Author(s): Elfriede Jelinek

Fiction

A haunting tale of morbid voyeurism and mashochism. The Piano Teacher, is one of the greatest contemporary European novels. Erika Kohut, a piano teacher at the Vienna Conservatory, is in her 40's and still lives with her mother. Their relationship is deeply disturbed - they fight throughout - but it is Erika's twisted sexuality which dominates her. Whilst her mother waits up for her, Erika trawls the seedy side of contemporary Vienna, visiting porn cinemas and peep shows. This Jekyll and Hyde existence is dramatically disturbed by a handsome young student who feels his musical talent is not sufficiently appreciated by Kohut. As the relationship between teacher and pupil spirals rapidly out of control, Jellnek paints a terrifying picture of a woman consumed by the ecstasy of self-destruction.