The Piano Man

by Marcia Preston

Book Overview

The Piano Man by Marcia Preston released on Mar 28, 2006 is available now for purchase. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778322262
• ISBN13: 9780778322269
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Great characters

Ms. Preston introduces us to a bereft mother carrying on imaginary conversations with her dead son. We also meet the love he left behind, as well as the man who caused his accidental death. His mother's best plan to deal with her grief is to find the recipient of her boy's organ donation. The characters are so well drawn, readers can just feel the desperation the mom's voice. An interesting and well done story.

Love has many faces --

". . . and even that didn't stay long. Like good health and true love." That wry comment at the top of page 114 actually refers to rain water in the arroyo behind the bar where Mason McKinnon plays piano, but the tone is everywhere in this well-written tale of an organ transplant. The story begins with the donor of the organs, victim of a horrendous automobile crash, and his mother. An only child, Nathan O'Neal is on a trip to inspect the college he might like to attend, when the accident causes such severe injuries, there is and can be no hope for him to survive. His mother, Clare, elects to honor his wish to be an organ donor, but finds no healing in her actions. Unable to find any peace for herself in her work or personal life, she elects to seek out the recipient of Nathan's heart, to see if somehow her son's persona lives on. Mason McKinnon is a violinist in a symphony orchestra, married to a cellist, or so Clare thinks until she decides to really dig into the situation. Once she finds Mason, however, it's to discover that he's now playing the piano in a small smoke-filled bar, and he's contributing some of the smoke! If he's smoking--which is against the rules for transplant recipients--what other infractions is he committing? Clare leaves her real estate business in the hands of friends and sets out to reclaim Mason, whether or not he wants--or needs--to be reclaimed. This is the beautiful and touching tale of their various encounters. The melodies that Mason performs wind their way sinuously through this story, which is never as simple as it may seem. Not a romance, it is a love story, and one that will stay with you for a long time, I think. Love has many guises, and should never be turned away.

Excellent character development

This book was a quick, easy summer read. I enjoyed the characters and the plot and how she approached their different emotions. Very realistic story and a unique theme. Because it stayed true to a real life plot, it didn't have the 'syrupy happy ending' that a lot of novels tend to have. It could have really happened. What a great book! I recommend it whole heartedly!

Deep and Full of Insight

What a wonderful novel-fresh, timely, intricate and emotionally deep. Marcia Preston's insights into such a variety of characters dealing with extremely different issues is nothing short of amazing. Before reading The Piano Man, I knew next to nothing about what organ recipients go through and hadn't given much thought to what the relatives of donors feel. If you want to know how other people think, how it feels to walk in their shoes, how to help friends and family with the burdens they carry, read The Piano Man. It's not trite, sappy or preachy, just a hard-hitting realistic drama of life that ends with a note of hope and healing.

marcia preston does it again.

WOW!! MARCIA PRESTON HAS DONE IT AGAIN.MARCIA HAS GIVEN US ANOTHER NOVEL WITH A GREAT STORYLINE,COMPELLING CHARACTERS AND A LOOK INTO THE WORLD OF ORGAN TRANSPLANTS AND HOW IT AFFECTS EVERONE INVOLVED. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN UNTIL I FINISHED.