An Equal Music

This romantic novel spends more time than you can imagine on Bach's "Art of the Fugue," so don't read it if you don't love Bach or don't care to hear it discussed. But if you love chamber music and enjoy a nice, schmalzty romance, you'll love this book.

I couldn't put this book down, and then I listened to ***the CD which accompanies this novel*** You see, Vikram Seth has not only got inside the mind of a musician, but he has also got inside the mind of a musician *going deaf*. How do I know? Because Julia's experiences are exactly those that I have experienced. I spent most of my life singing in choirs, making music in orchestras, teaching music to kids of all ages, studying Music at University level, and enjoying all forms of ensemble music-making, but one day realised that I wasn't hearing properly. So, having had hearing aids fitted, the next stage of my "soundscape" began. I moved from absence of sounds to distortion of sounds. Just like Julia I no longer enjoy ensemble work because there is just too much "noise" with hearing aids in, and uncertainty and lack of confidence with them not in. Visual cues are an integral part of hearing, much more than ever before. Julia doesn't lose her ability to make and live music - she loses her confidence to do it with others.I picked Julia may have been deaf before the text got there. When you understand the "going deaf" process, the clues are there.I found myself reading the relevant parts out to my family as I got to them, and was able to tell them that *this* really is what it's like. My family have read the book now too, so they have a better understanding of coping with a family member losing their hearing. In this regard Michael's reactions are perceptive and accurate - these *are* the reactions those around me had to my telling them I was losing my hearing.Like Julia, though, going deaf just means you need to change direction, career-wise, and the author gives her just the right amount of hope by the end of the novel.I heartily recommend "An Equal Music" if you enjoy music, especially chamber music, if you are experiencing losing your hearing, and if someone close to you is losing their hearing.

Unlike most of the other reviewers of this book, I love Bach, Haydn, Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven, etc., and have loved them for many years. So I have no patience with those who talk about the main character, Michael Holmes, as a whiner or as immature. Of course he is these things. So what? The fact is, Vikram Seth has given us very plausible characters who act with passion, who are driven by the need to find the exquisite, and who are changed forever by their encounters with this passion. And who among us haven't acted dumbly when we think we are in love and that love goes bad and our lives go bad with it? I know I have. I know I've been selfish, dumb, self-pitying. But these days it's a sin to give in to emotions. One must behave like a "healthy" person, move on, take Prozac, and just get over it. I wonder if all artists, musicians, and novelists were always "rational" and just "got over" things, would great and meaningful art ever be able to be created through such a "rational" mind? In any case, this novel is a great entertainment, beautifully composed and easy to read. I think its ending is just fine. I admit there were parts that could have been better edited, redundancies that made me impatient with Michael and Julia, but these were minor flaws in a fine novel that accomplishes a whole lot. I was very happy to meet all its characters and live among them for a while. I even went off to my local music store and got the Haydn string quartet that Michael loved so much. I highly recommend this novel to anyone, but especially to those who love Bach and chamber music.

I must admit, I've never been an ardent fan of classical music and never learned to play an instrument. As I read the book, however, for the first time in my life, I wished I had. Seth's descriptive, highly sensitive, almost poetic writing allows readers like myself to catch a glimpse of the world of classical instrumental music, from the inside. One's heart goes out to Julia for her loss, and also for the fact that she still loved Michael and allowed him to take advantage of that fact. I do not agree with reader Graciella Lopez' review of this book. Seth does not expect the readers to love or admire the character of Michael Holme, but to understand and may be even pity him a bit. Though a good musician, Michael's a selfish loner and rather a loser; there are many men like that out there! The major characters in a good book do not have to be perfect or even lovable. As long as they are recognizable as real, and are capable of drawing some sort of emotion from the reader, they make the book interesting. I strongly recommend this book to all readers, classical music lovers or otherwise, for Seth's writing is superb. This is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold night in front of a crackling fireplace, with Beethoven, Bach or Schubert on the stereo system if possible!

I don't know much about western classical music- but it was no drawback. This book gives tremendous insight into the minds and inter-relationships of the quartet of musicians (and more). As a love story it is very satisfying- especially the end- which is extremely graceful and peaceful. The single shock device in the narrative seems contrived for a while, but is then explored adequately. The other characters are wonderfully realised- Michael's father, Mrs.Formby, the violin maker etc. The obsession for music is there in all its passion, glory and frustration- and if you have any obsession in your life (not just music) you will understand it and sympathise and identify with the main character. As with Nick Hornby's soccer (Fever Pitch) and music (High Fidelity). The last time I felt so much at peace during and after reading a book was when I read Remains of the Day (Kazuo Ishiguro- Japanese writer with British characters- another similarity)- and after seeing a film, it was with Babette's Feast- can't explain this! Vikram Seth need not worry about the Booker prize- with his versatility, sensitivity and understanding of human behaviour, he has Nobel prize potential, in the long run and at this rate. Strongly recommended.