Rating: 
Summary: wanted an encore after suitable boy, but....
Review: Quite unremarkable novel except for the passion and flair with which seth tells the story. Not much to say about the storyline. rather trite and a not-so-easily-understandable character of the narrator. Suitable Boy still is seth's tour-de-force. For all seth's love for music, I wish this could have been a better novel. Seth is truly a brilliant author and I hope he comes up with another novel as good as 'A suitable boy'.
Rating: 
Summary: Fell in love straightaway!
Review: I loved the book, its language like poetry and especially the the true to life descriptions of the music world: the jealousy, the backlash, the pettiness and above all, the exstasy! For me, it is the first 5 star book I've read in years and I read a lot!
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing music
Review: I think Seth has gone to a lot of trouble and detail in his depiction of the life of a musician, but i think he often got carried away with this aspect of the book at the expense of the story. I enjoyed both his wonderful style of writing and the story at first but it seemed to stagnate and become at times obscure and generally self-indulgent after the first 100 pages or so. i think it could have been a more powerful book if it was condensed and i found the characters, in particular Michael and Julia frustrating in that they were impenetrable and two-dimensional. This book could've been a lot better. Overall effect= depressing!
Rating:
Summary: Ugh
Review: Being a musician myself, I became very curious about this novel. I read about 20 pages of it in the bookstore and decided that it was good enough to buy. After reading the rest of it, I must say that it is deeply disappointing. Seth has obviously gone through a lot of trouble to convey the lives of musicians, and he has such a great affection for music. But the story itself is really mediocre. Granted, this sort of thing is what happens in all of our lives (not just musicians), but the way it was told -- cliches from trashy romance novels and buckets of sentimentality without a drop of sentiment -- is just, well, banal. Once again, it's not what is said, but HOW it is said. There are traces of a good novel (characterization is quite good, for example), but too much of it is self-indulgent and self-pitying. The final point of the novel -- that music is justification enough to endure life's hardships -- is a good one (I know if firsthand, I dare say), but it's approach is terribly forced. A musician's life is both less and yet much more remarkable than its depiction in Seth's novel. Read it only if you want to read a pretty commonplace love story. I personally regret spending my money on the hardcover edition.
Rating: 
Summary: I loved it!
Review: It's my first Seth's book. It has just come out in bookstore translated in italian. I read it in three days. Wonderful. Very romantic and truly european. Absolutely not boring even if is about classical music, a very complex topic. The description of Carpaccio's dog in Schiavoni frescoes in Venice is amazing. I am buying a lot of copies of the book for people I love.
Rating:
Summary: Classical music has finally received the praises it deserves
Review: Vikram Seth goes about putting classical music in today's world into the spotlight. He gives an accurate description of the life of an English quartet in 20th century England. There is no other way to describe this book other than superbly written.
Rating:
Summary: A very different book from Vikram Seth
Review: This book makes easy and relaxing reading. But, it is so different from his other books in the following aspects: > All his other books have a strong autobiographical touch to it so much so that I have to make effort to remember 'Michael' the main character is not Seth. > This book can be easily read without keeping a dictionary by the side unlike 'Golden Gate' and even 'Suitable Boy' to an extent. The book is very well written and the story flows, but don't expect to read Seth's typical distinctive style in the writing. I like the book.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but for other reasons.........
Review: V. Seth has an incredible way of detailing the every day lives of people - keeps readers very interested. His novel is unparaleled in its portrayal of the lives of european-classical musicians. Book starts off great, however begins to drag in the middle. To a certain degree, we can all relate to Michael's situation with Julia but, the novel's flaw is that after awhile his endless infatuation become too pathetic, a bit unrealistic, and boring. The underlying story somewhat reminds me of Hardy's "Jude." Overall, I recommend Seth's novel first, for the special glimpse of classical musicians, their passion for music, and the wonderful imagery of classical music and second, for the overdrawn story of two former lovers.
Rating:
Summary: Play on, Seth
Review: When Julia plays the piano, it's music to Michael's ears, not Julia's. But then, who says music's just to be heard? It's to be felt, it's to be experienced, it's to be fallen in love with. To be complete is an advantage, not a necessity. Why would "the Art of Fugue" be such a moving piece otherwise?I don't know what to call the story. A love story in the backdrop of music? A musical journey in the backdrop of love? Whatever be it, it's an equal music. This is the first time I'm according 5 stars to a book.
Rating:
Summary: Slow reading for me
Review: The cover for the book An Equal Music is a painting by Il Padavino of Orpheus leading Eurydice out of the underworld. Orpheus, the son of a muse is a legendary hero with the gift of superhuman skill in music. He decends to Hades to restore his dead wife Eurydice to the upper world. The common strory is that his music charmed the nether dieties into consenting to her return on the condition that he should precede her and not look back, and that he lost her again by breaking this condition. In the book Michael loses Julia the first time by leaving her suddenly. He is 26 and she is 22 at the time. Ten years later he meets Julia again. After a trip to play a concert together, he loses her again. Like Orpheus, Michael's ability with music allows him to re unite with a love dormant for 10 years. It is not so clear what the condition was that prompted his loss, although in the myth it is called looking back. So the cover has some relation to the story. It is noted in the book that Michael has moods and depression. One must conclude that Michael is emotionally unstable and falls apart easily. The reason for leaving Julia the first time is unclear but related to his teacher not Julia. The final break is Julia's decision but Michael goads her showing poor interpersonal ability. He has also been unaware of the nature of the relationship with Virginie, his girl friend and student, who he should have realized was in love with him and should not have been treated in such a rotten way. So Michael loses his girl friend, Julia, his job and mental stability. Even call girls do not bring release. However the part about the ability of a string quartet to work together is a little pretentious. Bill Monroe and the blue grass boys also play in ensable and their performance skill is no less than the group that plays the classics.
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