Vikram Seth Books

The first time I read this book was about 10 years ago and then sort of lost track of it.Upon coming across it recently,I marvelled at it anew--this is the stuff of childhood memories and warm fuzzy reading sessions to be shared with your kids.The amazingly witty rhymes are indeed a treasure.

Yes, Yes, Yes! Please get the publishers to publish the book. I want to gift this book to a dozen people I know. Delightful verses, charming illustrations too.

In short, this is a feast for the mind and for the ears. Try reading the poems out loud and u'll know what i mean. Ten beautiful fairy tales taken and woven into pages of beautiful humourous poetry, what else would you want? I could not resist reading them 4 times... do buy them u'll REEEELY enjoy them.

Traditional stories from all over the world told in rhyming couplets. I am amazed at the rhymes that Vikram Seth came up with to tell these tales....and that he says he wrote the first poem becuase it was too hot to concentrate on his (real?) work!
I have this is hardcover. It's a keeper!

Everything is great about these poems. The rhymes are clever, beautiful and very often funny. In the tales the good wins from the bad, but after trial and tribulations, and always in unexpected ways. One of my favourite lines is about a goat and a ram: "They ate with pride as if to balance, their total lack of other talents". But quoting excellent lines would take about as long as the book itself.

These are not children's rhymes, but I read them to my sons of 10 and 13 years old and we all three have a great time.

It's a great read just in terms of a compelling story and interesting and well developed characters.

Quite unique in that the author goes in depth (for a novel) to provide a musician's perspective into the world of classical music. It's fun to track down the musical compositions and to give them a listen to enhance one's reading experience of the book.

This romantic novel spends more time than you can imagine on Bach's "Art of the Fugue," so don't read it if you don't love Bach or don't care to hear it discussed. But if you love chamber music and enjoy a nice, schmalzty romance, you'll love this book.

Research in Jiangsu Province

The Yangtse flows on like brown tape.
The research forms take final shape,
Each figure like a laden boat
With white or madder sails afloat.

Float on, float on, O facts and facts,
Distilled compendia of past acts,
Reveal the Grand Design to me,
Flotilla of my PhD.

In this collection, Vikram Seth has poetry and imagery from China, India and America. The poetry is heartfelt and marked by Vikram Seth's penchant for using simple words to recreate truth, beauty and magic!

I think Vikram Seth is the best author in this whole of world. This novel is just terrific and i am tempted to read it again and again. I think everybody ought to read it atleast once.

This is my all time favorite novel! It's character development, humor, richness of the family situations, education about Indian culture - all of it has prompted me to re-read it 3 or 4 times and I can't wait until I forget it a bit so I can read it again!

This was my second Seth novel. I read it after falling in love with his writing in "An Equal Music." The first thing that struck me about these novels was how different they were ... more » from one another, and how amazing it was that Seth was able to show such complete understanding of two such different cultures and time periods. The second is how beautifully Seth can write.

This 1400 page novel was a page-turner, and well worth the time and effort it took to read. I quickly fell in love with the characters and the story. It was my first exposure to Indian history and after finishing it I found myself looking for more. The only Indian author that has begun to impress me as much as Seth is Rohinton Mistry.

Seth is now my favorite author and I reccommend this novel to anyone with an appreciation for fine fiction. Unfortunately, it's size is both its best and worst feature; it scares people off, but once they give it a chance they realize there was not one page too many.

This is the longest paperback book ever published. It is a big time investment that is well worth it for the right reader. Seth's writing is entertaining and he does an outstanding job developing his characters. I missed the people in the story when I finished the book. If you are interested in India and are perhaps travelling there, I strongly recommend this book if you had to only read one book on the topic.

I imagine a lot of readers may find the political parts and speeches boring, but Seth amazingly places a well known character in the book in the midst of the political intrigue hence making the reader care more about what is happening politically. You will learn a lot about Muslim/Hindu conflicts which is an important part of life in India historically and today.

Seth's writing may be not as poetic as Rushdie, but easily surpasses him in entertainiment value. He weaves a very intricate plot while teaching the reader Indian culture and history. There are a lot of characters and subplots in this book but amazingly Seth ties everything together - it does not even appear forced. I had little trouble keeping track of everyone. Highly recommended. I plan to read more Vikram Seth.

Although the core of this story is about finding a suitable groom for Lata, the book traverses different story lines at snails pace and suddenly in the last 100 or 150 pages, things come to a sudden end. Seems like the author suddenly lost interest and wants to finish a tome. Otherwise good.

