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Fingers
Eighteen-year-old Sam has always been jealous of his younger brother, Humphrey, the famous "wonder child" pianist. But now that Humphrey is fifteen, the one-time child prodigy isn't able to get any more bookings. Sam's mother refuses to accept that Humphrey's career is over and devises a scheme to recapture his Sam will compose "new works" by a long dead gypsy composer, and they will tell the world that the composer is dictating the music to Humphrey from the grave. The scheme is a wild success--until some ghostly occurrences convince Sam that the spirit of the dead composer has actually taken over Humphrey's fingers. Have Sam and his family unleashed a force from beyond the grave?
197 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
136 people want to read
About the author
William Sleator
49 books323 followersWilliam Warner Sleator III was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland on February 13, 1945, and moved to St. Louis, MO when he was three. He graduated from University City High School in 1963, from Harvard in 1967 with BAs in music and English.
For more than thirty years, William Sleator thrilled readers with his inventive books. His House of Stairs was named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by the Young Adult Library Services Association.
William Sleator died in early August 2011 at his home in Thailand.
For more than thirty years, William Sleator thrilled readers with his inventive books. His House of Stairs was named one of the best novels of the twentieth century by the Young Adult Library Services Association.
William Sleator died in early August 2011 at his home in Thailand.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 13, 2008
All of William Sleator's books are good science fiction for young people, even though most of them take overdone subjects for yet another ride. Sleator somehow does it differently and in a more character-oriented fashion.
This one dealt with sort of a ghost possession plot; two brothers are talented in music, but one got the talent of being able to play piano really well and one got the talent of being able to compose it. What's all that got to do with a dead composer who's influencing them? OoooOOO, spooky.
This one dealt with sort of a ghost possession plot; two brothers are talented in music, but one got the talent of being able to play piano really well and one got the talent of being able to compose it. What's all that got to do with a dead composer who's influencing them? OoooOOO, spooky.
July 16, 2014
Sam is a talented composer, but he's not a very good pianist. As luck would have it, his brother Humphrey is a piano prodigy, and he gets all the attention in their family. However, people appear to be less interested in Humphrey now that he's in his mid-teens and no longer a cute child prodigy, so their mother cracks a scheme to get the audiences coming back: She will make Sam compose new pieces in the style of a long-dead composer and have Humphrey perform them, billing them as found works being channeled by the actual artist. Unfortunately, the fiction may be running away with the head and the hands of this operation. . . .
I really liked Sam as a character--as a musical person, I related to his love for musical creation, and appreciated his resentment at not being able to perform as well as his brother. The "hey, let's pretend a ghost is sending us new musical pieces" plot is a little scary for a mother to come up with just to sell tickets, but while she's not an incredibly believable character, the root of her behavior is all too real in the world of stage mothers. The incredibly spooky concept of a ghost reaching out to the brothers to dictate and perform new work was well handled.
I really liked Sam as a character--as a musical person, I related to his love for musical creation, and appreciated his resentment at not being able to perform as well as his brother. The "hey, let's pretend a ghost is sending us new musical pieces" plot is a little scary for a mother to come up with just to sell tickets, but while she's not an incredibly believable character, the root of her behavior is all too real in the world of stage mothers. The incredibly spooky concept of a ghost reaching out to the brothers to dictate and perform new work was well handled.
November 22, 2008
The book “Fingers” is an amazing thrill ride of the supernatural that will keep you flipping pages until the strange and unexpected end.
Sam’s brother Humphrey is fifteen—and the once famous child prodigy pianist is no longer able to get to get anymore concerts. It was cute when he was six and tottered out on stage and banged on the piano. But now the plump, hairy, tall pianist is not so cute. So his mother, Bridget, devises a scheme to recapture his fame. Sam will write new pieces of music; Humphrey will play them at his last concert and say that a dead gypsy composer is dictating the music through Humphrey from beyond the grave. The scheme works better than they ever imagined.
