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An Equal Music
The violinist hero of Vikram Seth's third novel would very much like to be hearing secret harmonies. Instead, living in London 10 years after a key disaster, Michael Holme is easily irritated by his beautiful young (and even French!) girlfriend and by his colleagues in the Maggiore Quartet. In short, he's fed up with playing second fiddle in life and art. Yet a chance encounter with Julia, the pianist he had loved and lost in Vienna, brings Michael sudden bliss. Her situation, however--and the secret that may end her career--threatens to undo the lovers.
An Equal Music is a fraction of the size of Seth's A Suitable Boy, but is still deliciously expansive. In under 400 pages, the author offers up exquisite complexities, personal and lyrical, while deftly fielding any fears that he's composed a Harlequin for highbrows. During one emotional crescendo, Michael tells Julia, "I don't know how I've lived without you all these years," only to realize, "how feeble and trite my words sound to me, as if they have been plucked out of some housewife fantasy." In addition to the pitch of its love story, one of the book's joys lies in Seth's creation of musical extremes. As the Maggiore rehearses, moving from sniping and impatience to perfection, the author expertly notates the joys of collaboration, trust, and creation. "It's the weirdest thing, a quartet," one member remarks. "I don't know what to compare it to. A marriage? a firm? a platoon under fire? a self-regarding, self-destructive priesthood? It has so many different tensions mixed in with its pleasures."
An Equal Music is a novel in which the length of Schubert's Trout Quintet matters deeply, the discovery of a little-known Beethoven opus is a miracle, and each instrument has its own being. Just as Michael can't hope to possess Julia, he cannot even dream of owning his beloved Tononi, the violin he has long had only on loan. And it goes without saying that Vikram Seth knows how to tell a tale, keeping us guessing about everything from what the Quartet's four-minute encore will be to what really occasioned Julia's departure from Michael's life. (Or was it in fact Michael who abandoned Julia?) As this love story ranges from London to Michael's birthplace in the north of England to Vienna to Venice, few readers will remain deaf to its appeals. --Kerry Fried
380 pages, Hardcover
First published March 25, 1999
251 people are currently reading
7053 people want to read
About the author
Vikram Seth
60 books1,700 followersVikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and memoirist.
During the course of his doctorate studies at Stanford, he did his field work in China and translated Hindi and Chinese poetry into English. He returned to Delhi via Xinjiang and Tibet which led to a travel narrative From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet (1983) which won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.
The Golden Gate: A Novel in Verse (1986) was his first novel describing the experiences of a group of friends who live in California. A Suitable Boy (1993), an epic of Indian life set in the 1950s, got him the WH Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
His poetry includes The Humble Administrator's Garden (1985) and All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990). His Beastly Tales from Here and There (1992) is children's book consisting of ten stories in verse about animals.
In 2005, he published Two Lives, a family memoir written at the suggestion of his mother, which focuses on the lives of his great-uncle (Shanti Behari Seth) and German-Jewish great aunt (Henny Caro) who met in Berlin in the early 1930s while Shanti was a student there and with whom Seth stayed extensively on going to England at age 17 for school. As with From Heaven Lake, Two Lives contains much autobiography.
An unusually forthcoming writer whose published material is replete with un- or thinly-disguised details as to the personal lives of himself and his intimates related in a highly engaging narrative voice, Seth has said that he is somewhat perplexed that his readers often in consequence presume to an unwelcome degree of personal familiarity with him.
During the course of his doctorate studies at Stanford, he did his field work in China and translated Hindi and Chinese poetry into English. He returned to Delhi via Xinjiang and Tibet which led to a travel narrative From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet (1983) which won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.
The Golden Gate: A Novel in Verse (1986) was his first novel describing the experiences of a group of friends who live in California. A Suitable Boy (1993), an epic of Indian life set in the 1950s, got him the WH Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
His poetry includes The Humble Administrator's Garden (1985) and All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990). His Beastly Tales from Here and There (1992) is children's book consisting of ten stories in verse about animals.
In 2005, he published Two Lives, a family memoir written at the suggestion of his mother, which focuses on the lives of his great-uncle (Shanti Behari Seth) and German-Jewish great aunt (Henny Caro) who met in Berlin in the early 1930s while Shanti was a student there and with whom Seth stayed extensively on going to England at age 17 for school. As with From Heaven Lake, Two Lives contains much autobiography.
An unusually forthcoming writer whose published material is replete with un- or thinly-disguised details as to the personal lives of himself and his intimates related in a highly engaging narrative voice, Seth has said that he is somewhat perplexed that his readers often in consequence presume to an unwelcome degree of personal familiarity with him.
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July 22, 2019
‘An Equal Music’ is indeed a musical story. The language is immensely beautiful. Throughout the book, one sees how much time human beings spend tuning ‘things’ so that they can live in harmony. In this story, the characters struggle with notes, compositions, and life. Both music and life demand the same things, it is only in certain moments the right notes of joy, bliss, and happiness are struck. The central character in the story, not only in the practice sessions but in real life too, searches for ‘an equal music.’
While Seth dedicates the book – through a beautifully worded poem– to his intimate friend Philippe Honore. In addition to this, the book opens with the following luminous lines of John Donne.
“And into that gate they shall enter, and in that house they shall dwell, where there shall be no cloud, nor sun, no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light, no noise nor silence, but one equal music, no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession, no foes nor friends, but one equal communion and identity, no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity.”
These lines, in some very significant ways, clarify Us to ourselves. All of us, knowingly or unknowingly, strive to attain that space of ‘one equal eternity.’ For some, such quests are even more daunting. The story of Michael, at least in the beginning, reads like the story of a homosexual man. In the first thirty pages, he is seen playing, practicing music, talking to friends, but his real love– Julia– appears much later. He sees her through his window seat. With his current girlfriend, Michael is hardly at ease; and the one he truly loves is nowhere in sight. So what he really has is himself: his walks, his music, his books, his thoughts, these are the things that actually sustain him. In a way, this acute loneliness and search for ‘balance’ run throughout the novel.
There are small instances in the book that mirrors ‘experiences’ central to gay lives. For instance, once while walking, Michael feels that someone is walking behind him. He describes it thus; “the anonymous person seemed to have made up his mind and walked with renewed energy and overtook Michael– indicating lack of interest.” In yet another instance, Michael talks randomly with a man on one ‘wintry’ evening. The whole scene reads as if he were cruising. One man is seen taking a dip in icy water, the other, being lonely, wandering for no particular reason. Both searching for ‘something.’
Anybody who likes western classical music would love reading this book. Even though I am not particularly familiar with it, I loved how seamlessly the story is entwined with the language of music.
However, the quest for home and love is eternal. One can live ‘bliss’ in moments, one can glimpse it many times, but one cannot inhabit it fully and forever. This quest is more difficult when the world around is hostile. A world that still tries to stifle certain ‘kinds of love.’ In such a hostile setting, the search for the ‘unspeakable love’ is exhausting.
The book ends on a hopeful note, justifying the title and the story. There is no reason to despair.
“Music, such music is a sufficient gift. Why ask for happiness; why hope not to grieve? It is enough, it is to be blessed enough, to live from day to day and to hear such music– not too much, or the soul could not sustain it– from time to time.”
While Seth dedicates the book – through a beautifully worded poem– to his intimate friend Philippe Honore. In addition to this, the book opens with the following luminous lines of John Donne.
“And into that gate they shall enter, and in that house they shall dwell, where there shall be no cloud, nor sun, no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light, no noise nor silence, but one equal music, no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession, no foes nor friends, but one equal communion and identity, no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity.”
