Bernard Chasan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I loved Seth's novel in verse, "Golden Gate", and, even, more "A Suitable
>Boy"." An Equal Music" was fascinating for its musical background, but
>somewhat spoiled for me by the shallowness and self absorption of the
>narrator.

I found the principal female character difficult to believe in.  In
particular, I couldn't imagine her having behaved as she did ten years
before the novel opens if her character was as described.  My husband and
I compared notes after reading the book and he thought the same.  Perhaps
what this boils down to is that neither of us would have acted that way.
We also found it hard to believe that such a quartet wouldn't have made any
recordings and wasn't in demand for broadcasts, given its age and standing.

I recommend that you don't read the acknowledgements before reading the
book, as I did (nosy me).

But I did enjoy the explicit Wigmore Hall scenes, especially as I'd
recently been to the hall for the first time (for 2 string quartet
concerts) when I read it last Christmas.

Virginia Knight
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http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/~ggvhk/virginia.html