New Releases by Vikram Seth

The three Chinese poets translated here are among the greatest literary figures of China, or indeed the world. Wang Wei with his quiet love of nature and Buddhist philosophy; Li Bai, the Taoist spirit, with his wild, flamboyant paeans to wine and the moon; and Du Fu, with his Confucian sense of sympathy with the suffering of others in a time of civil war and collapse. These three poets of a single generation, responding differently to their common times, crystallise the immense variety of China and the Chinese poetic tradition and, across a distance of twelve hundred years, move the reader as it is rare for even poetry to do.

A picture book based on the legend of Arion, the young musician whose friendship with the dolphin that saves his life is ended when the dolphin is captured and dies. Jane Ray''s luscious, evocative paintings harmonize with the text, a wonderful mixture of verse and prose adapted from Vikram Seth''s libretto for an opera commissioned by the English National Opera.

An extraordinary account of the political upheavals afflicting the newly independent India,taken from the bestselling A SUITABLE BOY.

The Collected Poems comprises all the volumes of poetry that Vikram Seth has published this far. The books included are Mappings (1981), The Humble Administrator''s Garden (1985), All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990), Three Chinese Poets (1992), Beastly Tales from Here and There (1992) and Arion and the Dolphin (1994).

Etonnante galerie de nababs et d''intouchables au cœur des mystères de l''Inde, prodigieuse histoire immergée dans la grande Histoire, roman d''amour ou saga familiale, ce livre, en vérité, déborde tous les genres et promet tous les plaisirs. Au départ un verdict simple et sans appel, celui de la digne Mrs Rupa Mehra qui, un jour, dit à sa fille, Lata ; " Toi aussi tu épouseras un garçon que j''aurai choisi. " Rien de plus ordinaire, a priori, dans l''Inde des années cinquante, encore traumatisée par sa jeune indépendance, et qui guette son avenir entre la tradition et la modernité. Or, pour trouver ce " garçon convenable ", celui qui épousera Lata, il faudra traverser, du sublime au dérisoire, toute l''histoire d''un peuple où le présent se confond toujours avec l''éternité... Car c''est bien l''Inde énigmatique, l''Inde irréductible et troublante, qui, dans ce roman, va se révéler au rythme d''une vaste intrigue. On y rencontre des rajahs, des paysans, des professeurs d''université, des cordonniers, des fanatiques hindous ou musulmans, des écrivains, des femmes libres et des femmes soumises, des ministres, des juges, des révolutionnaires. On y rencontre la misère et l''espérance. Et, dans cette foule, les trois prétendants parmi lesquels se trouve le parti convenable ! Poète, historien, styliste subtil et ironique, Vikram Seth ressuscite un univers où chacun vit, aime, trahit. Où, dans un poudroiement de lumière, chacun tente de secouer le joug des siècles afin, comme Lata, de choisir son destin.

Vikram Seth''s novel is, at its core, a love story: the tale of Lela''s -- and her mother''s -- attempts to find a suitable boy through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. At the same time, it is the story of India, newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis as a sixth of the world''s population faces its first great General Election and the chance to map its own destiny. Already a number one bestseller, this celebrated novel is now brought to life by the author himself in nearly six hours of listening pleasure.

Arion and the Dolphin is an opera in nine scenes for professionals and community performers. The libretto is by Vikram Seth and the music is composed by Alec Roth. Recounted with Seth s inimitable charm, it is the story of Arion, a young musician at the court of Periander in Corinth. Thrown overboard on his return from a musical contest in Sicily, Arion is saved and befriended by a dolphin.

After two years as a postgraduate student at Nanjing University in China, Vikram Seth hitch-hiked back to his home in New Delhi, via Tibet. From Heaven Lake is the story of his remarkable journey and his encounters with nomadic Muslims, Chinese officials, Buddhists and others.

This novel in verse about a group of California yuppies was one of the most highly praised books of 1986 and a bestseller on both coasts. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

The first collection of poems by the worldwide bestselling author of ''A Suitable Boy'' and ''The Golden Gate''.