These lines, in some very significant ways, clarify Us to ourselves. All of us, knowingly or unknowingly, strive to attain that space of ‘one equal eternity.’ For some, such quests are even more daunting. The story of Michael, at least in the beginning, reads like the story of a homosexual man. In the first thirty pages, he is seen playing, practicing music, talking to friends, but his real love– Julia– appears much later. He sees her through his window seat. With his current girlfriend, Michael is hardly at ease; and the one he truly loves is nowhere in sight. So what he really has is himself: his walks, his music, his books, his thoughts, these are the things that actually sustain him. In a way, this acute loneliness and search for ‘balance’ run throughout the novel.
There are small instances in the book that mirrors ‘experiences’ central to gay lives. For instance, once while walking, Michael feels that someone is walking behind him. He describes it thus; “the anonymous person seemed to have made up his mind and walked with renewed energy and overtook Michael– indicating lack of interest.” In yet another instance, Michael talks randomly with a man on one ‘wintry’ evening. The whole scene reads as if he were cruising. One man is seen taking a dip in icy water, the other, being lonely, wandering for no particular reason. Both searching for ‘something.’
Anybody who likes western classical music would love reading this book. Even though I am not particularly familiar with it, I loved how seamlessly the story is entwined with the language of music.
However, the quest for home and love is eternal. One can live ‘bliss’ in moments, one can glimpse it many times, but one cannot inhabit it fully and forever. This quest is more difficult when the world around is hostile. A world that still tries to stifle certain ‘kinds of love.’ In such a hostile setting, the search for the ‘unspeakable love’ is exhausting.
The book ends on a hopeful note, justifying the title and the story. There is no reason to despair.
“Music, such music is a sufficient gift. Why ask for happiness; why hope not to grieve? It is enough, it is to be blessed enough, to live from day to day and to hear such music– not too much, or the soul could not sustain it– from time to time.”
December 4, 2017
Seeing this much-lauded novel on one of my bookshelves yesterday reminded me to post a review.
I read this several years ago, when it was being fêted by culturati luvvies the world over.
"A masterpiece ... as clear, lovely and civilised as a Schubert quartet" -Daily Mail
"Seth follows the heart's changes as rigorously as if they were the interweaving lines of a Bach score, and, at its frequent best, his prose, as he intends, is as clear, lovely, inexorable, as a fugue." -Evening Standard
I, on the other hand, found it self-conscious, pretentious and bland.
The writing, though beautifully lyrical, cannot hide the fact that the book is big on the technicalities of classical music, but low on thrills.
This isn't helped by a central love story that is altogether shallow and emotionless, and which didn't engage me one bit.
5/5 for Seth's superb writing: 2/5 for the substance.
I read this several years ago, when it was being fêted by culturati luvvies the world over.
"A masterpiece ... as clear, lovely and civilised as a Schubert quartet" -Daily Mail
"Seth follows the heart's changes as rigorously as if they were the interweaving lines of a Bach score, and, at its frequent best, his prose, as he intends, is as clear, lovely, inexorable, as a fugue." -Evening Standard
I, on the other hand, found it self-conscious, pretentious and bland.
The writing, though beautifully lyrical, cannot hide the fact that the book is big on the technicalities of classical music, but low on thrills.
This isn't helped by a central love story that is altogether shallow and emotionless, and which didn't engage me one bit.
5/5 for Seth's superb writing: 2/5 for the substance.
October 9, 2014
It’s the weirdest thing, a quartet. I don’t know what to compare it to. A marriage? a firm? a platoon under fire? a self-regarding, self-destructive priesthood? It has so many different tensions mixed in with its pleasures.
I was absolutely enthralled with Seth’s two novels “The Golden Gate” and “A Suitable Boy” and so I couldn’t wait to start reading this book. But it turned out to have an odd effect on me as I alternatively loved and hated it. I couldn’t understand this at all. I put the book down for a day and started again; but still this dichotomy of loving/hating the book remained. But why? This was beyond my comprehension as I really admire this author.
“An Equal Music” came highly recommended to me. Everyone seemed to love it and the subject matter was brilliant in that it was based around the famous Maggiore Quartet comprising Michael (one of the two main individuals in the book), Piers and Helen, brother and sister, and Billy.
Apart from my passion for reading, photography and gardening, I’m enthralled with classical music and this book promised me so much in that regard.
The book on the whole is lyrical and there are indeed some mesmerizing passages but I feel that it really doesn’t have any soul. Michael and Julia, a pianist, had met ten years previously and he had never forgotten her. One day he’s on a London bus and sees Julia on a bus travelling in the opposite direction. This was magnificent to read and the travels to Vienna and Venice are quite magical but I found myself becoming more and more incensed with the relationship of our two protagonists, which appeared to be so contrived. And the great secret? Well words fail me here. Try to imagine a married woman with a young child, who is recommencing an affair with Michael who in turn then suddenly discovers something quite untoward.
In addition, Michael to me lacked passion, true passion. I think that really the only thing he ever loved apart from his music was his violin, the Tononi which in turn led him a merry dance. He had been loaned it many years before by an elderly neighbour, Mrs Formby and always lived in constant fear that she would insist upon its return for one reason or another. The prose throughout the book, nevertheless, is exquisite regarding this instrument.
The doorbell rings. It is the registered letter from Rochdale…Shall I play you and then give you up? Shall I give you up unplayed, so that the memory of our parting is not marred with sounds; so that Bach is not joined by other losses: Mozart, Schubert, all that gives me life. What would I play if not that, what would I play if not here? “Tea for Two” chez Tricia? The dog-food for my old, tired teacher? The untrembling scale with my estranged friends? “The Lark Ascending” in honour of a dispersed spirit?
The gift however that Julia finally gave him was musical; he had always been so moved by her playing:
Music, such music, is a sufficient gift. Why ask for happiness; why hope not to grieve? It is enough, it is to be blessed enough, to live from day to day and to hear such music – not too much, or the soul could not sustain it – from time to time.
I feel so sad that I did not find this book all embracing. There’s nothing worse that disappointment in an author who normally has me entranced. However, another book… Another time.
June 15, 2017
Your words have given me life and taken sleep away. The park gates open at first light. Slate-grey and coral, dawn is reflected in the pool. The flowers have been turfed under in the sunken garden. The chack of a squirrel, the splash of a small duck, a blackbird hopping about beneath the thinned-out linden hedge: this is all. I am alone with this troubled joy.
That beautiful, gray day when I found you, Equal Music, a parallel to those drops of hard rain on windowpanes. Go to the used bookstore where it is so dirty you smell the cat's litter when you enter, but never mind, for you have a cup of strong coffee to sip, books to browse, the sound of rain making music on glass, and oh yes, a book that has music in the title, music in the soul, and love to guide the narrative.
The choices we make in life affect our journey at each vital point. Maybe at some point we breathe a sigh of relief, maybe we take only a moment of retrospective remorseful silence, or worse, we live each day regretting the ones we loved and lost. Is love enough, these characters and musicians must figure out. The Quartet is the core of love, the music they play, life's pulse; each note delves into innermost feelings. The musician lives for the music. The violinist and pianist reunite and suddenly everything seems warm, depression gives way to heartfelt music, flowers bud warm, bright colors, grappa goes down warm, an agent lands them a great deal and all is well with the world. Or is it?
I put my hand on my shoulder where your head rested. Then I say your name once, twice, a third time, a fourth. Some nights I sleep like that, remembering you; some nights I only sleep as dawn comes on.
When a poet pens prose he adds beats and descriptive words soar. Transcendence. The broken heart beats. The violinist tunes to F and there goes a lower, deeper beat. Bach, the sound of pain and pizzazz elucidated through notes. Lyrics on the page, a narrative flow that soothes. Michael and Julia. Love, the sound of two heartbeats. Gondolas, the pulse of a city on water. The cello, melancholic yet pure, like the beat of raindrops on fallen leaves. Vivaldi, your Baroque makes my heart beat.
