Private Lessons by Cynthia Salaysay (review)

Claire knows her musicianship could go farther than just playing her late father’s beloved piano, so she connects with a brilliant teacher in San Francisco, Paul Avon, and under his tutelage starts to place at competitions. The seventeen-year-old begins to see the future she longed for, of going away to college and escaping her Filipino family’s financial struggles. Her desire to please Paul and her yearning to feel special lead her to a sexual encounter with him, but it’s only as she slowly sorts out her feelings and shares with a friend that she realizes her participation wasn’t consensual and that he abused his power over her. The story is immersively musical from the start, with observations about style, expression, and craft that will speak to any reader who appreciates artistic commitment. Salaysay also writes with silken detail of the privileged world that Claire passes through in her studies and competitions, where the occasional racial microaggression reminds her of her outsider status, and class issues underscore the power dynamic that draws Claire and blinds her to Paul’s abuse. The book is deft in conveying the hothouse intimacy of lessons, where physical touching and side-by-side closeness are the norms—but may also blend into grooming. The book is keenly realistic in the gradualness of Claire’s understanding and in her response to the event; there’s no grandstanding punishment for Paul, but readers will still cheer to see Claire succeeding without him on her own terms.