of Edgar's letters.
I hope Daniel Mason writes more books.
Rating:
Summary: Burma Bound
Review: For anyone who liked the "Piano Store on the Left Bank" and has an interest in Burma, this book is a must. An interesting blend of history and fiction. A very readable, haunting tale and particularly interesting when read with William Dalrymple's new book "White Mughals" which talks about the problem of appreciating the local culture to the extent of rebelling against the British colonial system. One of my favorite books to date this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Good tour of India in the 1800's
Review: Daniel Mason's descriptions of the Piano Tuner's travels from London to India were facinating. The complexities of inner country politics of India and the English government were confusing at times. I found this first book to be a very interesting study of first impressions. I probably learned more about the actual turning of a piano than I wanted to know.
Rating:
Summary: Good first novel.
Review: Mason displays great potential with this historically rich novel about the piano tuner and a visit to the Shan States. His colorful discriptions and interesting character development display Mason's ability to tell a wonderful story. I look forward to his next work.
Rating:
Summary: CAPTIVATED AND INVOLVED !
Review: What a first novel!!..I had no idea I would be so swept away to a land I knew little about...with people who were extradinary, vivid and captivating...I was intrigued by the back cover of the book, but I never dreamed I would be on such a gorgeous journey. I highly recommend this book to those of you who feel excited about a story that is beautifully told and also the learning process that is part of the enjoyment. From the minute you step into Edgar Drake's household until the end of the journey in Burma you are held in the palm of the hand by the author.
However,
I must admit the ending was a letdown, and that is why it is only 4 stars...I would appreciate hearing from any of you that have read this book to discuss the ending and hear your thoughts. Until then, good reading, it is a box of delicious candy, each chapter more enticing than the last.
Rating:
Summary: Great potential, but lacking passion...
Review: This novel has everything going for it: exotic locale, a distant and ancient culture and the awaking of a constricted Victorian English heart. When Edgar Drake is commissioned to tune a piano in the jungles of Burma at the request of Surgeon-Major Anthony Carroll, the temptation is too great to resist. He begins his mission with the purity of intent of a man possessed with music and the intricacies of tuning a beautifully crafted piano. His experiences as he reaches the remote jungle destination are surreal. The lure of ancient lands is an aphrodisiac to this congenitally shy man, often blurring the edges of reality. The British officers he meets, the native guides and common people open a world for Drake that is both seductive and dangerous. And when he finally arrives at the village to tune the piano, he is enchanted by the lush surroundings, trusting his own integrity to deliver him from the confusing distractions offered by the charismatic Doctor Carroll. Confused and conflicted by Carroll's requests, Drake attempts to follow the compass of his own conscience, secure in his own English values. The great disappointment of this novel is the dry, pedantic descriptions of a fascinating country, thick with detail but lacking in passion. Perhaps Mason is attempting to contrast Drake's Victorian constrictions against the tropical temptations of Burma; in this endeavor, the passion that awakens in Edgar Drake never surfaces. Ever tentative, Drake is more like a Victorian maiden than a fully fleshed male. In the last chapter, the action accelerates and Drake is caught in the conundrum of his own illusions, desperately trying to cope with reality. Other than the impetus of the final pages, the novel reads like a travelogue, often as distant and lifeless as a textbook. What should have been an adventure of discovery, curiously fails to engage the imagination, regardless of the opulent and mysterious Burmese landscape.
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