The Rivered Earth: From the author of A SUITABLE BOY

Description

The Rivered Earth contains four libretti written by Vikram Seth to be set to music by Alec Roth - together with an account of the pleasures and pains of working with a composer. Entitled 'Songs in Time of War', 'Shared Ground', 'The Traveller' and 'Seven Elements', they take us all over the world - from Chinese and Indian poetry to the beauty and quietness of the Salisbury house where the poet George Herbert lived and died. Spanning centuries of creativity and humanity, these poems pulse with life, energy and inspired brilliance. They are accompanied by four pieces of calligraphy by the author.

Vikram Seth has written five books of poetry and an opera libretto. He is perhaps best known for his acclaimed novel, A Suitable Boy, one of the most beloved and widely read books of recent times, as well as his novels The Golden Gate and An Equal Music. He is the author of two highly regarded works of non-fiction, From Heaven Lake and Two Lives, and is currently working on A Suitable Girl.

The language has a remarkably direct, almost naive fullness of rhythm and rhyme . . . extraordinary - GUARDIAN Vikram Seth is already the best writer of his generation - THE TIMES A phenomenon, a prodigy, a marvel ... It is hard to believe that Seth is only one man - EVENING STANDARD Such writing reminds us that there are secrets beyond technique, beyond style, which have to do with a quality of soul on the part of the writer, a giving of oneself - Guardian on A SUITABLE BOY A SUITABLE BOY may prove to be the most fecund as well as the most prodigious work of the latter half of this century - perhaps even the book to restore the serious reading public's faith in the contemporary novel . . . You should make time for it. It will keep you company for the rest of your life - THE TIMES