History Literature / AnEqualMusic

* AntiHero or DesignatedHero: The protagonist (and narrator) is a deeply flawed individual.

The novel includes examples of the following tropes:

* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: Julia, although Michael was to blame.
* AntiHero or DesignatedHero: The protagonist (and narrator) is a deeply flawed individual.
* {{Auction}}: Piers bids recklessly for a violin, but perhaps fortunately for him, he loses.
* BettyAndVeronica: Julia has the calm and grounded James, and the moody AntiHero (and narrator) Michael.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: This was the situation in Vienna; it ended tragically.
* DeadpanSnarker: Several characters qualify, but Michael most of all.
* DerailingLoveInterests: The love interest being derailed is [[spoiler:''the narrator.'']]
* DespairEventHorizon: Michael spends a long time on the edge of this, unable to move, after [[spoiler:Julia breaks with him.]]

* ReclusiveArtist: Julia becomes one.
* SecondLove: James for Julia.
* StalkerWithACrush: Michael gradually degenerates into this.
* SympatheticAdulterer: Julia qualifies.
* TakeThat: Violist Helen, the only woman in the string quartet, remarks that "In the ''Quartetto Italiano'', the woman was serially married to all three of the men."

* UnexpectedInheritance: Mrs Formby's final letter.

Together with violinist Philippe Honoré, Seth produced a CD of all the music mentioned or featured in the novel, including Music/FranzSchubert's ''Trout Quintet'' and Vaughan-Williams' ''The Lark Ascending''.

* UnexpectedInheritance: Mrs Formby's final letter is a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming.

* FoodSlap: An enraged Piers doles out the "drink thrown in face" [[note]]over head, to be precise[[\note]] variant in response to an acquaintance/opinionated critic who made very obnoxious comments about music. Even better, after receiving a snippy "Fuck you!", the critic in question continues to {{troll}} Piers till he snaps and makes with the [[{{Pun}} punch.]]

* LoveAtFirstSight

* PrecisionFStrike: [[BilingualBonus In French, no less;]] at one point, Michael's violin student [[TeacherStudentRomance and sometimes lover]] Virginie gets fed up with him during a phone conversation and hangs up with a snap of "''Va te faire foutre!''" (Literally "Go fuck yourself", but used idiomatically to mean "Fuck you".) Another occurs near the end when Michael tells the woman who has [[RunningGag repeatedly mistaken his number for that of the London Bait Company]] that she "can do whatever [she] fucking well likes".

* DidNotGetTheGirl
* TheDitherer: Julia has shades of the Empathic Fence Sitter type.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Brilliant musician Julia [[LudwigVanBeethoven going deaf]].
* FirstPersonSmartass: Sometimes.
* FoodSlap: An enraged Piers does this in response to an acquaintance who made very obnoxious comments about music.

* TeacherStudentRomance: As mentioned above, Michael and his French violin pupil Virginie.

Together with violinist Philippe Honoré, Seth produced a CD of all the music mentioned or featured in the novel, including {{Franz Schubert}}'s ''Trout Quintet'' and Vaughan-Williams' ''The Lark Ascending''.

* TheDitherer: Julia has shades of the Wishy-Washy type.

* SympatheticAdulterer: Julia qualifies; Michael is slightly less sympathetic.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Michael, would it really have hurt to keep Julia's secret, to leave that letter alone, or to take your anger about it out on Julia? Although from a certain point of view, perhaps it was all for the best...

* BettyAndVeronica: Julia has calm and grounded James, and passionate and moody Michael.

* TheRebound: "It's only partly true."

A 1999 novel by {{Vikrim Seth}}, ''An Equal Music'' follows the story of an English violinist, Michael, who is a member of a string quartet. Ten years ago as a student in Vienna, he and a pianist called Julia fell in love, but adverse circumstances and a misunderstanding separated them.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Brilliant musician Julia going deaf.

* UnexpectedInherentance: Mrs Formby's final letter is a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming.
* Wangst: Michael, throughout the novel. He is very prone to self-pity and depression.

Wangst: Michael, throughout the novel.