Vikram Seth - An Equal Music

review by Babs Simpson on show 23rd Feb.
I read Vikram Seth's first novel - A Suitable Boy - when it was first published ages ago, and hadn't really heard much about him since, so An Equal Music came as a really wonderful surprise. It is a superb, brilliantly written novel set in the world of classical music mostly in London. Michael is a violinist with a successful string quartet and I can only imagine that if Mr Seth isn't a musician himself, he has many close friends who are. I had a good friend who free-lanced with all the big London orchestras playing the oboe so went to a great many concerts and got to know lots of orchestral players. Everything about this novel was exactly right, from tense rehearsals to the extraordinary electricity just before the concert - how the players feel about the music, their fellow musicians, their agents - everything.

The main story is of a love affair between Michael and his lost love Julia who he met long ago in Vienna. They meet again in London: Julia is now married with a loving husband and a small son, Michael is still on his own. Their feelings for each other haven't changed but circumstances have and to far greater than extent than Michael at first realises.

It is a wonderful story and what particularly drew me into it was the fact that it is a proper, grown-up recounting of feelings and all the little things that make people what they are - pettiness, jealousy, deep love and lack of understanding. It is real in a way that so few novels are and it is privilege to read such wonderful prose written in such an unpretentious way.

For anyone who enjoys music, it is especially exciting, but I don't think that matters too much. It is a brilliant novel written by a really excellent and talented author.