A sensual, evocative tale inspired by the life of Maria-Theresa von Paradis, The Pianist in the Dark by Michéle Halberstadt has been excerpted in the Open Road Media Blog:
SHE DOESN’T KNOW THE COLOR OF THE SKY OR THE shape of the clouds, doesn’t know the meaning of blue or red, of dark or pale. She lives in blackness. This is the word they have given to what she describes. She can make out light by its heat, its smell, sometimes even its sound: the flickering of a candle, the crackling of fire. She knows that daytime throbs with agitation and that silence awaits nightfall to be heard. Luckily for her, listening is what she does best.
She discerns sounds to which no one lends an ear: the greenhouse pane shuddering in its frame when the west wind blows; the cat’s tongue scraping its coat as it licks itself clean. She has never mistaken a sharp for a flat, a wood pigeon for a turtledove. What stirs her blood are the nuances—the spectrum of sounds, the scale of emotions. She can differentiate between alarm and fear, between a gust and a breeze, between courtesy and sincerity, between allegro and allegretto. She feels, she quivers. She vibrates, trembles, shivers.
She blushes as well.
She hopes she is pretty but is not reassured by the sympathies she elicits from her visitors. How can they be trusted? They are blinded by the pity she inspires. A young woman sitting before her musical instrument makes for a fetching image. She imagines it, composes it behind her eyelids. It could be the name of a painting. “Young Woman at the Piano.” But for the painting to work, the woman in question must be attractive.
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To read the full excerpt, please check :
http://www.openroadmedia.com/blog/2011-07-13/Excerpt-of-the-Week-i-The-Pianist-in-the-Dark-i.aspx
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