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An Equal Music (Paperback)

by Vikram Seth (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 483 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix; New edition edition (20 Dec 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0753807734
  • ISBN-13: 978-0753807736
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 7,823 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #2 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > S > Seth, Vikram

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Michael plays second violin in an up-and-coming Maggiore Quartet, lives on the north side of Hyde Park, takes early morning dips in the Serpentine, has a French girlfriend named Virginie. But his mind is constantly drawn to his first and only love, Julia, whom he knew in Vienna many years earlier. When he catches sight of Julia on a London bus, he cannot help but pursue her. Vikram Seth's new novel is a gently-paced, multi-layered work, proceeding in short sections which flit from Michael's ongoing search for Julia back to his childhood as a Rochdale butcher's son, his early training and breakdown in Vienna under the tyrannical Carl Kall, and the emotional history of his quartet; while Michael's discovery of a Beethoven trio rewritten as a string quintet acts as a motif for Michael's pursuit of the lost Julia: can Michael recapture the magic of the past, like Beethoven, who deafly transfigured what he so many years earlier had hearingly composed? Seth is quite brilliant at conveying the intense and complex interplay of chamber musicians, in rehearsal and performance (an odd, obsessed, introspective, separatist breed), and manages the near-impossible--to write in 1999 about Art and Love without embarrassment. --Alan Stewart --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
A chance sighting on a bus; a letter which should never have been read; a pianist with a secret that touches the heart of her music . . . AN EQUALl MUSIC is a book about love, about the love of a woman lost and found and lost again; it is a book about music and how the love of music can run like a passionate fugue through a life. It is the story of Michael, of Julia, and of the love that binds them. 'A novel that can stand being reread and reread, but the first time round is an emotional cliffhanger ... secure a copy for yourself, settle down, and prepare for the unforgettable' Sunday Times

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Customer Reviews

86 Reviews
5 star:
 (43)
4 star:
 (17)
3 star:
 (7)
2 star:
 (10)
1 star:
 (9)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (86 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for busy mums!, 3 Dec 2005
By A Customer
This book made me pick up my violin for the first time in 15 years! I loved every page. This is a book about love, but the real love affair is the one with music. The complicated and awkward lives of the musicians seemed to me to be fairly accurate. I sympathised with Michael, the main character, but didn't particularly warm to the way he behaves. However, I think this is the point of the book. It is the music which remains true and faithful in Michael's life, and he remains true to music, however thoughtless, selfish and self-absorbed he might be in other aspects of his life.

Seth is able to evoke the feelings that music can inspire, and has a good understanding of his subject. I like the fact that the main composers he writes about are Beethoven, Schubert and Bach, and he celebrates their gifts to the world. It would have been all to easy to go for more contemporary music in an effort to impress, but to my mind these are still the greats. In an age when classical music is often seen to be pretentious, and the visual image is everything, this is a breath of fresh air.

The settings in London, Venice, Vienna and Manchester were perfect for me, as an adopted Mancunian from London!

On a slightly different note, one of the really appealing aspects of the book is the way it is set out in very short chapters of only two or three pages. Perfect for busy mums trying to grab a few minutes here or there. In fact I read far more quickly, thinking 'I'll just read one more chapter', and still being totally absorbed an hour later - dinner was a bit late, though!

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Finely crafted, a joy to read, 4 April 2002
By A Customer
An Equal Music is a beautifully written book where the story flows naturally through the characters. Despite my very limited knowledge of classical music the author's light touch and sensitivity effortlessly drew me into sufficient understanding.
Buy it, read it in a relaxed frame of mind, enjoy the writing, and the story will unfold almost as a by-product.
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37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars OH, I LOVE THIS BOOK!, 19 Mar 2004
By Val De Beer "Val De Beer" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
It was the brilliant poem at the beginning of this book that captivated me. I was on holiday in London when I bought it and whenever I read it,(which is VERY often) it brings back the rain, and the afternoons in Kensington Park. It is such a beautiful book about love, loneliness and above all, music.
I even bought the CD of the music which is mentioned in "An Equal Music" and that is such a treat as well.
The moment when Michael sees Julia when he's on a bus in Oxford Street is so real, and then when he meets her and discovers her secret,you just want to cry with him.
His rehearsals with his friends are fun and his trip home to Rochdale is so perfectly described that you really feel as though you are there with him, feeling his nostalgia, and his memories become your memories. This book will stay in my mind for ever because of its own haunting word-music.
Every character captures your imagination and you listen to the music and your hear the loneliness and the sadness of all the world in it, because it is a book about lost love, and found love and growing up and learning that you have to accept the disappointments like an adult.
I learnt a lot from "An Equal Music". Thank you, Vikram Seth!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Equal Music
A beautifully written book; extremely interesting for musicians but the story carries one along even if music is not your forte. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Diane Mcclymont

5.0 out of 5 stars AN equal music
Most poignant love story, beautifully written. A parallel journey into the inner world of a string quartet, hauntingly beautiful music and the tapestry of a love affair not meant... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Maylene Shan Qing Zhou

5.0 out of 5 stars "Music is dearer to me even than speech"
... explains Vikram Seth in the "Author's note" to this engrossing novel. His intimate connection to music and the process of bringing it to life is palpable throughout the book... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Friederike Knabe

4.0 out of 5 stars Moving and fast moving
An easy book to read as the plot flies along, the characters are very well drawn, the dialogue is good and the sense of yearning from the main protagonist is well drawn... Read more
Published 11 months ago by A. Gordon

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone - but definitely for me
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who tend to fall in love Hollywood-style (experiencing head over heels, all-consuming, passionate, exclusive, obsessive love -... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Chamber music fan

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book with good moments
I'm never one for a stereotypical love story, preferring more challenging takes on the subject (The Time Traveller's Wife for example), and I'm pleased to say that this book was... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Laurence Robinson

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read
Perhaps I don't read enough, but I found this book to be an excellent read. I thought it caught the dynamics between a small group of musicians very well and I do not hesitate to... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Mike

4.0 out of 5 stars A philosophic parable that ends in bad faith.
A friend pointed out to me- in connection with some comments I had made about the poeverty of ideas in Seth's 'Suitable Boy'- that @Equal Music' could be considered a heavy... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Sheila Choudhri

2.0 out of 5 stars An Equal Music
As with all of Seth's work, this is an equisitely crafted novel, well written and descriptive. Despite the evident skill throughout the book, I didn't enjoy it. Read more
Published on 25 April 2007 by J. Thangue

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty average...
It took me quite a while to get into this book, and when I did I wasn't that impressed. It doesn't read very easily and I also found that I got frustrated with the storyline... Read more
Published on 12 April 2007 by Rhi Wheeler

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