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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.

Book Description
A powerful love story from the author of the international bestseller A SUITABLE BOY

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81 Reviews 5 star:  (39) 4 star:  (15) 3 star:  (7) 2 star:  (11) 1 star:  (9)           Average Customer Review (81 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   13 of 14 people found the following review helpful: 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!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   32 of 39 people found the following review helpful: OH, I LOVE THIS BOOK!, 20 Mar 2004 By  Val De Beer "Val De Beer" - See all my reviews    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!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 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.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all 81 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews</