A “deeply felt meditation. . . .[Hall] presents music as a glorious metaphor for an approach to life.” –Kirkus
—More
“It’s High Fidelity for the orchestra set in this slim, assured drama.”B>Publishers Weekly
—Boston Globe
"This keenly observed and piercing character study of a complex, haunted woman grappling with the disappointments in her life and reevaluating her own ambitions should resonate with readers long after the final page is turned."B>Booklist
—Christian Science Monitor
“Hall’s spare prose is a fitting accompaniment for the life of a lonely musician, but when Pearl muses about her craft, the words sing.”B>More magazine
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“In this brief, brilliant portrait of a complicated and not altogether likable woman, [Barbara Hall] writes with remarkable insight about the power of music, the burden of an artistic gift, the pitfalls of teaching, the pain of failure, and the possibility of love, among many things.”B>Boston Globe
—PopMatters
“[A] witty, downbeat new novel.” –Christian Science Monitor
—Columbus Dispatch
“[The Music Teacher] is an exploration of the role and limits of a teacher, the burden and mystery of talent, and more than anything, the idea of what music truly is. . . Pearl's thoughts are worth pondering, and her attitude and her discussions about talent aren't soon forgotten.”-- Minneapolis Star Tribune
—Sacramento Book Review
“Hall writes beautifully about musical talent, both possessing it and the moral imperative to develop it. Her discourses on the violin are, to coin a phrase, ‘Alex Rossian’ in their beauty. . . [The Music Teacher is] a lovely, lyrical look at a world few non-musicians are privileged to enter.”--PopMatters
—Charleston Post & Courier
“The story of a teacher and a violin prodigy is told with wit and resonance – for those musical or not. This would make a great book-club read."
—Columbus Dispatch
“[Barbara Hall] is an amazing writer and this reviewer found it difficult to put The Music Teacher down. . . Hall writes with such conviction that her readers could believe every word she wrote. You can see the faces of Pearl , Hallie, and Hallie’s aunt and uncle in her vivid detail. The Music Teacher will bring out the long forgotten musician in all of us.” --Sacramento Book Review
“The Music Teacher drew pre-publication comparisons to Nick Hornby’s “High Fidelity.” Hall’s wry humor and pop music meditations likely will appeal to a similar audience. . . The Music Teacher is its own novel, though, one as much about teacher student boundaries and compromised ambition as it is about music, or even love.” –The Charleston Post and Courier