The Pianist in the Dark

This spare and elegant depiction of the life of blind Austrian piano prodigy Maria-Theresia Von Paradis%E2%80%94friend of Mozart, and brief lover of Mesmer%E2%80%94proves a seductive introduction to the work of French novelist Halberstadt. Maria-Theresia is blind by age three and undergoes years of torturous treatments at the hands of doctors intent on curing her, if sadistically so. Playing the piano becomes her sole joy and solace, and at age 17 she beseeches her father to cease the doctors' treatments; however, after meeting Franz-Anton Mesmer, who has developed a form of magnetic healing, she places herself in his care. What develops is an emotive, gently unfolding love story: Maria-Theresia begins to trust Mesmer and regains some of her eyesight, and the two develop an affecting sympathy and deepening sensual love. But all is not well: Maria-Theresia despairs of playing the piano again (her hands distract her), rumors spread, Mesmer is denounced as a charlatan, and the experiment in curing the young pianist could be doomed. Halberstadt distills the story to its very essence, and though the storytelling can sometimes feel too confining, it evokes a life of art, love, and tragedy lived almost entirely in the dark. (July)