June 7, 2012
I have never gone as low and as fast in my opinion of a book as with 'An Equal Music'. After the first 25 pages, I felt that I'd stumbled on to something incredible (no doubt helped by the very simple writing, which was a refreshing change from Salman Rushdie's tediousness); but after a 100 pages it became clear that it was incredible, just the wrong type - incredibly bad.
The story is about a violinist who is reunited with his lost love after 10 years. She has re-married and has a child, yet sees nothing wrong in getting involved with him again, with remarkably little wooing from him. They have fun for a while and then she leaves him again. I know I make it sound crass, but that really is the story. There's a lot of musical stuff involved, as both of them are musicians, but that is incidental to the story.
For a book that presumes to talk about emotions and sensibilities, it is remarkably devoid of sentiment and feeling. That's the first problem. The other problem with this book, an ostentatiously realistic novel, is that it is not grounded in reality. There is no semblance of consistency, logic, even common sense to either the story, the narrative, or the characters. The narrative progresses at such a slow pace that even a snail would get tired following it. There's no thread of consistency or even a shred of believability about the protagonists' actions. Its as if they don't think at all; and all their actions and words are based on whims! The lead character is so contradictory that one gets the feeling that 4 or 5 diametrically opposite personalities have been squeezed into one. All this is very bad. What pushes it to infuriatingly bad, is that the two protagonists living in a very real world with very real problems, are so far removed from reality. It is hard to feel anything but contempt and strong loathing for them. As if that weren't bad enough, these inconsistent characters show an appalling lack of moral strength as well.
And the last straw? The writing becomes more and more pretentious as the story progresses. As if, at the beginning the writer wasn't sure about his abilities and as the book became longer he realized that he has suddenly become a good writer. To paraphrase a very apt quote - 'Its not the quantity of pages written, but the quality on the pages, that makes a good writer'.
The praise for this book was led by the Daily Telegraph - "The finest novel about music ever written in English". I will counter that verdict with mine - "A most infuriating book with the worst conceived and realized characters that I've ever come across in any book".
The story is about a violinist who is reunited with his lost love after 10 years. She has re-married and has a child, yet sees nothing wrong in getting involved with him again, with remarkably little wooing from him. They have fun for a while and then she leaves him again. I know I make it sound crass, but that really is the story. There's a lot of musical stuff involved, as both of them are musicians, but that is incidental to the story.
For a book that presumes to talk about emotions and sensibilities, it is remarkably devoid of sentiment and feeling. That's the first problem. The other problem with this book, an ostentatiously realistic novel, is that it is not grounded in reality. There is no semblance of consistency, logic, even common sense to either the story, the narrative, or the characters. The narrative progresses at such a slow pace that even a snail would get tired following it. There's no thread of consistency or even a shred of believability about the protagonists' actions. Its as if they don't think at all; and all their actions and words are based on whims! The lead character is so contradictory that one gets the feeling that 4 or 5 diametrically opposite personalities have been squeezed into one. All this is very bad. What pushes it to infuriatingly bad, is that the two protagonists living in a very real world with very real problems, are so far removed from reality. It is hard to feel anything but contempt and strong loathing for them. As if that weren't bad enough, these inconsistent characters show an appalling lack of moral strength as well.
And the last straw? The writing becomes more and more pretentious as the story progresses. As if, at the beginning the writer wasn't sure about his abilities and as the book became longer he realized that he has suddenly become a good writer. To paraphrase a very apt quote - 'Its not the quantity of pages written, but the quality on the pages, that makes a good writer'.
The praise for this book was led by the Daily Telegraph - "The finest novel about music ever written in English". I will counter that verdict with mine - "A most infuriating book with the worst conceived and realized characters that I've ever come across in any book".
January 6, 2022
A QUINTET is a group of five people creating music together. The quartet is for four. Have you ever enjoyed Beethoven Quartet? Let’s play one of the quartets of Haydn’s opus 64. Let’s zip along quite merrily. A bit faster.
"I am the trout, the angler, the brook, the observer. I play it in B, in A, in E-flat. Schubert does not object."
Let’s play the viola guys in a hope that the music that it will produce will be equal in all measures. Let its pitch, loudness, tone, and tenor all remain unperturbed and isotropic. Let’s hum all the time. Let’s talk about so many V’s… Violin, Viola, Vienna, Venice! Let’s place a big bowl of potpourri in the middle of the room on that ligneous table, to assail your senses. The fragrance will get on you with more syrupy intoxication in such a lovely musical milieu. I am creating a musical air in bookish terminology.
He was a student in Vienna ten years ago, his name is Michael. He is a violinist and he was in love with Julia, she was a pianist. Their paths departed, she got married to someone else and after ten years enters into the life of Michael once again. A musical note that was left unfinished earlier, they try to carry through it together euphoniously once again. That’s it. A patchy and sketchy love affair and too much music!
Vikram Seth is a sublime writer, his writing style is divergent and dissimilar to others especially in this book. Vikram Seth is famous for his ‘A Suitable boy’ and for his poetry too. I have read him in parts. I have read some of his poems too. 'An equal music' was my first full-fledged work of the author. I found his flow very captivating and it was not unimpaired at any moment. This prose is lyrical and his short sentences are imposing in their own senses. Yet the colossal trouble encrusted upon my emotional layers by this story was that though I knew what was happening, yet I could not really visualize them properly. My lack of dreaming up was due to the technicalities involved there in the prose. The prose has used so many technical words associated with music and musician, specifically of European Classical music. Their abundant usage turned out to be too much for a general reader. The conversations and dialogues of the book are good and generic, at many places the author has also evoked mood and setting very emphatically with his poetic touch and I have a soft spot for those parts.
But as a whole, this book failed for me on two major fronts, first, it’s too technical, the cry from the aforementioned paragraph above will continue, and second the emotional pitch. In the background an ostensible love story was going on, it was shallow, mechanical, and monotonous both in an emotional and cerebral manner. Its psychic quotient unwillingly got truncated for me. It may not be the case for others but I felt such all the time.
If you love music and know what all these musical technicalities mean, I am sure you will enjoy this book very much. The musical circle has highly appreciated the author for his accurate and veracious description of the understanding of music. But if you are like me who does not know the meaning of all these words yet you do not hate to keep referring to your age-old, half-torn, fully-faded lexicon (like the antique one I have, even in this digital era), you can use your common sense to get proper connotations of whatever was performed by some enthusiastic groups of artists in their respective field, I hope you can like it. I must intimate you in advance that a love story going on in the backdrop initially looked regular and ordinary, and very repetitive in occurrence, yet in the latter part, there is a unique revelation ready to blow you off.
Let positivity prevail in the end. Writing is very good, the trademark of Mr. Seth, and those short sentences with lyrical nudge made me smile many times. After reading almost two hundred and fifty pages, echoing my thoughts through the waves of music, rehearsal, meeting, parting, coming, going, faxes, telephone calls, letters, one after the other, and loads of conversations, I asked myself where the plot was moving. I noticed that even without knowing where the story was leading me to, I was still eagerly reading it, the writing was giving me a claustrophobics pleasure, I guess! And here I say kudos to the author to keep binding me along with great pace despite a poor plot and story.
“Your words have given me life and taken sleep away. The park gates open at first light. Slate- grey and coral, dawn is reflected in the pool. The flowers have been turfed under in the sunken garden. the chack of a squirrel, the splash of a small duck, a blackbird hopping about beneath the thinned-out linden hedge: this is all. I am alone with this troubled joy."
"I am the trout, the angler, the brook, the observer. I play it in B, in A, in E-flat. Schubert does not object."
Let’s play the viola guys in a hope that the music that it will produce will be equal in all measures. Let its pitch, loudness, tone, and tenor all remain unperturbed and isotropic. Let’s hum all the time. Let’s talk about so many V’s… Violin, Viola, Vienna, Venice! Let’s place a big bowl of potpourri in the middle of the room on that ligneous table, to assail your senses. The fragrance will get on you with more syrupy intoxication in such a lovely musical milieu. I am creating a musical air in bookish terminology.
He was a student in Vienna ten years ago, his name is Michael. He is a violinist and he was in love with Julia, she was a pianist. Their paths departed, she got married to someone else and after ten years enters into the life of Michael once again. A musical note that was left unfinished earlier, they try to carry through it together euphoniously once again. That’s it. A patchy and sketchy love affair and too much music!
Vikram Seth is a sublime writer, his writing style is divergent and dissimilar to others especially in this book. Vikram Seth is famous for his ‘A Suitable boy’ and for his poetry too. I have read him in parts. I have read some of his poems too. 'An equal music' was my first full-fledged work of the author. I found his flow very captivating and it was not unimpaired at any moment. This prose is lyrical and his short sentences are imposing in their own senses. Yet the colossal trouble encrusted upon my emotional layers by this story was that though I knew what was happening, yet I could not really visualize them properly. My lack of dreaming up was due to the technicalities involved there in the prose. The prose has used so many technical words associated with music and musician, specifically of European Classical music. Their abundant usage turned out to be too much for a general reader. The conversations and dialogues of the book are good and generic, at many places the author has also evoked mood and setting very emphatically with his poetic touch and I have a soft spot for those parts.
But as a whole, this book failed for me on two major fronts, first, it’s too technical, the cry from the aforementioned paragraph above will continue, and second the emotional pitch. In the background an ostensible love story was going on, it was shallow, mechanical, and monotonous both in an emotional and cerebral manner. Its psychic quotient unwillingly got truncated for me. It may not be the case for others but I felt such all the time.
If you love music and know what all these musical technicalities mean, I am sure you will enjoy this book very much. The musical circle has highly appreciated the author for his accurate and veracious description of the understanding of music. But if you are like me who does not know the meaning of all these words yet you do not hate to keep referring to your age-old, half-torn, fully-faded lexicon (like the antique one I have, even in this digital era), you can use your common sense to get proper connotations of whatever was performed by some enthusiastic groups of artists in their respective field, I hope you can like it. I must intimate you in advance that a love story going on in the backdrop initially looked regular and ordinary, and very repetitive in occurrence, yet in the latter part, there is a unique revelation ready to blow you off.
Let positivity prevail in the end. Writing is very good, the trademark of Mr. Seth, and those short sentences with lyrical nudge made me smile many times. After reading almost two hundred and fifty pages, echoing my thoughts through the waves of music, rehearsal, meeting, parting, coming, going, faxes, telephone calls, letters, one after the other, and loads of conversations, I asked myself where the plot was moving. I noticed that even without knowing where the story was leading me to, I was still eagerly reading it, the writing was giving me a claustrophobics pleasure, I guess! And here I say kudos to the author to keep binding me along with great pace despite a poor plot and story.
“Your words have given me life and taken sleep away. The park gates open at first light. Slate- grey and coral, dawn is reflected in the pool. The flowers have been turfed under in the sunken garden. the chack of a squirrel, the splash of a small duck, a blackbird hopping about beneath the thinned-out linden hedge: this is all. I am alone with this troubled joy."
April 30, 2022
I read this novel many years ago. Looking at the cover reminds me of the favourable response I had to the story. Will put it on my ‘read again’ list. And yes, I've also got the accompanying CD of all the music described in the book.
July 1, 2019
As you take your seat and the room becomes hushed with anticipation your eyes are on the performer. Not any performer but the one in the quartet you came to hear. He plays second violin. Few people like to play second seat. You don’t get do play all those fancy solos. He loves his violin. It’s been with him in a tender devoted relationship longer than most people. His fingers move upon his instrument in fluid motion that holds your attention, hypnotizing you until your eyes meet his. You look down and see his foot, barely perceptible, tapping out the beat. Then your eyes move upwards again and you see his smile. He is smiling at you, in welcome and acknowledgement. Do you know him? Is he an old friend, a school companion, or the man you once loved? Does he recognize you? Why else would he be smiling like that unless he knew you? The two, once upon a time lovers in this story, do know each other. It’s been years since they’ve been together. They meet after the concert unsure what to say, how to behave. She looks different. Her hair is longer. Her face thinner. She is still beautiful to him. As beautiful and familiar as his beloved violin. They remind each other, without words, of the past. What now do they want of each other? It must be something to smile at each other like that. They slowly tune each other’s existence as it was meant to be heard, rising up from the wells at the very core of their beings. But, like Kurt Cobain’s song, somethings in the way.
In the present things are difficult. Like his loaned violin they could disappear from each other without a trace. This is a moving story of two musicians who love to make music and love. There is always a constant threat of potential loss which maintains the book’s melancholy and minor key. It’s all experience. They feel it. They make music from it. They move forward together and alone, but joined forever by their music.
In the present things are difficult. Like his loaned violin they could disappear from each other without a trace. This is a moving story of two musicians who love to make music and love. There is always a constant threat of potential loss which maintains the book’s melancholy and minor key. It’s all experience. They feel it. They make music from it. They move forward together and alone, but joined forever by their music.
August 8, 2017
I was surprised by how much i loved this book. It's blow off your travelling companions and curl up in your youth hostel until you finish it good. It's finish it and then wish you hadn't so you could read it again for the first time good. The tension in the love story is addictive. But what I loved most was the way Seth writes about music. the way he integrates music into the lives of the characters (all professional musicians) is more than convincing, it's intoxicating.
July 8, 2020
Bemused between 2.5 and 3 stars so let's go with 2.5!🌟
Undisappointingly beautiful proses led me to the very last page of this melancholic tale or else I'm quite certain that I would have dnf'd this one.
Now, the book revolves around a quartet in London where the lead violinist Michael reminisces about his lover Julia and in a matter of events reconciles with her ten years later and sparks fly between the two.
Innocuously speaking, neither the plot is extraordinary nor the characters are memorable. Plus, the protagonist Michael is downright annoying from time to time. And most importantly, the slow narration deceives the beauty of the story.
However, I really am interested in reading more of Vikram Seth's works. Why? Because I believe his writing has that potentiality of mesmerising readers with the right pace and story-line ofcourse.
Undisappointingly beautiful proses led me to the very last page of this melancholic tale or else I'm quite certain that I would have dnf'd this one.
Now, the book revolves around a quartet in London where the lead violinist Michael reminisces about his lover Julia and in a matter of events reconciles with her ten years later and sparks fly between the two.
Innocuously speaking, neither the plot is extraordinary nor the characters are memorable. Plus, the protagonist Michael is downright annoying from time to time. And most importantly, the slow narration deceives the beauty of the story.
However, I really am interested in reading more of Vikram Seth's works. Why? Because I believe his writing has that potentiality of mesmerising readers with the right pace and story-line ofcourse.
April 18, 2008
The smell of rosin on a bow, the satisfaction of slow scales played with a partner, the sleepy somnolence of working a piece through in your head just before sleep - I miss these things. I forget them too. Vikram Seth lent them back to me this week.
I’ve read An Equal Music before, quickly. This read, with bed rest time to spin through, I read it page by page, at half tempo. It was delicious. Seth recreates the world of a violinist in a string quartet, bringing in the human element of chamber music, and, more bravely, the music. Music is frustratingly difficult to write about - what seems glorious to experience becomes trite on a page, or simply does not show up. But Seth does it well, mixing chewably real details with tone poem text to help you hear the music.
I’ve read An Equal Music before, quickly. This read, with bed rest time to spin through, I read it page by page, at half tempo. It was delicious. Seth recreates the world of a violinist in a string quartet, bringing in the human element of chamber music, and, more bravely, the music. Music is frustratingly difficult to write about - what seems glorious to experience becomes trite on a page, or simply does not show up. But Seth does it well, mixing chewably real details with tone poem text to help you hear the music.
Read
September 26, 2020The book was filled with Music...
Sadly I did not enjoy the book and that has nothing to do with the book or its Story
It has to do with me, I think I would have enjoyed this book more, understood it more if I knew more about Western Classical music. Sadly I know next to nothing about it.
Maybe if and when I learn more about classical music, I will read it once again? I do not know.
I have decide to not rate this book as I do not have the expertise in Music to do so.
Sadly I did not enjoy the book and that has nothing to do with the book or its Story
It has to do with me, I think I would have enjoyed this book more, understood it more if I knew more about Western Classical music. Sadly I know next to nothing about it.
Maybe if and when I learn more about classical music, I will read it once again? I do not know.
I have decide to not rate this book as I do not have the expertise in Music to do so.
June 2, 2011
There are things I loved about this book and things I did not love, but the bottom line is that after finishing it I sat for 15 minutes and just pondered it. That's good. I have read a few reviews stating a disdain for the narrator - he's whinny, he's selfish, he's annoying. Yes, those things are true enough. But I like that Seth didn't make a heroic main character. The fact is that a person going through a failed love affair generally tends to be those things. Argue with that all you wish! I feel that the resolution - which I imagine some probably feel could have been clearer - was that music was enough for him. I like that. I wish he had gone on for a few paragraphs more (at least), but perhaps the strength here is that it leaves the reader to continue pondering. This may be a book geared more for those who also share a deep love for music - I'm not sure how it would go over for anyone less invested in it. But who knows! Beautifully written, and it says just enough without giving away too much. A lovely read.
October 4, 2011
This book appealed to the writer, the artist, the poet in me.
This book reads like poetry.
Each sentence, phrase, group of words, a symphony, a melodic soliloquy of language speaking fervently and in depth to the heart, mind, body, soul, bone, marrow, blood.
I read, rather sang this book from page to page.
Finding myself enveloped, enraptured within the music of each verse.
Intoxicated, melding myself comfortably between cover and cover.
Eyes closed, mind open.
Entranced, I became one with Michael’s lonely violin and
was caressed in phantom memory by Julia’s tinkling fingers.
Mesmerized by the music
or was it the words.
Vikram, oh Vikram, what a poem, what a song, what a book.
I was Equal with the Music.
This book reads like poetry.
Each sentence, phrase, group of words, a symphony, a melodic soliloquy of language speaking fervently and in depth to the heart, mind, body, soul, bone, marrow, blood.
I read, rather sang this book from page to page.
Finding myself enveloped, enraptured within the music of each verse.
Intoxicated, melding myself comfortably between cover and cover.
Eyes closed, mind open.
Entranced, I became one with Michael’s lonely violin and
was caressed in phantom memory by Julia’s tinkling fingers.
Mesmerized by the music
or was it the words.
Vikram, oh Vikram, what a poem, what a song, what a book.
I was Equal with the Music.
April 17, 2021
What a painful book to read! There is no doubt that Seth researched his topic to the nth degree. As an ex classical musician, I could relate to much of it and was initially drawn back into that world. This is a long book, however, and it became a less compelling read as I wearied of the self-indulgent neuroticism and self-absorbed selfishness of the two main characters, Michael and Julia. As the book enters its final two sections, Seth’s writing becomes increasingly pretentious as Michael loses touch with reality. I was relieved when I turned the last page.
Seth has indulged his love of classical music and there will be many readers who enjoy his level of analysis. I believe I began to enjoy listening to classical music more when I stopped over-analysing both it and its performances, however. It was wonderful when I reached a point where I could simply immerse myself in it. There is too much analysis in this book for me, both of music and of the relationship between Michael and Helen. I found I couldn’t sympathise or empathise with either of them. I can’t give more than 3 stars but that reflects my ambivalence rather than the quality of writing.
Seth has indulged his love of classical music and there will be many readers who enjoy his level of analysis. I believe I began to enjoy listening to classical music more when I stopped over-analysing both it and its performances, however. It was wonderful when I reached a point where I could simply immerse myself in it. There is too much analysis in this book for me, both of music and of the relationship between Michael and Helen. I found I couldn’t sympathise or empathise with either of them. I can’t give more than 3 stars but that reflects my ambivalence rather than the quality of writing.
October 27, 2018
The bad rating isn't on this book. it just wasn't the book for me.
I don't really understand the characters' choices. Again I'm not satisfied with the ending...
It's amazing how you can ruin your own life and make yourself miserable. Michael's life is the kind of life I'm scared of for myself.
I don't really understand the characters' choices. Again I'm not satisfied with the ending...
It's amazing how you can ruin your own life and make yourself miserable. Michael's life is the kind of life I'm scared of for myself.
September 14, 2008
It is hard to believe this is the same author of A Suitable Boy! Just as Seth wrapped you up in the world of upper-caste India in the mid 50s, amidst amazing social and political change, now you are led gently into the contemporary classical music scene of London, Vienna, Venice; a love story, a tragedy, a loving tribute to chamber music and insights into the world of performance. THe laughter and lightheartedness in A Suitable Boy are absent here; the characters are treated with almost too much dignity, the small and large tragedies of their lives take on too much importance, but I think I will be sad when it ends. Such an amazing writer.
October 4, 2019
El místico y milenario país de la India posee una muy rica herencia cultural, con una gran diversidad de lenguas, de etnias, de religiones y mucho más. Este maravilloso país estuvo dominado por Inglaterra desde mediados del siglo XIX y hasta 1947, dejando una estela de influencia cultural que aún se conserva. A pesar de que es un país soberano, sigue manteniendo lazos estrechos con sus antiguos dominadores y es miembro de la Mancomunidad de Naciones (Commonwealth), cuya pertenencia implica respeto hacia la Corona británica, pero no sumisión. El idioma inglés se utiliza ampliamente en los negocios y en la administración y tiene el estatus de "idioma oficial subsidiario”; también es importante en la educación, especialmente en la enseñanza superior. Es común que muchos ciudadanos indios con posibilidades socio-económicas lleven a cabo su educación superior en Inglaterra, tal es el caso de Vikram Seth (1952), autor de esta original y espléndida novela que nos habla del poder de la música, de la lucha y la persecución de un amor antaño abandonado y adicionalmente nos conecta de una manera muy palpable con ciudades tan cautivadoras como Londres, Viena y Venecia.
La novela es muy fluida, directa, sin saltos en el tiempo, con un lenguaje de una sencillez que motiva y seduce, la ambientación está llena de detalles. También desarrolla amplios y continuos diálogos que hacen muy dinámica la lectura. Podríamos decir que se trata de una novela musical, la cual está narrada por Michael Holme, un virtuoso del violín en sus treinta y tantos años, cuya vida transcurre con cierta monotonía, incluso moviéndose entre tonos grises, hasta que se presentan algunos eventos que alteran totalmente el ritmo y la intensidad de su vida personal. Estos eventos enhebran hermosamente la atmósfera, con la música y con el sentimiento del amor. Michael vive en Londres y toca el segundo violín en un cuarteto de cuerdas llamado Maggiore.
La historia nos va revelando las andanzas de Michael en el mundo de la música con todo lo que esto implica, como por ejemplo la relación que debe establecer con sus colegas del cuarteto de cuerdas: Helen, la única mujer y quien toca la viola, el hermano de ésta llamado Piers quien toca el primer violín y es un sujeto temperamental, y Billy quien aporta aplomo al grupo, tanto a través de su personalidad, como a través de su violonchelo en la parte musical. Esta asociación musical de hecho funge como su familia y debe aprender a lidiar con ella. También tienen un rol protagónico dos mujeres (una más que la otra) que rodean a Michael: Julia, su ex novia de Viena de hace 10 años y Virginie que representa el presente gris y titubeante de Londres.
El libro detalla una historia de amor en dos sentidos: el amor profundo hacia otra persona y el amor incondicional hacia ese fluido sonoro llamado música. En esto consiste uno de los mayores encantos de la historia, ya que describe sabiamente las estrechas relaciones afectuosas que se construyen a través de la música y que de alguna manera tienden a potenciarlas.
La música tiene la virtud de transportarnos de manera muy vívida hacia otras latitudes y hacia otros tiempos, incluso nos hace vivir un poco por encima de este mundo. Es como una corriente de sonidos que nos conduce inexorablemente hacia lugares, situaciones, emociones y personas que ya pasaron en nuestras vidas; nos puede conectar con espíritus de personas ya fallecidas como amigos y parientes o como los espíritus de Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach…
“La música, esa música ya es bastante. ¿Por qué buscar la felicidad?, ¿por qué esperar no sufrir? Ya es bastante, ya es bastante bendición vivir un día tras otro y oír esa música –no en exceso, el alma no podría soportarlo- de vez en cuando.”
Me parece que el autor establece algunos elementos que le sirven como pauta para desarrollar la narración tanto en sentido cronológico como dramático, marcando el ritmo y la intensidad de la misma. Los elementos son tres piezas musicales y tres ciudades europeas que marcan etapas en la vida de Michael.
Las tres obras musicales son: el Quinteto para Cuerdas Opus 104 de Beethoven, después el famoso Quinteto con Piano de Schubert conocido como La Trucha (D 667) y finalmente la portentosa obra de Johann Sebastian Bach llamada el Arte de la Fuga (BWV 1080), considerada como una obra con un planteamiento muy abstracto por lo que se ha llegado a especular que el genial músico la pensó como una construcción teórica, más que como una composición para ser traducida en sonidos.
Cronológicamente en la novela de Vikram Seth se nos presenta primero el Quinteto para Cuerdas de Beethoven que es un arreglo de su Opus 1. Este Opus 1 es utilizado por Seth como una especie de remembranza de hechos acontecidos en tiempos pasados en Viena y su arreglo, propiamente el Opus 104, significa el encuentro con una vida renovada que se construye sobre el pasado, sobre algo ya escrito. Adviértase la analogía.
Posteriormente se nos presenta el famoso Quinteto para Piano de Schubert denominado La Trucha que es una de las piezas más populares de este autor Vienés. Para muchos es una especie de divertimento, pero para otros, como lo es para los personajes de la novela, esta pieza maestra significa algo mucho más que una obra de esparcimiento. Para el cuarteto Maggiore significa el logro de la integración personal, el diálogo abierto y sincero, la resolución de conflictos y la entrega total a la música. Esta obra es planificada denodadamente para ser ejecutada en un evento muy especial en Viena. La ejecución reviste especial importancia para Michael ya que representa, también, la esperanza de un reencuentro con su vida amorosa con Julia. La Trucha y Viena representan la posibilidad de que lo imposible se convierta en posible de nuevo.
Aquí vale la pena destacar un guiño que hace el autor hacia la sordera de Beethoven, tan doloroso para cualquier ser humano, pero que cobra tintes de tragedia en un músico y cómo se nos describe un poco ese mundo de la ausencia de sonidos.
La tercera obra es el Arte de la Fuga, que representa el reto y los desafíos que acometemos en algún momento de nuestras existencias para superar etapas y formas de vida, buscando una superación o una renovación. Esta obra musical está compuesta por 14 Fugas y 4 Cánones, sin que el compositor haya especificado para qué instrumentos la compuso y el cuarteto Maggiore decide trabajar en ella para emprender, con esta muy complicada composición, el camino que los conducirá hacia un objetivo buscado por ellos.
Londres, Viena y Venecia nos proporcionan momentos de gran embeleso debido a los grandes recursos de Seth para recrear lugares de una gran belleza, en especial algunos emplazamientos de Venencia. Las ambientaciones corren casi de manera paralela a las obras musicales, sirviendo cada una para enmarcar y definir una situación muy diferente en la vida de Michael Holme. Hacia el final la suerte de su querido e inseparable violín, la de su amada y la de su carrera musical son dictadas por el destino.
Considerando esta obra como una novela musical podríamos hacer una analogía entre la literatura y la música con los elementos que nos proporciona el autor: las tres obras musicales y las tres etapas en la vida de Michael se entrelazan entre sí formando una especie de melodía que hace contrapunto con una segunda constituida por las tres ciudades europeas en donde se desarrollan los acontecimientos, regalándonos así una especie de música clara, deliciosa, inexorable, frase tras frase, haciendo cada una eco de la anterior.
Un libro especial y con doble placer para quienes disfrutamos enormemente tanto de la música como de la literatura que aquí el autor sabe entrelazar perfectamente para regalarnos una obra tan original como fantástica que termina siendo una especie de epifanía.
La novela es muy fluida, directa, sin saltos en el tiempo, con un lenguaje de una sencillez que motiva y seduce, la ambientación está llena de detalles. También desarrolla amplios y continuos diálogos que hacen muy dinámica la lectura. Podríamos decir que se trata de una novela musical, la cual está narrada por Michael Holme, un virtuoso del violín en sus treinta y tantos años, cuya vida transcurre con cierta monotonía, incluso moviéndose entre tonos grises, hasta que se presentan algunos eventos que alteran totalmente el ritmo y la intensidad de su vida personal. Estos eventos enhebran hermosamente la atmósfera, con la música y con el sentimiento del amor. Michael vive en Londres y toca el segundo violín en un cuarteto de cuerdas llamado Maggiore.
La historia nos va revelando las andanzas de Michael en el mundo de la música con todo lo que esto implica, como por ejemplo la relación que debe establecer con sus colegas del cuarteto de cuerdas: Helen, la única mujer y quien toca la viola, el hermano de ésta llamado Piers quien toca el primer violín y es un sujeto temperamental, y Billy quien aporta aplomo al grupo, tanto a través de su personalidad, como a través de su violonchelo en la parte musical. Esta asociación musical de hecho funge como su familia y debe aprender a lidiar con ella. También tienen un rol protagónico dos mujeres (una más que la otra) que rodean a Michael: Julia, su ex novia de Viena de hace 10 años y Virginie que representa el presente gris y titubeante de Londres.
El libro detalla una historia de amor en dos sentidos: el amor profundo hacia otra persona y el amor incondicional hacia ese fluido sonoro llamado música. En esto consiste uno de los mayores encantos de la historia, ya que describe sabiamente las estrechas relaciones afectuosas que se construyen a través de la música y que de alguna manera tienden a potenciarlas.
La música tiene la virtud de transportarnos de manera muy vívida hacia otras latitudes y hacia otros tiempos, incluso nos hace vivir un poco por encima de este mundo. Es como una corriente de sonidos que nos conduce inexorablemente hacia lugares, situaciones, emociones y personas que ya pasaron en nuestras vidas; nos puede conectar con espíritus de personas ya fallecidas como amigos y parientes o como los espíritus de Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach…
“La música, esa música ya es bastante. ¿Por qué buscar la felicidad?, ¿por qué esperar no sufrir? Ya es bastante, ya es bastante bendición vivir un día tras otro y oír esa música –no en exceso, el alma no podría soportarlo- de vez en cuando.”
Me parece que el autor establece algunos elementos que le sirven como pauta para desarrollar la narración tanto en sentido cronológico como dramático, marcando el ritmo y la intensidad de la misma. Los elementos son tres piezas musicales y tres ciudades europeas que marcan etapas en la vida de Michael.
Las tres obras musicales son: el Quinteto para Cuerdas Opus 104 de Beethoven, después el famoso Quinteto con Piano de Schubert conocido como La Trucha (D 667) y finalmente la portentosa obra de Johann Sebastian Bach llamada el Arte de la Fuga (BWV 1080), considerada como una obra con un planteamiento muy abstracto por lo que se ha llegado a especular que el genial músico la pensó como una construcción teórica, más que como una composición para ser traducida en sonidos.
Cronológicamente en la novela de Vikram Seth se nos presenta primero el Quinteto para Cuerdas de Beethoven que es un arreglo de su Opus 1. Este Opus 1 es utilizado por Seth como una especie de remembranza de hechos acontecidos en tiempos pasados en Viena y su arreglo, propiamente el Opus 104, significa el encuentro con una vida renovada que se construye sobre el pasado, sobre algo ya escrito. Adviértase la analogía.
Posteriormente se nos presenta el famoso Quinteto para Piano de Schubert denominado La Trucha que es una de las piezas más populares de este autor Vienés. Para muchos es una especie de divertimento, pero para otros, como lo es para los personajes de la novela, esta pieza maestra significa algo mucho más que una obra de esparcimiento. Para el cuarteto Maggiore significa el logro de la integración personal, el diálogo abierto y sincero, la resolución de conflictos y la entrega total a la música. Esta obra es planificada denodadamente para ser ejecutada en un evento muy especial en Viena. La ejecución reviste especial importancia para Michael ya que representa, también, la esperanza de un reencuentro con su vida amorosa con Julia. La Trucha y Viena representan la posibilidad de que lo imposible se convierta en posible de nuevo.
Aquí vale la pena destacar un guiño que hace el autor hacia la sordera de Beethoven, tan doloroso para cualquier ser humano, pero que cobra tintes de tragedia en un músico y cómo se nos describe un poco ese mundo de la ausencia de sonidos.
La tercera obra es el Arte de la Fuga, que representa el reto y los desafíos que acometemos en algún momento de nuestras existencias para superar etapas y formas de vida, buscando una superación o una renovación. Esta obra musical está compuesta por 14 Fugas y 4 Cánones, sin que el compositor haya especificado para qué instrumentos la compuso y el cuarteto Maggiore decide trabajar en ella para emprender, con esta muy complicada composición, el camino que los conducirá hacia un objetivo buscado por ellos.
Londres, Viena y Venecia nos proporcionan momentos de gran embeleso debido a los grandes recursos de Seth para recrear lugares de una gran belleza, en especial algunos emplazamientos de Venencia. Las ambientaciones corren casi de manera paralela a las obras musicales, sirviendo cada una para enmarcar y definir una situación muy diferente en la vida de Michael Holme. Hacia el final la suerte de su querido e inseparable violín, la de su amada y la de su carrera musical son dictadas por el destino.
Considerando esta obra como una novela musical podríamos hacer una analogía entre la literatura y la música con los elementos que nos proporciona el autor: las tres obras musicales y las tres etapas en la vida de Michael se entrelazan entre sí formando una especie de melodía que hace contrapunto con una segunda constituida por las tres ciudades europeas en donde se desarrollan los acontecimientos, regalándonos así una especie de música clara, deliciosa, inexorable, frase tras frase, haciendo cada una eco de la anterior.
Un libro especial y con doble placer para quienes disfrutamos enormemente tanto de la música como de la literatura que aquí el autor sabe entrelazar perfectamente para regalarnos una obra tan original como fantástica que termina siendo una especie de epifanía.
September 7, 2017
3.25
Since reading A Suitable Boy a couple of years back, I was highly impressed by the writing style and character sketch of Vikram Seth.
An Equal Music has been on my radar since then. Got a paperback recently, and the beautiful cover added to the charm of diving into this. BR with Smi motivated me further.
What I loved:
1. Chapters are structured exactly like A Suitable Boy. Small chapters with indices like 1.1 to 1.13 etc.
2. Gripping right from the start.
3. Excessive use of musical jargons, which were difficult to comprehend, but added the touch of reality.
4. The descriptions! All the descriptions were mind blowing good. Especially the quartets practice sessions, chasing their passions, the European ambience and descriptions of emotional dilemmas.
What I couldn't appreciate:
1. The plotline wasn't very appealing.
2. The middle parts (5 and 6) felt unnecessarily stretched.
3. Its not fair to compare, but this fades significantly in front of ASBoy.
Overall: A very comfortable and enjoyable read.
Since reading A Suitable Boy a couple of years back, I was highly impressed by the writing style and character sketch of Vikram Seth.
An Equal Music has been on my radar since then. Got a paperback recently, and the beautiful cover added to the charm of diving into this. BR with Smi motivated me further.
What I loved:
1. Chapters are structured exactly like A Suitable Boy. Small chapters with indices like 1.1 to 1.13 etc.
2. Gripping right from the start.
3. Excessive use of musical jargons, which were difficult to comprehend, but added the touch of reality.
4. The descriptions! All the descriptions were mind blowing good. Especially the quartets practice sessions, chasing their passions, the European ambience and descriptions of emotional dilemmas.
What I couldn't appreciate:
1. The plotline wasn't very appealing.
2. The middle parts (5 and 6) felt unnecessarily stretched.
3. Its not fair to compare, but this fades significantly in front of ASBoy.
Overall: A very comfortable and enjoyable read.
May 9, 2022
You read some books for the plot. You read others for the way they are written. This book is one of the latter.
With lyrical prose that complements the musical ebbs and flows of the plot, Vikram Seth presents a beautiful tale of love found once and lost twice. If you are a lover of classical music you will enjoy the book a lot more. If not (or if you are ignorant about it), there will be parts that will miss the note.
With lyrical prose that complements the musical ebbs and flows of the plot, Vikram Seth presents a beautiful tale of love found once and lost twice. If you are a lover of classical music you will enjoy the book a lot more. If not (or if you are ignorant about it), there will be parts that will miss the note.
December 30, 2018
So I read this book for the 2nd time and found it to be even more amazing than the 1st time around. It's a story of Michael and his music quartet, and it's a story of Michael and Julia and their love.
If you are a music lover, then this book will be a buffet for you; Seth talks about so much music throughout - there's Bach and Schubert and Beethoven and Mozart and their musical pieces in great detail!
If you aren't a music lover, you can just enjoy Seth's poetic prose and his descriptions of London, Vienna and Venice.
Seth is a great storyteller and the book draws you into the story right away. Pick it up as soon as you can, you won't be disappointed.
Some sentences from the book:
Life settles into an unbearable aloneness.
We shouldn't rush into things. We shouldn't dawdle out of things, either.
That was not a farewell. That was an au revoir.
Why get upset about where the universe is headed? When there's so much to get upset about closer at hand?
If you don't have any sense of discrimination, you enjoy many more things.
Why taint such sporadic joy with long views before and after?
What suasion will you use on one who lacks a will?
If I left this darkness and this blankness, it would not make the universe sneeze.
If you are a music lover, then this book will be a buffet for you; Seth talks about so much music throughout - there's Bach and Schubert and Beethoven and Mozart and their musical pieces in great detail!
If you aren't a music lover, you can just enjoy Seth's poetic prose and his descriptions of London, Vienna and Venice.
Seth is a great storyteller and the book draws you into the story right away. Pick it up as soon as you can, you won't be disappointed.
Some sentences from the book:
Life settles into an unbearable aloneness.
We shouldn't rush into things. We shouldn't dawdle out of things, either.
That was not a farewell. That was an au revoir.
Why get upset about where the universe is headed? When there's so much to get upset about closer at hand?
If you don't have any sense of discrimination, you enjoy many more things.
Why taint such sporadic joy with long views before and after?
What suasion will you use on one who lacks a will?
If I left this darkness and this blankness, it would not make the universe sneeze.
August 26, 2016
This is a beautiful love story and it is a musical tale. The importance of music cannot be emphasized too strongly for, from the title page to the last paragraph music permeates each character. The protagonist, Michael Holme has a spiritual connection with music and with the instrument, a Tononi violin, that he uses to express his music. This goes beyond playing a piece of music, whether Schubert or Bach or Beethoven, and enters his soul and through the prose of Vikram Seth enters the soul of the reader. The description of the music and its effect on various characters was superb. As a musician myself I appreciated the depiction of the canon of classical music (at least the Viennese portion).
The theme of love also transfixes the reader from the opening of the story when Michael is pining for his lost love through the fugue-like complications of his relationship with Julia throughout the novel. The melodrama of the story is overcome by the irresistible tension of their love. The result is a deeply moving narrative that this reader found difficult to set aside.
The theme of love also transfixes the reader from the opening of the story when Michael is pining for his lost love through the fugue-like complications of his relationship with Julia throughout the novel. The melodrama of the story is overcome by the irresistible tension of their love. The result is a deeply moving narrative that this reader found difficult to set aside.
March 23, 2023
The book centres on two gifted musicians: Michael Holme and Julia McNicholl. As Michael works on a Beethoven piece for the Maggiore Quartet, he grows progressively preoccupied with reminiscences of his student days in Vienna where he met Julia. When the two are re-united by chance in London, their relationship is re-kindled. One of the most extraordinary aspects of this novel is the way in which it manages to convey music through language. While Seth is modest about his musical abilities, the fact that he was commissioned to write a libretto for the English National Opera in 1994 suggests he is no novice. An Equal Music takes a conservative romantic plot and renders it captivating and novel through the seductive clearness and exactness of its prose.
October 6, 2016
I even question giving this book as much as 2 stars. This is an adequate but Unimpressive character study about professional musicians and the lives they lead, but is cancerous plagued by a main character so supremely and wholly unlikable that I cannot fathom why Vikram Seth wrote him that way. He doesn't gain anything or change, not really. He is only barely more infantile at the end of the book than at the beginning. The entire main plot of this book is technically serviceable, but serves no real purpose. If I hadn't been reading this for a class, I wouldn't have been able to get more than a third of the way through.
October 17, 2016
There is one thing the book really excels in: describing music.
Musical aspects are really recognizable (if u are a musician) and well worked out.
You can almost feel it flow out of the pages during rehearsals and concerts that take place.
The plot was interesting, although there wasn't much happening in the middle of the book.
Writing is almost poetical in some parts, somehow matching the love and music themes.
Musical aspects are really recognizable (if u are a musician) and well worked out.
You can almost feel it flow out of the pages during rehearsals and concerts that take place.
The plot was interesting, although there wasn't much happening in the middle of the book.
Writing is almost poetical in some parts, somehow matching the love and music themes.
February 14, 2010
This book, about a violinist in a string quartet and a lost love, was so touching to me. I'm not sure if it is because of my music background, or the descriptions, but I will remember it for a long time.
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September 5, 2025Dit boek gaat dus over klassieke muziek en ik denk dat ik het een stuk mooier had gevonden als ik het verschil tussen Beethoven em Bach had weten te onthouden. (Kijk als het over beyonce en shakira was gegaan....)
August 10, 2010
I thought the bones of the story were solid, and the images of music provoking. However, all my positive feelings for this book were swallowed up by how much I disliked the character of Michael. He spent the whole book whinging and complaining about how much he missed Julia and wallowing in a pool of self-pity. I found him selfish, arrogant and pathetic, so much so he ruined the book for me. I did not find his pursuit of Julia romantic, but felt for the poor woman and begged Michael to leave her alone and stop being such a child. Sad.
November 24, 2009
I read almost half of this book yesterday, and was left somewhat perplexed. There was some nice writing about music, but apart from that - nothing. I mean, there was a plot and characters and so on, but so banal! So mundane! Well, ok, so maybe it wasn't completely banal and mundane - love and so on, of course. Deafness. Children and marriage in the wrong places for our brave protagonist. But it was slightly dramatic in such a conventional way! Why?
A good author should be able to make the slightly dramatic fascinating. I believe Seth to be more than a good author: I believe him to be a great author. In A Suitable Boy he raised the mundane and the banal to the level of the sublime. The plot of An Equal Music is on the surface much more interesting, but really the only reason I read even as much of it as I did was because of my respect for Seth.
I've caught myself wondering a couple of times over the past few days - wondering what will happen next to silly Richard (I don't think that was his name - he wasn't memorable enough) and mildly annoying Julia (that was her name) and sort of looking forward with an easy anticipation to a few hours of lazy low-level pleasure on the couch reading this tome, before realising that the book is a few hundred kilometres away in country Victoria and I am in suburban Melbourne. Maybe this says something about it: I got a similar sort of enjoyment from it as I'd get from reading some romantic trash or racy thriller, but without the dirty, greasy feeling afterwards.
More importantly, though: there was no feeling of regret when I realised that it is there and I am here.
A good author should be able to make the slightly dramatic fascinating. I believe Seth to be more than a good author: I believe him to be a great author. In A Suitable Boy he raised the mundane and the banal to the level of the sublime. The plot of An Equal Music is on the surface much more interesting, but really the only reason I read even as much of it as I did was because of my respect for Seth.
I've caught myself wondering a couple of times over the past few days - wondering what will happen next to silly Richard (I don't think that was his name - he wasn't memorable enough) and mildly annoying Julia (that was her name) and sort of looking forward with an easy anticipation to a few hours of lazy low-level pleasure on the couch reading this tome, before realising that the book is a few hundred kilometres away in country Victoria and I am in suburban Melbourne. Maybe this says something about it: I got a similar sort of enjoyment from it as I'd get from reading some romantic trash or racy thriller, but without the dirty, greasy feeling afterwards.
More importantly, though: there was no feeling of regret when I realised that it is there and I am here.
February 9, 2014
I would like you to imagine a beautifully carved vessel. By a vessel, I do not mean the seafaring kind but one that can hold something in it. Your vessel is an object of craftsmanship. When you glance at it, you see the evidence of all that is great about hand carved elegance. Walking around the vessel you come across the world's finest carvings built into it. Examples abound ranging from Victorian to Chinese, Indian to Italian. You can't take your eyes off it but still something nags at the back of your mind about this whole object. You keep looking but it is flawless at first look. Then you look at the most important part of the vessel : inside. What has been troubling you all this while hits you then for the vessel doesn't have a bottom. It is just a shell and serves no other purpose ! This is the closest I can approximate to how this book made me feel.
It talks of a love story between Michael and Julia, both of them musicians whose affair begins in Vienna. The story then goes through the pangs of love and loss and how broken hearts are mended. The descriptions of London, Venice and Vienna are breathtaking and quite brilliantly etched. But when it comes to storytelling, this book fails big time. Within the first half of the book, I quite realised that this tale will be a waste of time. After a point, whenever the narrative of the tale came up I felt like I was reading someone's grocery list ! The love story lacks life, coherence and a soul. It is a damp squib.
Read it if you want a poetic description of a few major cities of Europe. Beyond it, it's just lifeless words in here. To sum up, it wouldn't hurt much to give this one a miss.
It talks of a love story between Michael and Julia, both of them musicians whose affair begins in Vienna. The story then goes through the pangs of love and loss and how broken hearts are mended. The descriptions of London, Venice and Vienna are breathtaking and quite brilliantly etched. But when it comes to storytelling, this book fails big time. Within the first half of the book, I quite realised that this tale will be a waste of time. After a point, whenever the narrative of the tale came up I felt like I was reading someone's grocery list ! The love story lacks life, coherence and a soul. It is a damp squib.
Read it if you want a poetic description of a few major cities of Europe. Beyond it, it's just lifeless words in here. To sum up, it wouldn't hurt much to give this one a miss.
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