After reading a couple of P G wodehouse books I was in the hunt for something different. While browsing the book store, my eyes fell on a book by Vikram seth. No, books by vikram seth. A collection of poems also in that list. Read a couple of poems. They were telling too much in between a couple of words, modern day stuff. The next book was the magnum opus, "A suitable boy". Now, words are not enough to describe this book. And that is, that. The next book is what I am reading right now. "An equal music". I had been knowing about this since I finished A suitable boy, but somehow was so overwhelmed after reading it that I thought he couldnt have written anything better than that. Oh, I again started about the boy, while the girl is supposed to come out from the past couple of years. Has he written anything at all really about the girl, we dont know. I would like to know for sure. If anybody has any news regarding this please do comment.
An equal music is a not equal for all readers. It definitely commands a better knowledge about music. Why, because there is a lot of communication regarding the chords, ups, downs, mediums and the stuff related to music. Yes you can ignore it and go along with the premise of the book and take everything in context. It is like reading A suitable boy without knowing India. Yes, you can read the book and understand everything in context but, the context of the country as a participant in the writing is left out. Let me tell you it is a big chunk you have left out. Many people have tried to sum up India and everybody goes back thinking that they have figured it out. Nothing can be near to truth than this thought. Coming back to an equal music, as you must have understood the undercurrent is music here. Listening to music and understanding music are two different things. People can talk languages but may not be able to write and read the same. I just felt the same here. The characters are well etched and we have a variety of characters. London, Vienna and Venice figure prominently. I think that the author loves these places and observed them very clearly.
As in all musical performances there will come various times in the performance a crescendo. Here also there are situations which are built up to that crescendo and then at the same time it calms down and you are taken along flats. I love all of those. That does not mean the flats and the smaller crests and troughs are not interesting. I definitely think that this was written much before A suitable boy. I may be wrong. But I have a very strong feeling about it. So, whom should you recommend this book. Definitely not for new readers. For accustomed readers, yes. For connoisseurs, yes. For non-musical people, No. I heard you. Your are telling me that you can read the book by ignoring the musical part. You can read, but then you are not a reader. Books are written for readers, yes. All class of readers, no. If writing is an art, reading also is one. Yes, we may not understand the full extent of the feel/purpose of the writer. But that is the purpose of the writer. The reader should be transported to that scenario. The reader should feel the same what the writer wants the reader to feel. The reader has to be an artist to really get to what the author wants to tell us. So can all readers who could read and enjoy detective/romance novels read a book on fiction written with music as the main protagonist. You tell me.
There is one another aspect which is brought out beautifully. The influence of public utilities like the libraries, the parks maintained for the general public in the making/learning/education of an individual. The joy of searching for a book physically has no parallel. That too borrowing a book from the library which has been read and churned by lakhs. I used to love the comments left by people on the books. And whenever I used to read a p g wodehouse, I always blessed the reader who had written the meaning of the word used by the master. This would heighten the joy of reading that man. So, I totally dig the author when his characters remember the good old times.
An equal music is absolutely equal to both the male and the female protagonist. It is told in point of view of the male protagonist. It doesnt neglect any of the female protagonists. All are on equal grounds. All are right and wrong. I am feeling I should also be knowing a little about the language of music. There is one more language I was fascinated by reading the book and that is the sign language. Immediately I remembered the braille language my co-employee uses to read when we travel. I always thought about only spoken languages. This book exposed me to many others. Thank you, Vikram seth.
There was one more nice discovery on the public network. While i searched the public network for an equal music, there was a gentle surprise. I found a collection/playlists of the music referenced in the book. The music was beautiful. It was very soothing. I could feel the crescendo moments in the book. I also could feel the diminuendos at various points along the collection of music. This is a great collection and the perfect companion for this awesome book. I did try learning to read sheet music and understood that it is not that easy. You should have the interest and passion to really get somewhere. Instead I thought that as an applied scientist, I would be an applied musician. Just listen to and consume it without knowing a damn about the background of it or how hard is it to produce a certain combination of music. To all the performers of music, here is my "RESPECT". You guys are awesome.
Love is all over the place. Love flows throughout the book. Love is the epi-centre of the book. Everything in it is love. Music is the mortar binding all these. The romance is so nuanced. The romance is musical. There are happy notes, fast paced notes, slow ones, sad ones and ...... There is one note wherein, the saddest note played out by the protagonist in his mind gives him the ultimate happiness and then everything is all so clear. But as the observer of all and listener of all these notes, there is something which I went through which hasnt happened to me for a very long time. My heart shed tears and they were torrential. I was speechless for a very long minute. For the first time, I wanted this sadness to last. It is like extending the most exotic feeling of ecstasy. Love can understand all the variations of life and at the same time can be blinding if very narrow. Love has to encompass the entire universe. Love cannot be towards one. Love has always to transcend. Love has always to give way. And as the author sums up, It has to be felt a bit a time. Even the purest soul cannot take in everything. It has to be experienced in infinitesimal scoops. And dont forget to fall....... in love.
