Private Lessons, Cynthia Salaysay
Private Lessons, Cynthia Salaysay
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Private Lessons

Author: Cynthia Salaysay

Narrator: Joy Regullano

Unabridged: 7 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/12/2020

Synopsis

In a standout debut for the #MeToo era, a young pianist devotes herself to her art — and to the demanding, charismatic teacher she idolizes.After seventeen-year-old Claire Alalay’s father's death, only music has helped her channel her grief. Claire likes herself best when she plays his old piano, a welcome escape from the sadness — and her traditional Filipino mother’s prayer groups. In the hopes of earning a college scholarship, Claire auditions for Paul Avon, a prominent piano teacher, who agrees to take Claire as a pupil. Soon Claire loses herself in Paul’s world and his way of digging into a composition’s emotional core. She practices constantly, foregoing a social life, but no matter how hard she works or how well she plays, it seems impossible to gain Paul’s approval, let alone his affection. Author Cynthia Salaysay composes a moving, beautifully written portrait of rigorous perfectionism, sexual awakening, and the challenges of self-acceptance. Timely and vital, Private Lessons delves into a complicated student/teacher relationship, as well as class and cultural differences, with honesty and grace.

About Cynthia Salaysay

Cynthia Salaysay holds a BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and has attended fiction workshops at Tin House. She has written food and culture articles for the San Francisco Examiner, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the East Bay Express, and Civil Eats. About Private Lessons, her first novel, she says, “I started to write this book in the wake of a difficult breakup. I wanted to communicate with girls about how confusing it is to be in love with an abusive person, how difficult it is to see through them, and how sharing intimacy can affect you. I want girls to know it is survivable, and that despite the pain of the experience, you still have worth. You still have your voice and your spirit.” Cynthia Salaysay currently works as a Reiki practitioner and an operating-room nurse in Oakland, California.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Shealea on October 09, 2020

Full review to follow. I received a physical ARC of Private Lessons from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Candlewick Press! Trigger/Content warnings: (view spoiler)[on-page rape of a minor; graphic sex scenes; underage smoking and drinking; death of a parent; cancer (hide spoiler)]......more

Goodreads review by Kristi on May 19, 2020

Private Lessons by Cynthia Salaysay is not a feel great sunshiny book. I don’t think the author intended it to be so. It’s a story about Claire, a piano protégé’ who falls prey to her instructor, Paul’s, machinations and for lack of a better word, is groomed to be taken advantage of. This is a painf......more

Goodreads review by its.me.the.bibliophile on June 19, 2020

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for a chance to read & review an E-ARC of this novel!** This was a surprisingly intense read with important themes of overcoming hardships, grief, cultural differences, expectations that we put on ourselves, expectations from others, friendship, &......more

Goodreads review by Toya (thereadingchemist) on May 18, 2020

The more time I've had to sit and think about this book, the more I realize that this one really just wasn't for me. It has to do more with the writing rather than the specific content. Claire is a first generation American with Filipino immigrants as parents. With that comes the pressure to be perf......more

Goodreads review by Nursebookie on May 23, 2020

This story is about Claire and her struggles with losing a parent, her relationship with her very traditional Filipino mother, and about a new piano teacher in this complex student/teacher relationship. A great debut novel by Cynthia Salaysay and I enjoyed reading this book. Congratulations to a fel......more

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