The Hidden World of a Paris Atelier

"In this engaging memoir, an American writer living in Paris recounts his experiences in a piano shop tucked into an out-of-the way street on the rive gauche."

When I found a second copy at a very reasonable price, I could not resist to buy it, as I can use it to split up the very long shippinglist of SqueakyChu's stalled bookray into a European and an International part.

for more journal entries see: European leg of the ray (STALLED)

Please sign my Guestmap if you joined this ray

Shipping list:
(those with * are from the original list and have reconfirmed)

Mailed by me: 6/30-2006

*fsr44 (Rhode Island -- int'l)
*Satnam (New Hampshire -- int'l)
*ldpaulson (California -- US/int'l)
*Suefitz (Saratoga, California--US/int'l
*ajsmom (British Columbia, Canada -- int'l)
*tantan (Gympie, Queensland, Australia -- Aust/int'l
*catsalive Rooty Hills NSW, AUS=>AUS/INTL
*xoddam Sydney NSW, AUS=> AUS/INTL
ukcanaus - Melbourne VICT, AUS=>AUS
LadyIndigo - Orange, NSW, AUS=>AUS
beaulivre -Sydney, NSW, AUS=>anywhere
Sujie AUS-NSW=>Int'l
tqd -Sydney, NSW, AUS=>AUS/INT'l if needed
*hshah India (expects to move to the UK end of 2007, see note below)<= 4/7 it's here END OF RAY
end of ray. The last one on the list can do with the book whatever he/she likes. CLOSED.

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hshah joined the original ray, a long time ago, before the first copy stalled. At the time she did not know that she would be moving to the UK, otherwise I would have put her on the European shipping list of the other copy (which got stalled also). Hope someone will be willing to send it overseas.

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to all participants:

Please:

• make a journal entry when the book arrives
• try to read it within a month
• PM the next on the list for his/her address*
• make a journal entry when finished
• wrap it up well and send it to on. Mention the date you did!
• PM me in case of any problems/unforeseen delay

Happy reading!

*Hint: Ask for the address of the next on the list well before you have finished reading; sometimes it takes a while to get a reply. Some people don't get PM's. You may want to look for an e-mail address on their profile, or leave an ISO message on the forum. Cheapest postage rate is fine.

RELEASE NOTES:

sent to fsr44 (bookray)

Received yesterday. I dived into it immediately!

Fascinating and atmospheric. This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves music or Paris. I'm making a note to buy a copy for a friend of mine this Christmas.
Sending off to Satnam.

This arrived last week, but I don't have internet access at home. I kept forgetting to bring the BCID# to work. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book.

This book ring (and a huge stack of others) arrived in my postal box the week of September 17. I promise to do my best to read these all as soon as humanly possible. Please understand that this may not be as soon as any of us likes. I am having a second round of dental surgery and a huge life transition begins the week following.

Reading will be a most welcome diversion when I am able to have a bit of uninterrupted time to myself.

I appreciate this book and can’t wait to read it! It's one I've been really eager to read.

This book arrived safely - hope to do some reading over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Note:

Just informed the people that are waiting to read this book, that I'm sorry it's moving so slowly. Nothing much I can do about it. Current reader does not answer my PMs, nor my ISO message, urging her to send it on.

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Finally received a PM on Febr. 6th from Suefitz, saying she planned to send it on the next weekend. Well it's Monday 26th now, so three weekends later and I have not seen a release note nor a JE! Promises, promises (?)

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And another PM on March 1st that it will be send out soon. I will not celebrate until I get the JE from ajsmom that it landed in her mailbox!

slow book for me - but finally finished. It was a great story in the end.

RELEASE NOTES:

Releasing to ajsmom in Canada - Enjoy!

Received today, hurray!

Very atmospheric. I liked the author's journey as he learned some secrets about Paris, bought himself a piano and began to play again. I have to admit to glazing over in parts and spending some time wondering where he found all this free time to play and hang about in l'atelier - he has a family, n'est-ce pas? In any case, I am now admiring my own generations-old upright all the more for having read the book.

Thanks for the revival, bestfriends. I will be contacting tantan asap.

RELEASE NOTES:

Air mailed to tantan this morning.