A 1500 page book. What a read! Only third of the way through it so far, but a diverse mixture of family life, Indian politics, spirituality, drama. Truely something for everyone who enjoys a good long read. Extremely well written.

This novel in verse came highly reccommended to me. At first I was apprehensive about reading it (I have never considered myself to appreciate poetry) and found it hard to get ... more » through. I picked it up for a second time after reading 2 of Seth's other novels (An Equal Music and then A Suitable Boy, which are now two of my favorite books) and this time found it hard to resist. The verse was charming and really enhanced the story. It made the novel fun to read and the characters and plot exciting.

Seth is now my favorite author and I'm always trying to get people to give his novels a chance. I feel that Seth is an underdiscovered author and nothing would make me happier than sharing the discovery of his amazing talent with others.

Seth can write, for better or verse,
A novel with a novel rhyme scheme.
His metaphors and tropes are terse,
It reads just like as in a dream.
From acknowledgments, dedication and contents
To punctuations, italics and indents,
From back to back, and cover to cover,
From estranged friends to hopeless lovers,
You can sing along. Seth does expose,
Six hundred ninety and three times
How well it reads, how much it rhymes,
Manifesting the very cons of prose.
As if the rhyme-scheme were a trifle,
It's spelled out in this review title.

How on earth can one man write
A story of San Francisco thus,
So credible in its setting, one might
Doubt (and why, really make a fuss),
That he also wrote with as much joy
The Indian story of A Suitable Boy.
The best things come in packages small,
These sonnets will please one and all
Despite the Friscan liberal bent,
Global warming, anti-war and peace,
Same-sex love and pets saving trees,
It's musical would compete with Rent.
So buy this book before you sleep
Because this one is one to keep.

I read this book in twenty sittings
Alone but for my Bovril tea
And after twenty eyebrow knittings
I pulled the covers over me
High as the pale marijuana smoke
That covers my bed when I try to toke.
"Now don't be greedy," my cat said,
"As someone to whom you have read,
I pray thee, Kevin, read some more of
That book The Golden Gate by Seth!"
"My fault, cat." "It's not life or death,
But that is one of the books I love."
And grinning like the famous Cheshire
We settled in; my nap grew meshire.

If by some unimaginible twist of fate, for some unspeakable crime, I were to be condemned to a small, desolate island for the rest of my life and allowed to carry with me but one book, the choice would be easy: Golden Gate by Vikram Seth. It would be easy for the obvious: reading this book is so pleasurable it makes one feel guilty (as in "Oh god I don't deserve to be so happy!!"). It would be even easier for what is not so obvious: reading the book engenders in one an intense desire to try and re-create the sublime beauty of Seth's verse. Such a pursuit is a futile exercise over many lifetimes -- one lifetime in a marooned island would go by in the blink of any eye.

A wonderful book that covers
A thousand themes: Sons and lovers,
Men and women, Scrabble and chess,
Bombs and chips, and self-criticism.
All this with warmth and witticism!
It's a masterpiece, nothing less.
Is it prose or verse ? I cannot tell,
For the lines are fluid, tho' they rest
Twice a page. With Seth at his best,
I am sated. None can write so well.

Voices in my head,
Chanting, "Kisses. Bread.
Prove yourself. Fight. Shove.
Learn. Earn. Look for love,"

Drown a lesser voice
Silent now of choice.
"Breathe in peace, and be
Still, for once, like me."

- Vikram Seth

This one sums up all of our lives. Simple yet beautiful .. one of the few books where poetry makes complete sense :). A must read for all.

A tidy little collection of poems - some serious, some flippant. The title poem is especially powerful. There are a few other gems as well. For the most part, Seth doesn't wear his "Indian author" hat in this one.

All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,
No hand to left or right
And emptiness above -

Know that you aren't alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years.

-- Vikram Seth

Vikram Seth is a poet par excellence. For each one who has savored his Suitable boy or An equal music or From Heaven's Lake or The Golden Gate, this collection of poems offers another set of witty, candid, lyrical and highly artistic writing. The poet writes about love in all forms, and poems are short and beautiful, the one mentioned here my perennial favorite!

His poems tell of places and moments of pain, but they are of the culture and cultures of life. Reading the title poem one can only nod their head, while Lithuania will make you shake, Mistaken you will blush and Telephone will make you laugh...and sigh.

