Rating: 
Summary: A Tribute to The Golden Gate
Review: "Imitation is," they say, "the best
Form of flattery." And so my
Short and humble poem does attest
To my having heaved a sad sigh
On the last page - No more Golden Gate!
Oh What a genius, that Vikram Seth!
He wrote of friendship, love, and life,
Betrayals, love affairs, and strife.
Sex, politics, and other issues-
Yet all the while maintaining rhyme.
So read this book, it's worth the time.
It's sad - you might just need some tissues.
If you liked my rhyme even a bit
Hear this: Compared to Vik's it's ****!
Rating: 
Summary: Charming, witty, hilarious, sad -- a sheer delight!
Review: £7.99 for a book of poetry (and sonnets at that!)I thought I was mad but it's been worth every penny. This is a novel that I'll read again and again. I finished it today in a single sitting. If your only experience of Vikram Seth is the first page of A Suitable Boy then throw away those misconceptions. California should be proud to have adopted this author. Here is a writer who has carried on where Amistead Maupin left off. The post-AIDS sexual machinations will leave you delighted, bemused or furious, but through-out the sonnets (and, in particular, the rhyming couplets) assure you that this is just after all a nursery rhyme for adults. Born too late to understand the CND/Peace movements of the 80s, I relished the several stanza long tract given by Father O'Hare vilifying nuclear weapons. All warmongers should be forced to read those pages!Incidentally, I have just sent an e-mail to a friend, thanking him for recommending this novel and to tell him my news. (I wrote it in seven sonnets!) Poetry not for you, you think? Give this one a go. You'll not regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Style over Substance
Review: I'm pretty sure this book wasn't written for the 'average' reader, and that's OK. However, if you're not particularly fond of poetry or accustomed to reading it, this book seems like an exercise in style, and not much else.
The big problem with the story is the characters: They're cliché and boring. To his credit, Seth does manage to paint a decent picture of the San Francisco Bay Area with it's stereotypical people, but after reading the first few chapters and realizing that the main character was a blah 20-something tech-yuppie pretty boy who acted like he was having a mid-life crisis, I pretty much lost interest (Like, I should feel bad for this spoiled dork?!). Then he threw in a bunch of stereotypical San Francisco characters ([...] Guy, Asian Artist-girl, mellow Wine-Country Guy etc) and went absolutely nowhere interesting with it. It's as if Seth wanted to write about the city of San Francisco, but having just moved there he didn't know anybody interesting, so instead he took a bunch cardboard characters and wrote a boring upper-middle-class soap opera. One reviewer claimed this was `satire', yeah, right.
I fully agree with another reviewer who recommended Amistead Maupin's Tales of the City over this.
Rating:
Summary: A Tribute To The Golden Gate
Review: Imitation is, they say, the best
Form of flattery. And so my
Short and humble poem does attest
To my having heaved a sad sigh
On the last page: No more Golden Gate!
Oh What a genius, that Vikram Seth!
He wrote of friendship, love, and life,
Betrayals, love affairs, and strife.
Sex, politics, and other issues-
Yet all the while maintaining rhyme.
So read this book, its worth the time.
Its sad; you might just need some tissues.
If you liked my rhyme even a bit
Hear this: Compared to Vik's its ...!
Rating:
Summary: This amazing book
Review: It is enough to share this unsigned sonnet that I found written by hand inside the copy of this fine novel that I signed out of the Toronto Public Library:
Dear friend, don't be intimidated
By this, a novel penned in verse:
Perhaps you have anticipated
That it will be obscure or worse --
Solemn, pretentious, and "poetic".
Relax! You'll need no anaesthetic.
Our author tells his tale with style
And wit and charm. Before long, I'll
Bet, you'll find yourself engrossed in
Each stanza of this narrative
Of love and lust, of take and give,
Of modern times. Let's drink a toast in
Honour of the nerve it took
To publish this amazing book.
