'Two love stories lie at the centre of this impressive debut, which explores the moral ambiguities of war, culture, race and romantic love. Intriguing, sad, rivetingly detailed' Elizabeth Buchan, Daily Mail

'[A] lovely novel – it has an old-fashioned solidity and craftsmanship and effortlessly recreates the atmosphere of post-war Hong Kong' Kate Saunders, The Times

'This is a rare and exquisite story. It does exactly what a great novel should do – transports you out of time, out of place, into a world you can feel on your very skin' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of 'Eat, Pray, Love'

'This season's “Atonement”…a first-class steamer ticket to a disappearing Hong Kong’ Elle Magazine

'This cinematic tale of two love affairs in mid-century Hong Kong shows colonial pretensions tainted by wartime truths…Lee unfolds each story, and flits between them, with the brisk grace and discretion of the society she describes’ New Yorker

'Laced with intrigue…Readers will be enthralled by Lee's depiction of Will's relationships with his two lovers…and the unsparing way Lee unravels them’ New York Times

'War. Love. Betrayal. The harsh lessons of history. These are big subjects for any veteran writer, and yet, in her first novel, Janice Y.K. Lee confronts them admirably’ Washington Post

'Evocative, poignant and skilfully crafted, “The Piano Teacher” is more than an epic tale of war and a tangled, tortured love story. It is the kind of novel one consumes in great, greedy gulps, pausing (grudgingly) only when absolutely necessary’ Chicago Tribune

Janice Y.K. Lee graduated from Harvard University. She worked as a features editor at 'Elle' and 'Mirabella' magazines in New York before becoming a full-time writier. A Korean-American, she currently lives in Hong Kong with her family.