Try it and see if you don't!

I read this book without too many hopes and it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. The language is easy and the thoughts expressed are beautiful. The title poem 'all you who sleep tonight' is one of the most touching poems i've read in quite some time. Hats off to Vikram Seth for coming up with such a beautiful collection of poems. Definitely a must read for those who enjoy simple and good poetry.

I am a big Vikram Seth fan and this was a cute children's book. The drawings are simple, yet effective. The story is close to a classic Grimm tale, an animal that helps a human, but ends up getting killed by humans keeping it in captivity. Maybe not suited for very young children, but a very well written story. A story that you can discuss afterwards on themes portrayed, asking questions like what would you have done?

Beg, borrow or steal this from someone and read it. Truly a beautiful tale, told in Seth's unique verse.

I read A Suitable Boy and thought it was fantastic. I also read An Equal Music and thought that it was so bad that I couldn't believe it was by the same author. This book is a little less bad. First of all it is way too long. The letters go on and on and many are not particularly interesting. Where was the editor? Second he lunges off into several tangents about Germany, the middle east conflict and other topics which are approximately on the level of a high school student assigned to write an essay. There was a lot of editorializing that could have been put in, such as the fact that many of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust died because no one was willing to accept them and had no way to defend themsleves, instead he goes into a tirade about the Israeli oppression of the Palestinans that contains many factual errors. Third, after reading all these letters and hearing all these stories I still am left with a very unclear picture of his aunt, who seems to have led a very unintersting life. Fourth, I still don't understand why these two not very interesting people deserve a book. In short I give upon Seth.

I found Vikram Seth's Two Lives a great disappointment, a rather mediocre book by someone whom I had expected more of after the success of his novel A Suitable Boy. I frankly cannot understand why so many readers have awarded Two Lives a five-star rating. Granted, the potential is there. The dual stories of a one-armed Indian dentist and his German Jewish refugee wife, spanning most of the twentieth century, this book is set mostly in London but with a very substantial story line occurring in Germany and lesser ones in India and America. This dual biography is told by the author, the couple's grand-nephew, who had a deep familial relationship with them from the age of seventeen when he was sent to England to attend school. V. Seth subsequently showed substantial academic promise and creativity while attending first Oxford and then Stanford Universities. Despite his achievements in several disciplines, however, in this book the author never manages to raise his true account to a level of credible literature. He depends heavily on correspondence and reproduces much verbatim in the book but seems unaware of the principle of selection. V. Seth's own political remarks, while not wrong, demonstrate no particular sophistication or analytical expertise. Basically, it is self indulgence for the author to take his readers on his own voyage of historical discovery--a voyage that we might understand or even find interesting in a twenty-five year old but seems rather naïve in an accomplished writer of twice that age. With good editing, this book might have made an excellent read, especially the copious portions dealing with the Holocaust, which are mostly based on primary sources (principally letters). Without such editing, however, this book is too often banal and sometimes even banal when it should be dramatic. Near the end of Two Lives (p. 442), V. Seth, while recounting the last and increasingly infirm years of his elderly uncle, writes, "He once slipped (on a banana peel, as he told me) at a bus-stop near Piccadilly Circus and injured his shoulder...." And I thought to myself, "Couldn't he at least have spared us this banana peel passage?"

I am about 80% of the way through this huge book. I should start by saying I have rarely read books in the 4 years since I left university; and I didn't intend to read this one. I was just carrying it on the tube (metro) after someone insisted on lending it to me, and started flipping through the first few pages. Next thing I knew, and I was on page 300 a few days later. True, I must agree with some of the other reviews, it is quite long in an absolute sense. But there's a tremendous amount to tell, and the fact that it's a biography more than a novel means that the way it is told takes time - since Seth's aunt is dead, for example, he can't interview her but must trawl through her letters and the replies to get a sense of who she was before he knew her, and who her friends were when he's never met them either. It doesn't sound like a thriller but there were times when my heart was beating at great pace - reading some of the letters that Seth's German aunt wrote and received in the years following the war, having fled to London and left her Jewish mother and sister behind - livened by Seth's eye for detail and the research he's done to bring them alive. The letters that he takes us through are often accompanied by photos of the real-life versions, strengthening the sense of drama.