Rating:
Summary: A versified slice of modern life
Review: One of the most common things that links people together is a common language. `The Golden Gate' is written in the universal language of human emotions, and reading this book is an experience of life in current times. Acclaimed to be a typical Californian novel when first published in 1986, the settings and characters easily fit modern youth in almost every part of the developed world. Above all, the book bears the warmth and touch of humanity that identifies Mr.Seth's inimitable style of writing. The plot is simple and straightforward, lucidly composed in a sequence of sonnets - The main protagonist John is a successful and lonely engineer. His one-time girlfriend Janet places an ad in a personal column on his behalf and through it, John meets Liz Dorati, a lawyer. An instant attraction brings them together, and they set up home only to drift apart due to opposing views on politics and social ethics, the process accelerated by John's hatred of Liz's cat Charlemagne. John's colleague Phil who forsakes a lucrative job to keep up with his anti-nuclear principles forms another thread of the story, and reflects the changing face of modern youth, concerned about the world and threats to the environment. The affair between Phil and Liz's brother Ed is depicted in a poignant manner that makes the reader feel sympathetic, rather than repelled, such relationships being forbidden in many sections of society even today. Ed's religious beliefs cause him to break up with Phil, and the arguments between the two vividly portray changing values and morals, and the confused state of today's youth in a world that is as transient as their views. In a surprising turn of events, Phil and Liz get married, while John tries to cushion his jilted pride in wine and women and the story goes on with a few more twists and turns to a sad and sentimental finish. The disastrous consequences of nuclear weapons is driven home albeit in a refreshing manner. The book makes one reflect about the current trends observed in society regarding life, the world, relationships, family, friends, love and much more. In this respect, it strikes a parallel with Elizabeth B Browning's brilliant classic `Aurora Leigh' where the main protagonist questions an individual's freedom and role in society, making one feel that idealism is an integral part of all great poetry. The verse and the story support each other, and the sequence of sonnets enhances the flow, rather than hamper it. A variety of topics ranging from the healthiest diet for a pet iguana, the method of pickling olives, to an invocation to St.Francis are handled with equal veracity. The characters speak in ordinary language that makes it easy to identify with them. The humour woven into the book makes it an absolute delight, and reveals a tongue-in-cheek satirist who perceives the comical angle in even the most tension-ridden situation. Mr.Seth makes his presence felt, subtly and otherwise in each sonnet and one gets the feeling of having taken a fascinating journey along with him, a feeling that persists long after the book is finished. In one stanza, he mentions that he was inspired to write this book after reading Charles Johnston's translation of Pushkin's `Eugene Onegin', and fervently recommends it to the reader - It would hardly come as a surprise if `The Golden Gate' inspires an author (or more) to create another masterpiece as a tribute. History as we know has long had a tradition of repeating itself...
Rating:
Summary: This book is a manifestation of true poetic Craftsmanship
Review: Picking up a book like "The Golden Gate" can be quite a turn off for the traditional novel reader. However, it came as a pleasant surprise when Seth's masterpiece surpassed all literature I had read in the near past. Sonnet after sonnet and one controlled emotion after another, Vikram Seth is more than a writer - he is an invisible omniscience throughout the reading. Although, much in the novel is left to personal opinion and speculation, the options before the reader are as many as two steps to the right or the left of the intended effect. Starting off with neutrality and working his way into the emotional touch that has often defined Indin writing, Vikram Seth gives no reason for the reader to believe that there is an Indian hand behind the book. While bringing in poetic structure common to the Romantics and to the likes of Shakespeare, the language is simple, often slang and in no sense phrased in the manner Keats or Wordsworth might have put it. There is hardly more to say than "the book is a success and has become as much a part of growing up as is Enid Blyton or Shakespeare"
Rating:
Summary: San Francisco comes alive..........
Review: San Francisco definitely comes alive in this novel in verse. After studying this truly remarkable city myself over the last two years , I realize how vividly he has captured the people and the places in this city - especially its "yuppiness" which I feel has only multiplied since the books writing.
The story is about an educated,hip typically San Franciscan circle of friends and their highly entangled love affairs. It sometimes digresses into preaching about nuclear arms and its dangers but I guess it is justified as these issued were far more relevant in the 80s than now. The entire book - 300 pages or so written in delightfully rhyming verses is a pleasure to read and is extremely difficult to put down. I was afraid of missing some cleverly constructed rhymes the first time because of my eagerness to find out what happens next. This book deserves to be read twice to truly understand how good it is........
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious, touching and brilliant
Review: The first page always reminds me of the Paul Simon song, "Call me Al". If that's not enough to hook you, I don't know what is. =)
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious, touching and brilliant
Review: The first page always reminds me of the Paul Simon song, "Call me Al". If that's not enough to hook you, I don't know what is. =)
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