Book Review: The Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita

Recently, I have been reading a lot of Japanese books (which have obviously been translated – I can’t read or speak Japanese) so there is a possibility that you will be seeing more Japanese content on the blog. And I know I have been quiet for a while. I am so sorry. I don’t really have an excuse except that i have been busy with my studies and then it was the holidays so my mind was just on a totally different mind space. But I am back. If you are new, feel free to read my only other post. So let’s continue with my first book review for this blog. I hope you enjoy it!!!

This book kind of caught me off guard. I have read books about musicians and the stress of playing in front of a huge audience. A book like An Equal Music comes to mind. But never have I read a book about the piano tuner. I feel like as someone who has played piano before and a few other instruments, you just don’t really think about the piano tuner. It is something in the background that happens, but you never really think about the impact of the tuner’s job on the piano and pianist’s performance. This book will not only change the way your view on the tuner, but it will also change the way you see a piano. It is after all called The Forest of Wool and Steel (Hitsuji to Hagane no Mori) which refers to the piano.

I do not know if it is the way the book was translated (credits to the translator – Philip Gabriel) or maybe it is the way the Japanese write, but I haven’t read a book which touched me so deeply in a while. Because of the way it is written. The descriptions and metaphors are just amazing. It transcends you. Writing like this makes me feel like I will never be anywhere close to the writing of this book. You almost feel like what you are reading is not real. Like you are just imagining this writing exists. It transforms the way you look at the piano and at life. Something which clearly stood out between the lines is that you should reach for your dreams, because if you really want something bad enough and you work hard enough, you will be successful.

I definitely recommend this book and I give it a 10/10. Because it deserves this. In fact, I don’t have any critique at all. So go read this. This is a must-read. And if you don’t want to read it (if you are not a reader), I know there is a movie adaptation from the book. I haven’t watched it so I don’t know the quality of the movie, but it is based off an amazing book.