mags has pulled patrick from lurkdom...
>On to the two that I'm working through. The first is
>An Equal Music by Vikram Seth (he also wrote among
>other things A Suitable Boy....and the other is The
>Measure of a Man a spiritual autobiography by Sidney
>Poitier. Both are the kind of books that I do not want
>to put down.
>
'an equal music' is the best book i've read for a while, a really close look
at a world i wish i were a part of: those who make chamber music. the
passages about what it's like to rehearse (and perform) in a string quartet
or a piano quintet are like fantasy land for me, a regretful non-musician.
the love story is obsessive and eventually terribly sad, but so gripping,
but it's the writing about music that elevates this novel to the
stratosphere for me.
but you didn't mention vikram seth's greatest novel so far. 'golden gate'
is an early-eighties book placed in the san francisco bay area. on some
levels, just a big soap opera, not all that imaginative, except for the fact
that the whole book is written in 14-line sonnets. 'eugene onegin' rhyme
scheme (abab ccdd effe gg) and you read it, sometimes looking at each sonnet
to see if he's maintained the scheme, sometimes just forgetting it's in
rhyme and caring about the characters... it's a virtuoso book, completely
approachable but also dazzling. a long-time, near all-time favorite of
mine...
i've bought a copy of 'a suitable boy' based on my enjoyment of 'equal
music', but it's very long and daunting at this point...
my favorite author ever? robertson davies. start with 'the deptford
trilogy', very available in the viking edition paperback, even in most of
your used-book stores i'll bet.
patrick
np - glass - violin concerto