Received today - many thanks ajsmom. It'll be up next after my current read.

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Edit May 5th, 2007: I started this one earlier this week, and I'm enjoying it so far.

This took me a long time to read (although everything seems to be taking a long time lately...), but I really loved the book. It was a beautiful glimpse into a very different kind of life, and an atmospheric look at Paris in general. The snippets of information about the piano and it's history were also informative. After having originally played the piano for over ten years, it's now been about six years since I last touched one, and this book really made me miss the experience. I'm looking forward to one day picking up where I left off, and being able to spend time finding the piano that's right for me.

This will be heading off to catsalive as soon as I have an address. Sorry I had it so long.

Heading off to catsalive today.

Got it, thanks tantan. I have 2 piano bookrings now: the other (The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason) was looking sadly bereft sitting there on its own - I had just the one, read it, ONE, bookring book. Silly me thinking I had some breathing space at last, &, you guessed it, another bookring book also arrived today. Doh!

I really enjoyed this little book. I loved the walks around Paris, the talks in the Piano Shop, the information about pianos, their makers & their making - I found the discussion of the different types & sounds of pianos quite fascinating. It made me wish I'd stuck with it all those years ago but I suffered from the enforced you will do it this way & you will play these pieces & you will sit your exams - it turned me right off the whole thing & I quit as soon as I could. Ah, regrets! I have a few, unlike Edith.

Thanks, bestfriends. I'm waiting on word from xoddam.

Posted to xoddam this arvo.

On 21st July xoddam let me know (upon request), that the book has indeed arrived, just not been journaled. Sender (catsalive) may also have wondered whether it got lost in the mail, hence this little interruption!!!

According to the rules the book is due to be sent on already by now!

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August 15th update:

I put an ISO in the bookring forum
as there has been no reply to PM's sent.

Yes, I appreciate you letting me know it got to xoddam safely. Bad xoddam!

Yes, bad xoddam. I received this safely over a month ago and read it right away, but haven''t actually had it close to a usable computer in all that time. Yesterday I got another book from catsalive with a curt little post-it on it reminding me to journal this, so I''ve brought it in to work along with my own post-it bearing ukcanaus'' address, whither it will be sent this evening.

Thaddeus Carhart has written a gorgeous memoir here. I particularly loved his visit to Fazioli in Sacile, and his little historical tangents, not only about the development of piano technology but also about his children''s little music school and other random things. Beautiful.

My own dear brother is a bit of a piano nut, not a retail dealer but a pianist who buys "undervalued" pianos on a whim and has them restored and occasionally he feels the need to part with one when he''s feeling impecunious.

I loved the book and I''m grateful to bestfriends and catsalive for sharing it with me. It''s off to ukcanaus now.

Book arrived safely today (along with some lovely teabags - thanks very much, xoddam!).

This book easily captured my attention (Paris and music!). Carhart's interesting ability to mix the past and the present meant you were never quite sure what each chapter would reveal. This book inspired me to play the piano again regularly (after a long break) as well as to appreciate this special instrument from a different perspective.

Will be sent to LadyIndigo tomorrow (Sept 18). Thanks, bestfriends, for sharing.

book has arrived safely in orange supported by a bunch of tea bags ... not the same ones from xoddam?... this may be starting a little trend ;-)

thanx for the package ukcanaus

~*~*~*~
edit december 2007
i have to edit my je as to add a new (real) je means i have to 'catch' the book again and that doesn't seem quite right

i liked the history and the info about building pianos - i almost feel as though i want to go and buy a piano and start lessons myself!
however buying a piano is not as easy as it seems on initial thinking

i also liked luc, and i enjoyed how the differences in cultures were portrayed.. the writer is an american living in france and yet he is not the only non-french person in the story, nearly everyone he meets along the way is from somewhere else (not sure if they were temporary or permanent settlers to france- but that's irrelevant)

thanks best friends for sharing this book

apologies for delay in passing- life hiccups sometimes occur and get in the way of our reading
tqd is buried under many many bookrings so this book is now going to beaulivre, next reader on the list

;-)

Reminder that it's about time to send this book to the next on the list!
Don't do it for me, I have read it, but others haven't and they are waiting! If there are problems or unforeseen circumstances, please PM me! We'll find a solution.

This arrived early last week just before I went away for a few days so I didn't have a chance to make a journal entry. I'm looking forward to reading it, even took it on holiday with me, but haven't started it. I should be able to pass it on to Sujie pretty quickly!

Thanks for sharing bestfriends and for passing it on LadyIndigo!

I really enjoyed this memoir of sorts. It wasn't quite what I was expecting as I thought it was just another book about the fabulous time the writer had discovering French culture and swanning about Paris (which would have been fine) but I was pleasantly surprised. Carhart evokes the world of the atelier wonderfully and writes with passion about the complexities of the piano and joy to be gained from music. I found it really fascinating and it has made me wish that I took learning the piano more seriously in my early teens. I now see the cumbersome instrument that has inhabited my parents house and on which I have stubbed many a toe and at which I spent much time feeling frustrated by my inability to conjure forth great music in a new and fonder light!

Thanks for sharing this bestfriends! I've PMed Sujie for her address and will send it on asap.

Arrived today, thanks beaulivre and bestfriends. I had 11 magic days wandering around Paris twenty years ago. I hope this takes me back.

Like ukcanaus I now see a piano from a different perspective, but I saw Paris again distinctly. I could have been there with Carhart as he sat in the huge courtyard of the music school, hidden in that magical maze of streets on the Left Bank. A lot of lovely memories evoked in this charming book.
Thanks, bestfriends.
PMing tqd. Also I've mended the spine, split from lots of use.

Arrived safe and sound today. Luckily it was rescued from the mailbox before the thunderstorm! Not that the mailbox is leaky, but it was one terribly dramatic thunderstorm. My favourite bit of the storm: standing under a shelter, when a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning occur simultaneously, and I heard a *tinkle* *tinkle* from the light fixtures in the shelter and the nearby traffic lights went out.

I was *so* not going to walk anywhere until that storm was well away from me. And then, 10 minutes later, all was blue skies and sunshine again. Funny old weather.

To cut my ramblings short: the book is here, it's in fabulous nick (I want your spine-mending skills, sujie!), and I'm looking forward to reading it.

PVA glue and a big bulldog clip, tqd! The skill is not getting excess between the pages...
Love your storm anecdote - it was pretty dramatic down here in KV, too.

Just caught a bit of the news, and they reckoned it was a month's worth of rain in an hour!

And, of course, I had washing on the line. *sigh*

Oh dear, I finished this one some days ago, so now have to spend a while dredging up from my memory what I wanted to say (and I'll probably forget most of my ideas, *sigh*).

The bit that stuck in my mind the most was his terror as a small child of the piano recitals he had to give while taking piano lessons, and his insistence on learning for personal pleasure when he returned to the piano as an adult. I used to sing in choirs (before the kids took up all my spare time), and I agree wholeheartedly with him. It's fun learning how to sing, it's exhausting and tiring and nervewracking singing in front of people. But try telling that to any of my choral buddies! (They're obviously far more extroverted than I ever was or ever will be!)

I regret that I never learnt the piano now. I did want to, but musical ability is fairly limited in our family (you don't need to know much music to sing in a choir!), and lessons are rather expensive. Still, they're such beautiful instruments (even the old solid uprights) and a fascinating bit of engineering. I did love seeing the interior workings of pianos when I visited a childhood friend whose mum had a grand piano. I rather enjoyed the explanation of piano tuning in this book too!

However, the highlight of the book for me was meeting Fazioli. A clever mechanical engineer, a talented musician, and a visionary who could think up (and achieve) building a better piano? I'm in lust with this man's brains already.

Thank you very much bestfriends for the chance of reading this book! I've already recommended it to several friends (one of whom rang me from the bookshop a day or two later to find out the author's name, so obviously I raved convincingly! actually, it was the Paris angle, she reckons her mum would love a copy). And I shall get this moving to hshah as soon as I get an address.

UPDATE 28 March 2008: And in the post to hshah today! Happy reading!

Thanks bestfriends for organising the ray and to tqd for sending it all the way to London!

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Since i have loads of books just lying around in the house, and i need room for more books ...............so a few go to charity.