For Austria, I picked The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of clichés and their subjugating power.”

I agree with that statement from the Nobel Prize Academy. You could also describe The Piano Teacher as Fifty Shades of Grey: The Nobel Prize Edition.

Did I enjoy this book? No.

Was it intellectually stimulating? Yes, very much.

Would I recommend this book to someone on a Read Around the World quest? If you are willing to plumb the darkest depths of humanity and get super uncomfortable for 280 pages, have it. If you are looking for a cozy romance, please run screaming in the other direction.

Would you recommend The Piano Teacher for my book club? That depends on how much you like the members of your book club.

Did this book make you want to visit Austria? Fortunately, I’ve already visited Vienna, and I thoroughly enjoyed the food, music, people, and architecture. This book dove into the seedier parts of Vienna which I have no interest in visiting.

Does the book talk about music? Yes! The discussions of music, and the titular character’s relationship with music, were some of my favorite parts of the book.

So this is one of your favorite books? I didn’t say that.

So you hated this book? I didn’t say that either. This was a tough, chewy read, and I will never forget it, but this is not the sort of book that I’m going to thrust into anyone and everyone’s hands and insist that they absolutely must read it. I was challenged, and I’m glad I picked it–but I can’t read books like this very often.