The book was recommended to me and after reading a review about it, I was really keen to finally read it. The first two parts of the book were coming up to my expectations, but I found it difficult to follow the events and persons of part III. Reading all those letters is exhausting and finally boring. All those introductions and ends of letters carry so much unnecessary information, it fills the pages of this book, but in fact interrupts the flow of the story. Even if the rest of the book makes up for some of the draw-backs of the letter-dominated part, all in all I was rather disappointed.

I will start with trivialities. I bought this book as I was delighted with the author`s other literary work. This positive opinion induced me to buy this book in spite of not so favorable reports I have read about it. The factual, slow pace was compensated by the extensive research done by the author, and the incredible material he had to work on, actual letters form actual people in and after the second WW in and out of Germany. But suddenly, the editorial work becomes sloppy, almost to the point of becoming unreadable. Then some strange remarks pursue, in which he states, for example, that the Nazis should not have killed their Jews as they, as an accomplished people, could have helped them win the war. I have heard experts mentioning the subject, but the way it was presented in the book was awkward. He then goes on to say that the threat to the world by terrorism is caused by the Israeli occupation of the west bank. As if the whole of Europe was not divided after the war, some districts changing hands, just like the west bank changed hands following a war. Perhaps this was the cause of him not mentioning in the chronology of things the independence of Israel, which took place the same year as his beloved India, and had crucial meaning to the Jews around the world. As a part of the European left wing he sees things very subjectively and superficially, with the usual double standard, and though India is forgiven for the transfer of Muslims to Pakistan, Israel would not be forgiven for fighting for its independence. To reproach Israel for international terrorism such as September 11th requires a very narrow minded approach indeed.

He mentions the fact that Britain offered the Jews Palestine, as it was inhabited by mere Arabs. The fact that it was inhabited by a Jewish population, a small part of which hundreds of years old, others arriving from the 19th century, was not mentioned, nor is the fact that British authorities prevented Jews from entering Palestine, and thus condemning them to death by the Germans. He also disregards the connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, causing him the paradoxical statement that the Zionists were offered Palestine, which is like wondering why a hungry man is offered food. The terrible war would have shown him the necessity of emancipation of the Jewish people, and where else but in the land of Israel.

He states that the Jewish melitia won the 1948 war over the Arab melitia because it was better armed and staffed. This is claimed only by what is termed the "new historians", and is by no means recieved as an undeniable truth, since it coincides too well with these historians` extreme left-winged ideas.I expected, after such thorough research, that such claims would be at list reffered to as contraversial. The more logical explanation, is that the Jewish soldiers had in mind the recent proof that this was the last chance of survival for the Jewish people, as the ancient quote brought in the book from "ESTHER" was reinforced, that as a people spread among the nations it could not be safe.

After rethinking the subject, I find that many of my comments can be related to yet another one. The author does not, nor does he want to, understand Judaism. he has many leads and opertunities which he does not follow. He mentions time and again that his Aunt was not interested in religion. What he does not mention, for example, but which arises from the text, is that she probably was a reform Jew. He does not talk much of the Jewish famiy next door, thogh the children`s names indicate that they are probably coming from Israel. In adition, He did not ask, but would have been told, that many secular Jews living in Europe, simply felt Jewish, as something they just knew about themselves, like being tall or short, thin or fat. I think that, since he gives in great detail the destiniy of this people, a little better understanding of who this people is was required. Perhaps his current dislike of the Israeli state causes his to withdraw from this subject, and it is the book that suffers.

My last remark is, that though German friends were severely judged for their actions during the war, sadly enough the only one who actually helped the Nazis was his aunt`s sister. This fact is mentioned, but then overlooked in the following chapters. The documentary movie "Capo" raises the terrible question of - if the Jews would have been less cooperative with authorities, would the murderous system run so smoothly. This is by no means throwing guilt, or making her end less terrible and sad, but should nonetheless not be overlooked.

In general, I like vikram seth's works. But,I found this early travelogue to be less insightful and interesting than his later novels. I did not really connect with him, his travels, his predicaments, or the people he met along the way.

Much has been said about travel broadening vision, and the journal of a traveller who has a universal view of life makes a rich reading experience. From Heaven Lake is more than a travel book that traverses the length and breadth of a place with smatterings of history, geography and local culture - It is a verbal album of direct images that personify the soul of the areas.

The book contains relatively little on the culture, civilisation or customs of China or Tibet. Rather it is the personal account of an economics student's experiences while returning home to Delhi from Beijing, via Tibet and Nepal, the novelty of the journey being that it is almost entirely hitchhiked, relying on luck and optimism alone against all odds.

