An Equal Music

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Summary: Love and Music Intertwined
Review: The impassioned poetry Vikram Seth uses to capture the relationship between Michael and Julia, two talented musicians, is mesmerizing. Though the two lovers go through the age-old story of lost love and regret, Seth writes with experienced sensitivity through the world of music. Anyone who has ever felt that true love is hard to find and easy to lose, will identify with this book.

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Summary: Stunning, tragic, a painful beauty.
Review: As a musician, I was stunned by the fluency with which Seth speaks of the lives of musicians and the world of music. Beautiful, intricate prose that describes in brilliant, colorful detail human sensations and the oft uncharted pathways of the mind and soul.

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Summary: For lovers of classical music, a tale of unrequited love...
Review: A very original book, as one has by now come to expect of Vikram Seth. This is probably the only book I've read or heard about where the protagonist is British & the author Indian! Vikram Seth's knowledge & deep love for Western classical music clearly shows. It is the story of a professional musician in London who plays for a string quartet , and who suddenly meets the girl he loved ten years ago. Though the story lacks punch and ends a little disappointingly, the style & the prose remain vintage Seth. Not as profound & moving as 'A Suitable Boy', but still worth a read for all Seth fans.

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Summary: Looks like you love it or hate it - I loved it!
Review: It would appear that people feel strongly about this book - either for or against. We discussed it in my book club and the comments divided the way they have in Amazon.com reviews: half loved it, the others could see the point at all. I liked the restraint - the story of two passions related in an almost dispassionate way. I associated very much with the characters and found it all utterly believable. I liked the air of mystery that surrounds it - starting with the footsteps in the park. Musically, it's believable. The experiences are not my experiences of playing string quartets, but I can believe that others might feel this way. And I thought the quality of the prose was stunning - full of little luminous gems! I look forward to a second read of it.

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Summary: I loved `A Suitable Boy' but...
Review: `A Suitable Boy' is one of those rare books that make you feel as if you've somehow been reborn, or have shed a skin, opening up new panoramas and perspectives. Perhaps Vikram Seth was trying to do the same here though, at least in my case, failed. This would have made a great short story but for a full-length novel I found it surprisingly and disappointingly thin. Some brilliant writing, to be sure, but for me there was too much style and too little substance.

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Summary: Uneven in tempo...I wouldn't take a repeat on this one.
Review: I really tried to enjoy this book. As a musician (both cello & piano) I thought I would relate, but pfffffftt-- just couldn't get into it. One good sentence, at the beginning, which seemed auspicious, "What I lost there (in Vienna) I have never come close to regaining," promised so much more than the the book actually delivered. I tuned-out half way thru and only finished it as one finishes playing a bad piece of music-- out of duty. And without enthusiasm.

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Summary: For all those who play music - read it!
Review: I used to play classical piano but had not done so for seven years. This book gave me back my love.

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Summary: A virtuoso performance
Review: Mr. Seth offers a thorough and plausible sketch of the life and passion of musicians and of a string quartet. The challenges of Beethoven and Brahms as well as the struggles to prepare for a recording of an obscure manuscript of a Bach fugue, parallel the tumultuous and impossible relationship of the two musicians, Michael and Julia, who have renewed their relationship after a ten year hiatus. Nature with its change of seasons as well as the language of music carry the novel that at times reads like a lyric poem. The not entirely likable, but real characters draw you in. Mr. Seth does not give in to easy solutions to their complicated lives, and in the end I was crying for Michael, although I knew it was just a novel.

Rating:
Summary: A classic romance in a beautiful setting.
Review: Although the theme of finding a first love is not unusual, or even interesting, Seth places his story in the world of classical music, and it is his clear love for music that sets this book apart. The characters were not admirable, or even particularly likeable, but Seth made them human, so we root for them. Each character, major and minor is able to be touched deeply by music and art. This extrodinary ability is clearly shared with the author. It is thus not the romance between Michael and Julia that is compelling, despite the clasic story and beautiful settings. It is rather the romance each of the characters has with music which is more interesting. Most interesting is the way that Seth describes the way that the individuals bring their relationship with the music together to form a group, and how the group experience affects them. It in the interworkings of the quartet, and their shared musical experience that make this the most romantic book I have read.

Rating:
Summary: A good read, thought provoking but puzzeling.
Review: Very thought provoking, a novel about communication and the lack of it , and the power of music to convery feeling The reader is also kept in the dark to a certain extent about past events. I know little of classical music,but don't think this puts the reader at a great disadvantage - but why is it called 'An Equal Music'? I was totally perplexed by the last page of the book!