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An Equal Music

An Equal Music

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Beautifully written, but...
Review: In some ways, Vikram Seth's writing in "An Equal Music" is even more beautiful than in "A Suitable Boy." The backdrop of the world of music is compelling, and Seth has done his homework on string quartet repertoire and alternate tunings for violas. This is clearly an area that the author relishes. It's less certain how he feels about the love story. The aching of the lead character, Michael, over his lost love begins to strain credibility after awhile. In the end, this reader became annoyed with his wallow in self-pity.

I do recommend this book for the sheer virtuosity of the writing. But read "The Golden Gate" and "A Suitable Boy" first.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disappointed
Review: The music part of this book was informative and kept me interested; but the love story seemed sophomoric. I kept wondering what Julia's problem was - what did she see in this guy? The resulting drama was just plain boring and I skipped through it. This was enough to ruin his love for music and for his violin? Good grief, grow up.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: dreck!
Review: I really liked the author's other books, so I had hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I found it almost unbearably tedious. Michael seems never to have had a sappy emotion he didn't embrace and then go on and on and on about. There wasn't a single major sympathetic character in the entire book. With about 100 pages left, I kept hoping that Virginie was going to make an appearance and bring some energie and life to the story.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: anticlimactic with dischordant ending
Review: The first half of this book deserves 5 stars. Seth does a brilliant job of setting the scene, getting the reader involved in the world of his characters, and building tension around the narrator's relationship with his long-lost lover, Julia.

Once the main themes have been developed, however, Seth loses the ability to bring them to a convincing conclusion. The novel, and the characters' romance, begins to die where the narrator and Julia go off to Vienna and Venice. There are a number of petty disputes between them, but nothing to explain the sea change in their relationship that occurs.

Once everyone gets home to London, things really fall apart, for the characters and the novel. The narrator is reduced to poetic despair, and Julia returns to Boston to become the dutiful wife. Why?

My feelings echo what one reader said about A Suitable Boy: he was left "feeling bland" after reading it. This is especially so after the novel's auspicious beginning... It makes me want to grab Seth and tell him to rewrite the book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Music for Life and Love
Review: An Equal Music is a music lover's dream as it weaves its story of love and breathtaking romance through the stories of Michael Holme and Julia McNichol, lovers from music school days in Vienna who lose each other and remarkably reunite years later in London. Michael, a violinist and member of the prestigious Maggiore Quartet, and Julia, now Julia Hanson, a brilliant pianist, catch glimpses of each other on two of London's double-decker buses after ten years with no contact. Michael becomes obsessed with finding Julia for whom he has never ceased to search or love. Despite all his efforts to find her, he is unsuccessful until she comes to one of the Maggiore's concerts and waits afterward to see him. What happens next, as they inevitably reunite, is a story of tenderness mixed with heartbreak. For Michael, Julia is the one love of his life, the soulmate for whom we all aspire. Not only their music but their complete love binds them inexorably to each other for life; their playing together is so in tune that they even breathe as one and the joy they receive from that bond is beyond most earthly relationships. But perfection is not what is in store for them in their relationship. Not only is Julia married with a child, but she also has a heartbreaking secret that even Michael cannot help her overcome. Reading this book we are thrust into the international music scene as we follow the Maggiore Quartet through their rehearsals and concerts, their inevitable inner conflicts, and their triumphant performances. We learn their pieces as they examine the movements and practice them in detail. Not only do we share their technical expertise but their emotional reaction to the music as well. There is much depth here in the knowledge of music and in the intimate and lasting relationships that are formed by life and experience.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: engaging, especially if you enjoy music
Review: This book was excellent (how could Mr. Seth write anything that wasn't?) but not quite up to the standard of Mr. Seth's "A Suitable Boy." He shows the same narrative grace and power here, but the central character is occasionally loathsome--an obsessive personality who sometimes makes his lover miserable. His lover also faces a problem that may compromise her career in music. If you can overlook the central character's behavior, the book is quite enjoyable.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Subtle and sublime
Review: I recall that several years ago, I started Seth's "Golden Gate" and never finished it. Thus it was with some hesitation that I began "An Equal Music". I am so grateful that I did. I read the book over two days, and was struck by two things above all -- the dramatic tension that Seth manages to sustain, and the precision in the description of his characters. To use an obvious musical analogy, there isn't a dischordant note in the book. Seth knows how to be sympathetic at a distance -- one empathizes with the protagonist's pain at the same time that one senses Seth revealing to us the character's narcissism and romantic selfishness. I was captivated throughout, and as one who knows very little about classical music, was not in the least bit bored or distracted by the many complex musical references in the book. Hugely entertaining with a beautiful, emotionally wrenching conclusion.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Wonderful Novel
Review: Wow. I can't say that I had ever thought about the life of a professional classical musician and what it must involve (intense relationships with other performers, struggles with money etc.) but this book made me feel that I was part of that world. More importantly, the passions of Michael (the central character) for music, for his violin, and for the woman he foolishly abandoned and who has married someone else, are communicated so vividly that I feel I might recognise him if he were real and we passed in the street. This is a marvellous novel. I want to listen to all the pieces of music that feature prominently. I want to read it again and marvel at Seth's characterisation, making some unusual and, almost tragically, flawed people seem so normal. This is easily the best new book I have read this year.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Every profession has its jargon
Review: Much has been written about this book being so steeped in Western classical music that people who aren't familiar with such music will find the book boring or trite. That's not the case. True, there are long passages where the musicians talk in musical jargon. Seth makes no attempt to explain it in any way to the reader; that's the way they talk, and that's what you would have heard if you dropped into the conversation. Skimming over such passages does not detract from the rest of the book, which is lyrical and well written.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Superb!
Review: If I were to read just one book, ever, this would be it. I could really feel the love between Michael and Julia throughout the entire book. But what surprised me most, was that I thought I could hear the music they played too, even if I have never heard the music before. Truly remarkable. Read it!


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