Customer Reviews

Golden Gate

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

"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 ****!

This book is one of a nearly extinct breed: a novel in verse. In that form lie its unique pleasures as well as its uncertain reception at some hands.

The poet James Merrill, in his epic trilogy "The Changing Light at Sandover" has claimed that "forms what affirms". Does this mean that the satisfaction of the novel can only come if the line-breaks are reliably marginal? Linguists Whorf and Sapir have suggested that language constrains our thought - not so much in the realm of vocabulary as, again, in that of form. The radically different forms of, for instance, Hopi or Inuit constrain "what is relatively easy to say" and hence, what is said. Perhaps so. You'd expect that rhyming sonnets would constrain the voice of a novelist, but Vikram Seth has certainly shown here that is not necessarily the case. Chalk it up to a mastery of both form and story, though, not to versification. His technical skills extend to both realms.

Moving, then, beyond form, we wonder about content of such a novel. Will the book wander (or waltz) into the deeply allegorical, the disconnected, the imagistic? After all, aren't those the consequences of poetic license? Have you read your Ashbery? Oddly, this poem is quite prosaic in that regard, it tells a tight, comprehensible story in a manner that is fluid but not embroidered. (By way of contrast, consider that you can easily find yourself spinning away in a vortex of magical metaphor in the latest Rushdie.) Novels, it would seem, are pretty much what we make of them. As one who has never really appreciated the modernist redesign of the novel, I found "The Golden Gate" to be a much more satisfying story - notwithstanding its several-hundred sonnets.

The book is a well-textured story about a number of folks living their lives and relationships - apparently in the 80's. (Some reviewers have made much of the story's use of timestamped phraseology such as the use of "yuppie" and the like. Perhaps. But I'd imagine that the term "Okie" was equally a well-understood, sometimes overloaded, term of the 30's which we, nevertheless, can comfortably accept from Steinbeck.) The lives, loves and trials of these folks are presented with the careful painting and pacing of Anne Tyler and J. R. Lennon.

Seth's verse in this book has been called "masterful". It is, indeed. Consider that the odd rhyme is hardly ever at hand for most of us, much less available when called upon, as he was, thousands of times. But Seth is more than a rhymer - something I noticed by contrast. I'm pretty sure the sonnet scheme he uses is the so-called "Pushkin rhyme." I only know this since I just struggled through a marginal translation of "Eugene Onegin" and noticed the similarity. But the sing-songy'ness of the Pushkin was gladly lacking in the Seth. He uses true poetic craft, line breaks and punctuation and word choice, to allow the reader to flow between a fluid, songlike verse and a more prosaic tale-telling. In other words, he uses the strengths of both forms when they serve, best, the needs of the work and the reader.

So. Don't be afraid of the form. But also don't expect it to seem natural unless you have seen it before. I came to this book via a recommendation of Tom Disch in his essays in "The Castle of Indolence" (a 5-star plug there), and from a background in having sought out and read quite a number of long poems, epic poems and verse novels.

If you taste this book more out of curiosity than experience, good for you! But grant yourself the time to bounce through the first dozen sonnets in the singy-songy phrasing that so many of us learned to be necessarily poetic many years ago. Then, as the story captures you, you will notice that the verse, with the help of Seth's subtle crafting, both lifts and disappears beneath the story. I'll read it again, and again.

Vikram Seth has a brilliant style, where ordinary words, events and people stand up and potray emotions in delicate detail. His wit, and wordplay apart, this novel in verse is a fine story of love and loss. Once I read this novel, I found myself reading everything that the author has published yet. Each book written in a different style, and on different substance, Seth is both engrossing and endearing. I believe with Rushdie, Vikram Seth is perhaps the most erudite Indian writer in English of post-colonial world! Though unlike Rushdie, Vikarm speaks in soft and simple language, and addressing so many different styles (travel book, longest novel in English, poetry, novel in verse, novel set in 1950-60s India, novel set in San Fransisco, and London, and Tibet, etc) with such mastery is a mark of his genius.

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.

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.

£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.

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........

Yep. The whole book is written in Sonnet form. The about the author is a sonnet. The acknowledgements are a sonnet. Even the table of contents is a sonnet! When you see a Jackson Pollack painting, you don't just see the painting, you see Pollack himself painting the painting. This novel is similar in that you are constantly watching Seth try to juggle the duel tasks of crafting sonnets while spinning a modern Californian tale. Seth rises to the task, not simply meeting his own structural challange, but also crafting a story with enough sour plot twists to keep the non-poetic types happy. The only downside is that the story occationally drags when Seth lets the characters give long winded speeches. But, that aside, this is a bold experiment

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...