The idea of hitchhiking to Lhasa comes as a sudden inspiration to Mr.Seth while touring Turfan with fellow non-Chinese students. In serendipitous circumstances, he gets a travel-permit to Lhasa -The indirect repercussion of his singing 'Awara Hoon' (I'm a wanderer) at the students hostel. The song is symbolic of Mr.Seth's wanderlust impulses that make him embark on this fantastic journey. The rest of the book narrates his experiences that has many such co-incidences and fortuitous events that indicate life imitating art, as in an action-packed adventure story.

The journey also has a more than fair share of obstacles, from dealing with a suspicious mosque doorkeeper or a slightly eccentric truck driver, to major ones like trying to get a lift on a truck to Lhasa, going on an impromptu chase of lost luggage or being stuck indefinitely on deserted, muddy roads. But these not-so-enticing situations are handled comfortably by Mr.Seth who simply refuses to give up. With remarkable candour and a liberal dash of his characteristic humour, he talks about his frustration, anger and minor irritations during the journey and how he got over them eventually.

Mr.Seth also focuses a great deal on the unexpected gestures of kindness that he encountered in course of the journey - Friendly policemen, amiable officials, store managers, tailors and citizens who helped him.

Mr.Seth seems to be at home in any part of the world - Climbing into lost caverns in Chinese temples or wading in underground canals, playing basketball with officials or frisbee with waiters, assimilating the quietude of a Chinese shrine and a mosque alike, enjoying a picnic with a Tibetan family he had just met and above all, conversing on all kinds of topics with an assortment of strangers. Not so surprisingly, the people he describes also begin to come alive, like many of the characters in his fiction.

Reflections and musings on various aspects of China, India and life in general are diffused throughout the book, along with an occasional verse. There is a great attention to detail like the descriptions of Heaven Lake, the Lhasa mosque with its amalgam of Chinese and Arabic styles, the interior of a common truck and even the unpalatable soup served on the way, that suggest Mr.Seth's potential as a superior writer, this being one of his early works.

To quote Tolkien, not all those that wander are lost, and "From Heaven Lake" conveys that there is indeed much to be found for potential wanderers, besides ideas and ways of thought, experiences, insights and interactions with peoples and cultures - a greater understanding of themselves and the world around them.

This summer, I was in Nanjing. In the afternoons it is so hot, that all I did was to stay in and re-read Seth's book. It was probably the fifth time I was reading it.

I am from India and since childhood I was always fascinated with China and one of the reasons was this book.

Twenty years on (since the book was published) and some places in China have changed so much. Nanjing itself has become a bustling city and the teashops in Kunming have become swanky cafés. Still, any train journey provides with interesting travel mates and generally kind people similar to the people in the book.

In my opinion the greatest accomplishment of this book (at least for me) is that it made me go east at time people growing up with me in India were only interested in the west. It is very funny, I went to China to look for differences in our cultures and everywhere I looked, I found more similarities.

Do you remember a picnic or a party in your past that was so delightful that it has always stayed with you? It might not have been profound or life changing or anything like that, but it must been something you look back with a 'wow, what fun that was!' and cherish the thought?.

This book is exactly like that.

Travelling through some of the remotest terrain in the world and facing some red-tape, Seth simply wrote down his experiences and the result is a short and engaging travelogue. He is the perfect companion for a trip like this; his humanity shines through and he tolerates discomforts with a smile on his face and his personality is what makes this book so endearing.

If you are a seasoned travel book reader, this will be another one of your favorites. If you are not into this genre, I promise you will be after reading this.

P.S.: Whoever designed the cover deserves a pat on his/her back. It perfectly captures the essence of what lies inside.

Very well done travelogue around China. A perfect counterpoint to Salzman's Iron & Silk. Salzman stayed in one spot for his sojourn in China; Seth, although he spent two years at Nanjing University, here is concerned with an impromptu hitchhiking trip through western China and Tibet. Seth isn't afraid to put some dangerous questions to his hosts and fellow travelers--questions about the cultural revolution and Red Guard, how life is now under the communists compared with before, could Tibet be a separate country once more? But the best thing about this book is Seth's viewpoint: an Indian writing about China and Tibet for an English/American audience. He takes the time to ruminate on the relations between the countries and the conditions in each country. In particular, his comparison of the living conditions of the poor and aged in China (cared for, if not greatly) and India (left destitute) was eye-opening.