| Product Summary | | Format: Paperback | | ISBN: 9781585672806 | | Publisher: Overlook Press | | Publish Date: 5/1/2002 | | Buy.com Sku: 30890451 | | Item#: RVXQPJ | | Dimensions (in Inches) 7.75H x 5.25L x 1T | | Pages: 301 |
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| | | The Kama Sutra is the most widely read treatise on sex ever written, though the man who chronicled all there was to experience between men and women remains, for the most part, a mystery. In "The Ascetic of Desire," called "a literary achievement of the highest order," by "The Times" (India), acclaimed author Sudhir Kakar tells the story of the man who is believed to be the author of the Kama Sutra, Vatsyayana, and the time in which he lived-the fourth century A.D., considered the golden age of Indian history.
In "The Ascetic of Desire," the elusive sage Vatsyayana recounts his youth to a young pupil. The young man, planning to write Vatsyayana's biography, listens dutifully as Vatsyayana shares stories of a childhood spent largely in the brothel where his favorite aunt worked. As Vatsyayana's story unfolds, the pupil finds, to his consternation, that his own life has begun to reflect and parallel the ascetic's narrative. At the point where their stories intersect, the unexpected happens.
Like Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha," Sudhir Kakar's novel is a startling combination of psychological insight and historical detail. With rights sold in eleven countries, this is a story of universal appeal imbued with a distant world's charm and exotic allure.
"The best novel on sex and sensuality I have ever read." (Khushwant Singh, author of "Train to Pakistan")
Annotation:
Based on the life of Vatsyayana, the author of the KAMA SUTRA (about whom little is known), this novel introduces a young Brahman student who learns about sensual pleasure from Vatsyayana's lectures.
| PraiseNew York Times Book Review
"The overly complicated plot line is often interrupted by philosophical digressions; sometimes the book reads more like a fictionalized treatise on love than a novel. Despite these problems, THE ASCETIC OF DESIRE isn't dull for a moment. The world of Vatsyayana reverberates so vividly with excitement that we feel we can hear the jingle of ankle bells and inhale the perfumes of the women....Always an elegant stylist, Sudhir Kakar has written a sensual work that is alive with historical detail and provocative ideas about the world's most fascinating subject." - Edward Hower 03/19/2000 |
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