Book Review An Equal Music Vikram Seth

chillibreeze writer — Pearl Pearl

Vikram Seth (Author of A Suitable Boy) in his novel " An Equal Music" has brought to the fore a rare emotional sensitivity of undying love. Seth's narrative is remarkable. The clearly etched out characterization calls for great effort on the part of any writer and for Seth, it is bang on target.

The story begins with the protagonist Michael Holmes, second violinist with the Maggiore Quartet, who finds his lost love, Julia, a pianist, after 10 long years.

The twosome were inseparable lovers while they were studying music in Vienna, but Michael, for reasons of his own, leaves suddenly. Love for music takes precedence over love for his lady. When Michael realizes that the fire is still burning within him he tries desperately to get back to Julia. However, the uncertainty and irony of fate causes him to lose touch with her altogether.

They meet again and rekindle their love against the backdrop of London. This time around, however, things have changed - Julia is married and has a 7-year-old son. She is also slowly growing deaf but her love for music is so great that she continues creating new sounds despite the growing silence around her. The angst and the agony of a her challenging struggle to continue with her passion is captured brilliantly in the novel. Convinced that her love is still the same for Michale and music, she travels with Michael and his quartet group as a pianist.

Torn between her love for him and her family, Julia looks for redemption. Towards the end of the narrative she realizes her duty and goes back to her family.

Despite Seth's vivid imagination many non-musicians will find it hard to grasp the discussions on Schubert, Schumann, and Bach as the descriptions and discussions can get tedious as the story progresses.

Readers become quite involved in the characters of Michael and Julia and it is difficult to decide which one to empathize with. Michael sometimes comes across as pretentious and succumbs to the nerves at the most crucial times. Julia is a much more independent and a strong character, but her jump into the relationship when they are reunited and then her regret for the same seems unfounded at most times.

"An Equal music" is an interesting book with Seth trying to bring out the emotions and complexities of unrequited love. For someone with not much expectation from the Vikram Seth school of thought, this is indeed a good read.

Find out how authors like Vikram Seth are changing the face of English writing in India.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

—About our writer:

Pearl says, "The best things about books is that it traps the mind in doing just what has to be done. Certainly, a quote that makes one think. For me working as an Editor - on news & financial with a US firm in Hyderabad, is just my kind of job. A dream that I live each day."

>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:

More resources for Writers on Chillibreeze.com

Chillibreeze offers Indian writers the opportunity to work on customer projects. We are also India’s biggest writer network and a one-stop shop for Indian writers and editors. The writers’ section on Chillibreeze offers freelance writers and editors a variety of tools to advance their careers. Resources for writers include:

Assessment of your writing, editing and proofreading skills

Writing courses

Expert Feedback on your article

An opportunity to promote yourself on our website

Top websites for Indian writers

Tips and resources for Indian freelancers

Book Publishing services

And more………………..

Explore our writers’ section using the links on our left-hand side menu. IMPORTANT! Don’t forget to