[.ca] The Golden Gate (ISBN 0679734570)

From Amazon.com:
Can 690 sonnets, rhyming a-b-a-b-c-c-d-d-e-f-f-e-g-g, be a novel? Definitely! First published in 1986 and still fresh (the sole sign of its publication date being the frequent use of the word yuppie), Vikram Seth's The Golden Gate will turn the verse-fearing into admiring acolytes. Janet Hayakawa, a yet-to-be-discovered sculptor and drummer in the Liquid Sheep, secretly places a personal ad for her friend John, even though she too is single. "Only her cats provide distraction,/Twin paradigms of lazy action." The seventh letter does the trick. Lawyer Liz Donati's submission is two sonnets in toto and disarms John into meeting her. Soon they fall into brief bliss, as do her brother, Ed, and John's old college roommate, Phil. Unfortunately, the first couple's love is too soon destroyed, partly by a pet, partly by politics; and the second is rent by religion. Ed pulls away thanks to the Bible: "I have to trust my faith's decisions, / Not batten on my own volitions." The rest of the novel leads less to the traditional comic ending--rapprochement and marriage all around--than to surprising sadness. But in between there is wit, wordplay, abounding allusion, and some marvelous animals, among them the iguana Schwarzenegger. The author even steps onto the stage on occasion: at a frou-frou publishing party a powerful editor accosts him, curious to hear about his new novel. When Seth tells him it's in verse, the temperature plummets. "'How marvelously quaint,' he said, / And subsequently cut me dead." Luckily, Seth's real editor did anything but.

what friends should have been:
the philosophy of romanticism has definitely moved into the twentieth century in operas and to a lesser degree in romantic comedies. it's also been in sitcoms, such as friends which will come into an end fortunately. but is there any way to write a novel in sonnets after eugene onegin? if you're vikram seth, the answer is "yes" and romanticism blends with twentieth century values. seth's epic poem "golden gate" honors, yuppie life, the search for love and economic strife, philosophy amd politics and the san fransisco lifestyle. the novel begins with john brown, a twenty something single looking for love. with the help of his old time friend jan he meets lizz dorati, runs into phil, his old roommate phil, and lizz's brother ed. these characters will date each other with varying intensities throughout the next two years. golden gate surveys the beauty of san fransisco, and these educated ordinary people with maturity on their sides and poetry in their hearts. while lizz and john hook up, we get a feeling that the romance may have triumphed too soon. and the readers are right. but seth keeps us guessing as to who will be happy with whom. what made me care most about these yuppies are their problems. most novels and comedies place fake crises in front of charcters so they can break up so they can be happy. but we get the feeling they have real problems and must come to a real solution. some are solved, while others are not. one couple break up because of politics and a cat- the other ceassefire because of religion. there's so much in this book, it's hard to say all that is included. it's all about philosophy and politics, and strange to say- this "golden gate" is as relevant now as it was when first published, in '86. a lot of golden gate reminds me of another non american author who wrote about the californian lifestyle- anyone know william sorayan? there' s a lot to be discussed because we care so much about these characters, who they are and how they drudge through the primer of the daily life. i liked the first half of the book better than the latter, but both are sufficient. one may think that with such a comic ending there may be a full cricle with a likely ending, but seth drives home the loneliness and glory of the yuppie life with tragedy. even though it's been over a hundred years since eugene onegin, i'm glad there has been a relative rendition. highly recommended, even if you hate poetry.

Hilarious, touching and brilliant:
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. =)

A splendid work!:
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 Tribute to The Golden Gate:
"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 ****!

A Tribute To The Golden Gate:
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 ...!