Thank you Vikram. I think you would have been better off writing a sequel to a "more" equal music.
An equal music is a not equal for all readers. It definitely commands a better knowledge about music. Why, because there is a lot of communication regarding the chords, ups, downs, mediums and the stuff related to music. Yes you can ignore it and go along with the premise of the book and take everything in context. It is like reading A suitable boy without knowing India. Yes, you can read the book and understand everything in context but, the context of the country as a participant in the writing is left out. Let me tell you it is a big chunk you have left out. Many people have tried to sum up India and everybody goes back thinking that they have figured it out. Nothing can be near to truth than this thought. Coming back to an equal music, as you must have understood the undercurrent is music here. Listening to music and understanding music are two different things. People can talk languages but may not be able to write and read the same. I just felt the same here. The characters are well etched and we have a variety of characters. London, Vienna and Venice figure prominently. I think that the author loves these places and observed them very clearly.
As in all musical performances there will come various times in the performance a crescendo. Here also there are situations which are built up to that crescendo and then at the same time it calms down and you are taken along flats. I love all of those. That does not mean the flats and the smaller crests and troughs are not interesting. I definitely think that this was written much before A suitable boy. I may be wrong. But I have a very strong feeling about it. So, whom should you recommend this book. Definitely not for new readers. For accustomed readers, yes. For connoisseurs, yes. For non-musical people, No. I heard you. Your are telling me that you can read the book by ignoring the musical part. You can read, but then you are not a reader. Books are written for readers, yes. All class of readers, no. If writing is an art, reading also is one. Yes, we may not understand the full extent of the feel/purpose of the writer. But that is the purpose of the writer. The reader should be transported to that scenario. The reader should feel the same what the writer wants the reader to feel. The reader has to be an artist to really get to what the author wants to tell us. So can all readers who could read and enjoy detective/romance novels read a book on fiction written with music as the main protagonist. You tell me.
There is one another aspect which is brought out beautifully. The influence of public utilities like the libraries, the parks maintained for the general public in the making/learning/education of an individual. The joy of searching for a book physically has no parallel. That too borrowing a book from the library which has been read and churned by lakhs. I used to love the comments left by people on the books. And whenever I used to read a p g wodehouse, I always blessed the reader who had written the meaning of the word used by the master. This would heighten the joy of reading that man. So, I totally dig the author when his characters remember the good old times.
An equal music is absolutely equal to both the male and the female protagonist. It is told in point of view of the male protagonist. It doesnt neglect any of the female protagonists. All are on equal grounds. All are right and wrong. I am feeling I should also be knowing a little about the language of music. There is one more language I was fascinated by reading the book and that is the sign language. Immediately I remembered the braille language my co-employee uses to read when we travel. I always thought about only spoken languages. This book exposed me to many others. Thank you, Vikram seth.
There was one more nice discovery on the public network. While i searched the public network for an equal music, there was a gentle surprise. I found a collection/playlists of the music referenced in the book. The music was beautiful. It was very soothing. I could feel the crescendo moments in the book. I also could feel the diminuendos at various points along the collection of music. This is a great collection and the perfect companion for this awesome book. I did try learning to read sheet music and understood that it is not that easy. You should have the interest and passion to really get somewhere. Instead I thought that as an applied scientist, I would be an applied musician. Just listen to and consume it without knowing a damn about the background of it or how hard is it to produce a certain combination of music. To all the performers of music, here is my "RESPECT". You guys are awesome.
Love is all over the place. Love flows throughout the book. Love is the epi-centre of the book. Everything in it is love. Music is the mortar binding all these. The romance is so nuanced. The romance is musical. There are happy notes, fast paced notes, slow ones, sad ones and ...... There is one note wherein, the saddest note played out by the protagonist in his mind gives him the ultimate happiness and then everything is all so clear. But as the observer of all and listener of all these notes, there is something which I went through which hasnt happened to me for a very long time. My heart shed tears and they were torrential. I was speechless for a very long minute. For the first time, I wanted this sadness to last. It is like extending the most exotic feeling of ecstasy. Love can understand all the variations of life and at the same time can be blinding if very narrow. Love has to encompass the entire universe. Love cannot be towards one. Love has always to transcend. Love has always to give way. And as the author sums up, It has to be felt a bit a time. Even the purest soul cannot take in everything. It has to be experienced in infinitesimal scoops. And dont forget to fall....... in love.
Thank you Vikram. I think you would have been better off writing a sequel to a "more" equal music.
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