But soon, Sam notices some ghostly appearances occurring around them. A strange old man at every concert; a book about the composer in the exact seat where Sam will sit on a train. What is going on? Has a ghost actually taken over Humphrey?
William Sleator is a master of the supernatural and scary. I recommend his books to teens who like scary and strange things to think about. Out of ten, I rate this book a nine point five.
Sam’s brother Humphrey is fifteen—and the once famous child prodigy pianist is no longer able to get to get anymore concerts. It was cute when he was six and tottered out on stage and banged on the piano. But now the plump, hairy, tall pianist is not so cute. So his mother, Bridget, devises a scheme to recapture his fame. Sam will write new pieces of music; Humphrey will play them at his last concert and say that a dead gypsy composer is dictating the music through Humphrey from beyond the grave. The scheme works better than they ever imagined.
But soon, Sam notices some ghostly appearances occurring around them. A strange old man at every concert; a book about the composer in the exact seat where Sam will sit on a train. What is going on? Has a ghost actually taken over Humphrey?
William Sleator is a master of the supernatural and scary. I recommend his books to teens who like scary and strange things to think about. Out of ten, I rate this book a nine point five.
September 7, 2011
William Sleator's work was recently recommended to me by Richard Gavin, and I'm very happy it was! I really enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to checking out some of Sleator's other works.
This one did a great job of introducing a supernatural mystery and not really overexplaining it, of making everything at once grotesque and still enjoyable, of filling the book with characters who were mostly awful people without it ever being unpleasant to read, and of keeping things creepy without ever really making anything actually very scary happen. It reminded me a little bit of many of my favorite parts of M.T. Anderson's work in places.
The version I read, sadly, did not have the James Jean cover pictured here, but that's kind of the perfect cover. It really matches the style of the book nicely.
This one did a great job of introducing a supernatural mystery and not really overexplaining it, of making everything at once grotesque and still enjoyable, of filling the book with characters who were mostly awful people without it ever being unpleasant to read, and of keeping things creepy without ever really making anything actually very scary happen. It reminded me a little bit of many of my favorite parts of M.T. Anderson's work in places.
The version I read, sadly, did not have the James Jean cover pictured here, but that's kind of the perfect cover. It really matches the style of the book nicely.
November 17, 2014
I first read this book sometime in high school and I really enjoyed it then and probably would have given it 5/5 stars. Reading it again, I didn't enjoyed as much thus the 4/5 rating. I thought I'd remember most of the story but I didn't and that was okay because I felt like I was reading it for the first time again.
This book appears well versed when using musical terms and might make more sense to people that have a bigger understanding of such things. This is expected because the author is a part time rehearsal pianist for a ballet company.
The book was intentionally vague in some areas regarding the explanation of events, so if you're the kind of person who likes the ducks in a row at the end of a book I do not recommend this one. I do recommend this book to someone who is looking for characters who are far from perfect and generally not likable. That may sound strange but it does give authenticity to the characters.
This book appears well versed when using musical terms and might make more sense to people that have a bigger understanding of such things. This is expected because the author is a part time rehearsal pianist for a ballet company.
The book was intentionally vague in some areas regarding the explanation of events, so if you're the kind of person who likes the ducks in a row at the end of a book I do not recommend this one. I do recommend this book to someone who is looking for characters who are far from perfect and generally not likable. That may sound strange but it does give authenticity to the characters.
December 31, 2011
Fingers by William Sleator is very enjoyable book to read because the story has been supported with powerful and intelligent sentences.It flows easily for the most part of the book.I loved the details that William Sleator used in this book.The book “Fingers” is an amazing thrill ride of the supernatural that will keep you flipping pages until the strange and unexpected end.I'm looking forward to checking out some of William Sleator's novels.Sam is the main character of "Fingers".He is 18 years old and he has been always jealous of his younger brother.One day someone took over Sam's spirit that the spirit of the dead composer has actually taken over Humphrey's(Sam's younger brother) fingers.Overall I recommended this book to anyone who likes natural and effective novels.
May 2, 2008
William Sleator is one of my favorite authors, or probably more like my favorite author. This was a good book, even though he usually writes insane sci-fi. I finished it in like two days... Crazy. I love it when authors write about music. Turns out he's a rehearsal pianist for some ballet, so that's how he knows all that great stuff.
The pianist that supposedly possesses this guy's hands is Hungarian, his name is Laszlo Magyar. Magyar is like the Hungarian language. He's not a real pianist, but I think Sleator was inspired by Franz Lizst, who was Hungarian. This Magyar guy sounds a lot like Lizst, the way he describes his music.
The pianist that supposedly possesses this guy's hands is Hungarian, his name is Laszlo Magyar. Magyar is like the Hungarian language. He's not a real pianist, but I think Sleator was inspired by Franz Lizst, who was Hungarian. This Magyar guy sounds a lot like Lizst, the way he describes his music.
July 23, 2009
Sam, the main character, sounds petty and annoying. But I forgive him because he's eighteen and it's not his fault he sounds petty and annoying. I'm not exactly attached to any of the other characters either, but I'm giving this book three stars because it's well-written. The whole concept is a bit weird to me and the ending seems a bit sketchy, but I can imagine a younger me enjoying the book like no other.
October 19, 2015
Oh, my God. Everything--every paragraph, every sound, every musical note and every touch. The power of description in this book is absolutely phenomenal. Every single detail put into it is the exact balance between creepy and beautiful, sometimes edging to one side and sometimes to the other but keeping the balance. Lovely.
December 12, 2007
William Sleator was one of my childhood favorites, and this was one of my favorite books of his, creepy and smart. His books are shelved as young-adult, but in my opinion they stand up to adult re-reads.
July 28, 2010
A solid ghost story that slacks a little on the mood an focuses more on the telling. I was, however, stupefied ny the quality of the writing. It wa an extremely literary book, and well worth the time. Always amazed at how much more interesting and better constructed teen books are.
June 19, 2009
Fingers by William Sleator (1990)
August 18, 2012
I remember being really creeped out by this book as a child/young adult. As an actual adult, I found it interesting but not as compelling.
January 17, 2013
it's an amazing plot, but it also is a simple story, I loved the music in it, I wish I could hear them too! I also has a bunch of family values throughout the story that makes it an excellent book!
May 6, 2015
Re-read. Not my favourite of the Sleator books, because everyone is so nasty all the time, but enjoyable.
July 3, 2016
I just love this book a lot since I opened the first page.
May 19, 2017
A teen favorite of mine. A non-scary ghost story. Integrates music into everyday life, i.e. someone snores in A minor, radiators have their own tunes...
December 16, 2025
For book club, we reread favorite books that we’d read as children. I remembered this title and only a vague sense of its plot, so I dug up an out-of-print edition online. It held up well! Every chapter ends with suspense. It took me back to being a kid and the sheer delight of feeling foreboding and suspense and adventure. There’s a great sibling dynamic here, too. I had to look up a few words in the dictionary, and that pleased me to think about a young adult book that challenges kids on vocabulary, which they don’t always do. It’s a shame this is out of print. It’s a good one.
September 5, 2019
This is an early William Sleator book. The main character has a famous little brother, who is losing his "touch" in music. The character gets involved in magic and the supernatural. Good information about the Gypsy culture in Europe!
September 30, 2023
I have a soft spot for Sleator. Before everyone else was writing SF for kids, he was doing a bang-up job of doing so. A dash of horror or the supernatural makes them compelling. I am delighted to have found this in a little free library and will be returning it to another one.
Want to read
September 20, 2019its talks about how peopple are not giving up on the situatiion
August 3, 2025
Creepy, suspenseful, funny, crazy, thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining. Characterization could be better. Grades 7-9.
November 15, 2025
One word = angst; got at Joppatowne, MD Library book sale
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews