The author of the international bestseller A Suitable Boy returns with a powerful and deeply romantic tale of two gifted musicians. ...
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Jul 08, 2007
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.
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Apr 18, 2008
Julia
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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. Viktor 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 o More...
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 o More...
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Dec 18, 2008
Beth
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Dive into the heart and mind of a obsessive, melancoly, melodramatic violinist who can't let go of the love of his life, a person who he had ditched out on. But seriously, this is a beautifully written book about love and music and loving music. I am not a professional musician, I played piano when I was young, but not that well, and to the reviews I've seen that found classical music oriented parts of the book to difficult or too obscure or too distracting, so as to be suitable only for those w
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Jun 01, 2011
Sarah
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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 f
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Sep 02, 2010
Barbara
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An Equal Music by Vikram Seth ……….I recommend to you a book, which has recently eased my way through a bout of the flu. It is a recent novel by Vikram Seth, entitled An Equal Music . I have never before read such a beautiful piece of fiction about professional musicians, in this case, a young English violinist in a string quartet from the Midlands, living and working in London, Bayswater, in fact. I walked with him though Hyde Park all week.
Around the central love story is a vivi More...
Around the central love story is a vivi More...
Nov 23, 2009
Choupette
rated it: 
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 More...
A good author should be able to make More...
Dec 27, 2008
Lisa
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I was disappointed in this book. I was looking forward to a novel that had lots of musical detail in it, and it definitely succeeded there, and the writing about playing was excellent. But the prose surrounding the main plot of the novel was extremely self-conscious, overwrought and annoying. I didn't find much to like in the main character (beyond his talents as a musician, which came across) and couldn't seen any reason for this great love that existed between him and Julia.
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Mar 19, 2011
Sarah
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I recommend this book for the beautiful descriptions of the musical experience. Written in a very poetical manner, I felt as though the book moved me along and drew me into the complicated mind of the main character.
Following a year in Michael Home's life, a fiddle player in a quartet, 'An Equal Music' presents an intertwining of both music and love. Overall, I believe this is a story of loss and letting go. The story begins with emptiness and ends with emptiness. As Michael re More...
Following a year in Michael Home's life, a fiddle player in a quartet, 'An Equal Music' presents an intertwining of both music and love. Overall, I believe this is a story of loss and letting go. The story begins with emptiness and ends with emptiness. As Michael re More...
Apr 24, 2011
Moses
rated it:
I tend to have memories of times during which I read certain books. The best of these belong to the time I spend reading A suitable boy by Vikram Seth. It was immediately followed by Catcher in the Rye and Cervantes' Don Quixote. This period was probably the time I learned to surrender myself to a book. And in reading another work by Vikram Seth, I had my expectations set.
I cannot say I was disappointed, neither can I say I was overly elated. There is a way in which Seth seems to be t More...
I cannot say I was disappointed, neither can I say I was overly elated. There is a way in which Seth seems to be t More...
Dec 05, 2011
Donquierafaber
rated it:
On the whole, this read was enjoyable, though the characters did not seem as fully-fleshed nor as memorable as the characters in A Suitable Boy. This was somewhat surprising since there were only two main characters in this book as opposed to a parade of many in ASB. About three-quarters through the way of this book, the prose abruptly changes style. The protagonist becomes introspective and his thoughts are jagged. It seems like he is heading for a break down. He does not, which makes the ch
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Feb 22, 2009
Jean
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In An Equal Music I think Vikram Seth, though he is not one himself, tries to write intimately about the life of professional musicians. So the book doesn't ring true for me. The trite personal bantering and lack of professionalism of the Maggiore musicians during their rehearsals seems unlikely for a world-class quartet; as well, their collaboration with Julia, a gifted but nearly deaf pianist. Their performance of the Trout Quintet with Julia may be analogous to a visually impaired brain s
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Sep 20, 2011
Yas
rated it: 
Brief Synopsis:
So I'll be writing a very brief synopsis on this one. Very brief. Seeing as there is very little tangible or evident plot to speak of in relation to this book of utter rubbish anyways which lead to me giving up on it. Absolute rubbish...
Anyway, it revolves around a violinist player who is obsessed with his violin and music playing in general, and briefly hints at a previous unresolved romance with a fellow musician which didn't work out for whatever reason. Cue More...
So I'll be writing a very brief synopsis on this one. Very brief. Seeing as there is very little tangible or evident plot to speak of in relation to this book of utter rubbish anyways which lead to me giving up on it. Absolute rubbish...
Anyway, it revolves around a violinist player who is obsessed with his violin and music playing in general, and briefly hints at a previous unresolved romance with a fellow musician which didn't work out for whatever reason. Cue More...
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Oct 26, 2009
Lynn
rated it:
I couldn't decide on two stars or three. We just discussed this at my (live) book group, and there was lots to say. I thought the main character was someone I wanted to smack because he just couldn't be happy and had to destroy happiness around him. He doesn't "mean to," but the effect is the same. I thought the quartet he was in was much more interesting and well drawn than the main story, a love affair that begins in youth and is reignited.
Seth is such a lyrical writer, More...
Seth is such a lyrical writer, More...
Oct 16, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
This book follows a musician, a violinist. Apparently he found true love in college and then something happened in his violin playing and he ran away from college and left his girlfriend. They lost contact and it is 10 years later and he is playing violin in a quartet. He happens upon his girlfriend and realizes he still loves her. They start a romantic tryst even though she is married and has a child. She is really torn over it.
Here was the thing about this book - he wrote so beaut More...
Here was the thing about this book - he wrote so beaut More...
Nov 27, 2011
Halida
rated it:
Let's start with the good things: the story is real. Michael, the main character, isn't that typical music student we often find in other stories. He's not from a rich, musician-from-generation-to-generation family. He gains his skill from years of training and hard work. Even his Italian violin is borrowed.
He has loved this pianist, Julia, for more than a decade. Yet when they are reunited, things don't go as they would have in fairytales.
And for the bad things, or thing. Reading the More...
He has loved this pianist, Julia, for more than a decade. Yet when they are reunited, things don't go as they would have in fairytales.
And for the bad things, or thing. Reading the More...
Dec 26, 2011
Jyoti
rated it:
Bought as an audiobook from Audible, this one took very long to listen. Its sound quality wasn't good and I ended up letting many long gaps affect the experience of listening. It had lots about nuances of western classical music and how the male protagonist played violin in a quartet, taught music to students and fared in his relationship with two women. One was a foreign student whom he wasn't deeply involved with as he couldn't get over his earlier love. He meets this previous lover again aft
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Oct 04, 2011
Debbie
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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 More...
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 More...
Jul 12, 2011
Jackie
rated it:
One of the reviewers described this book as "tense." I couldn't have come up with a better word myself. This book is about music and love. It is not a thriller. If I were to come across a thriller this tense I wouldn't know what to do with myself.
The music was great. The love story not so much. I would have been perfectly happy to read a book about a string quartet and their dynamics without all the adultery and long-lost-flame hoo hah. Not that this wasn't well-written. Or, you k More...
The music was great. The love story not so much. I would have been perfectly happy to read a book about a string quartet and their dynamics without all the adultery and long-lost-flame hoo hah. Not that this wasn't well-written. Or, you k More...
Aug 08, 2011
What a long book! Great if you want to know exactly what it's like to be in a chamber music quartet. in Europe. In fact, too much detail all the way around. Kept storing up the details thinking it would add up to something in terms of plot ad character, but it didn't really happen. Was there no editor? Thrilled that the ending was more bitter than sweet. Didn't quite find myself liking Michael, the main character (dead and unchanged throughout) and not really feeling the heat between Micha
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Feb 13, 2010
Margaret
rated it:
I had just recently read A Suitable Boy by this author, absolutely fell in love with that world, and hated for it to end.
I was prepared for this book to be completely different and it was. An Equal Music certainly demonstrates the verstility of its author, Vikram Seth.
The main characters of the book left me cold. I prefer novels which induce me to "care" in some way about what happens to the characters.
In this case, I just could not seem to care about anyon More...
I was prepared for this book to be completely different and it was. An Equal Music certainly demonstrates the verstility of its author, Vikram Seth.
The main characters of the book left me cold. I prefer novels which induce me to "care" in some way about what happens to the characters.
In this case, I just could not seem to care about anyon More...
Sep 07, 2011
Kurt
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I wanted to like this book because I love classical music and intelligent people, but I just couldn't. Michael is so over-sensitive that I wanted to see him reduced to poverty and work in a mine so that he would see how good he really had it. And if Julia had really loved him, she would have tracked him down when he disappeared.
Furthermore, it was really disturbing when they resumed their affair. Cheating on your spouse is not OK! It seriously diminished her in my eyes. Of cours More...
Furthermore, it was really disturbing when they resumed their affair. Cheating on your spouse is not OK! It seriously diminished her in my eyes. Of cours More...
Jul 27, 2011
Mari
rated it:
Storia bellissima di amore x la musica e per una donna...
Un incontro casuale su un autobus londinese, una lettera che non avrebbe mai dovuto essere letta, una pianista con un segreto che tocca il cuore della sua musica. E, ancora, la ricerca di un raro quintetto per archi di Beethoven e un violino amato fino all'ossessione, ma mai posseduto. Il romanzo di Vikram Seth è insieme una storia d'amore, intensa e struggente e una meditazione profonda sulla musica (e sull'essere musicisti) e su come la More...
Un incontro casuale su un autobus londinese, una lettera che non avrebbe mai dovuto essere letta, una pianista con un segreto che tocca il cuore della sua musica. E, ancora, la ricerca di un raro quintetto per archi di Beethoven e un violino amato fino all'ossessione, ma mai posseduto. Il romanzo di Vikram Seth è insieme una storia d'amore, intensa e struggente e una meditazione profonda sulla musica (e sull'essere musicisti) e su come la More...
Feb 17, 2009
Heyrebekah
rated it:
Ostensibly, this is a love story between two people who loved and lost and then find each other again years later. But really it is a love story about music. The most moving relationship is not between Michael and Julia, but between Michael and his violin. Reading it made me want to put the book down and listen to music instead.
I can imagine other writers bogging down the reader with pages of exposition and explanation of the various musical terms. Seth knows his chamber music in More...
I can imagine other writers bogging down the reader with pages of exposition and explanation of the various musical terms. Seth knows his chamber music in More...
Feb 10, 2012
Peter
rated it:
I found the love affair between two people in this book rather boring and predictable. Much more exciting, sometimes ecstatic, sometimes desperate, was the love affair between the narrator and Beethoven, Schubert, and Bach. Which I suppose, to be fair, you could take as the central plot of the book. But I found the many scenes in which the love affair played out boring, and only somewhat compensated for by a few compelling scenes of musical performance. I particularly liked the scene in which th
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Jul 29, 2011
Mike
rated it:
This is a very well-written and heartfelt novel. I can't deny the artistry and the peaceful, deliberate tone and pace. I have to say, though, that I didn't really like the protagonist and narrator. He's overly sensitive to his own feelings and not sensitive enough to those of the people close to him. Perhaps that's part of being a musician. The segments dealing with the string quartet of which the narrator is a part were more engaging for me than the other part of the plot, which focused on
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Aug 09, 2010
Sarah
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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
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Sep 11, 2010
Maria
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Vikram Seth is easily one of my very favorite writers. Each of his three books is very different from the others, but beautifully written. I had started this book a few years ago and not gotten into it, but this time it totally worked for me. I enjoyed it the way I enjoy Tolstoy. I’m sure I missed a lot since I don’t know anything about music, but it was still very good. The last 20 pages or so did get a little esoteric for me, so I’m not sure that I quite got the ending. Otherwise, it wou
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Jan 07, 2012
Pawan
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After reading “A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth, I had become fan of his writing. When I picked up “An Equal Music”, I was really in for a surprise. As opposed to the traditional Indian setting of “A Suitable Boy”, this book was very western in its plot and extremely technical about music. Even though I do not have much knowledge about technique of music and definitely nothing about European Classical Music, I enjoyed reading this book just for the sake of story More...
After reading “A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth, I had become fan of his writing. When I picked up “An Equal Music”, I was really in for a surprise. As opposed to the traditional Indian setting of “A Suitable Boy”, this book was very western in its plot and extremely technical about music. Even though I do not have much knowledge about technique of music and definitely nothing about European Classical Music, I enjoyed reading this book just for the sake of story More...
Sep 15, 2011
Elsje
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Het verhaal
Michael Holme is een violist, die zijn geld verdient door lessen te geven en door optredens met het strijkkwartet 'Maggiore', waarin hij tweede viool speelt. Zijn leven gaat zijn gangetje, tot hij op een dag zijn ex-geliefde ziet, Julia. Zij zit in de bus die hem voorbij rijdt. Tien jaar geleden waren ze beiden muziekstudent in Wenen: hij viool, zij piano. Toen hij vrij abrupt zijn leraar verliet en daarmee ook Wenen en Julia, was hun relatie voorbij. Sinds die tijd kan Michael b More...
Michael Holme is een violist, die zijn geld verdient door lessen te geven en door optredens met het strijkkwartet 'Maggiore', waarin hij tweede viool speelt. Zijn leven gaat zijn gangetje, tot hij op een dag zijn ex-geliefde ziet, Julia. Zij zit in de bus die hem voorbij rijdt. Tien jaar geleden waren ze beiden muziekstudent in Wenen: hij viool, zij piano. Toen hij vrij abrupt zijn leraar verliet en daarmee ook Wenen en Julia, was hun relatie voorbij. Sinds die tijd kan Michael b More...
Jun 02, 2011
Arya
rated it:
I have mixed opinions towards this book. The story draws up some attention: a violinist meets a pianist for whom he was deeply in love in the past and the flames of passion once again begin to burn within his heart, yet too much has changed since then. Now this pianist is married and leads a happy life with her family. Alas, she holds a secret that will change their lives forever.
The beginning of the book is excellent. Seth manages to richly describe musical experiences and you can see More...
The beginning of the book is excellent. Seth manages to richly describe musical experiences and you can see More...
