Beastly Tales from Here and There

I love dipping into this book of fantastic rhymes and I used to read them to my kids on a regular basis as a bedtime treat.think of them as a more sophisticated version of some of the Dr Seuss books. They just roll of the tongue and really intrigue kids.

LOVE Vikram Seth's verses.If you liked Golden Gate, do read this.

He is the greatest and I love all his poems, fictions. Easy to read, easy to understand and absolutely captivating.

Beastly Tales from Here and There is the 4th book of poetry by Vikram Seth. The book contains ten tales in verse, written by Seth on a day that was too hot for him to concentrate on his work. There are tales from India, China, Greece, the Ukraine and the Land of Gup. They are light-hearted and can be enjoyed by both adults and children. My personal favourite is The Goat and The Ram, which is a great choice for dinner parties, especially the lines: "They ate with pride, as if to balance Their total lack of other talents". Highly enjoyable!

Everything is great about these poems. The rhymes are clever, beautiful and very often funny. In the tales the good wins from the bad, but after trial and tribulations, and always in unexpected ways. One of my favourite lines is about a goat and a ram: "They ate with pride as if to balance, their total lack of other talents". But quoting excellent lines would take about as long as the book itself.These are not children's rhymes, but I read them to my sons of 10 and 13 years old and we all three have a great time.

I wanted to buy this book for my nephews and nieces, but I am shocked to find it out of print. I believe it is in print in the UK, so I will try at amazon.co.uk but if it is not available there.... I strongly, urgently, furtively, unashamedly emplore you contact the publisher en masse, yelling PUBLISH THIS BOOK! with all your heart. It's a future classic by an great author.

In short, this is a feast for the mind and for the ears. Try reading the poems out loud and u'll know what i mean. Ten beautiful fairy tales taken and woven into pages of beautiful humourous poetry, what else would you want? I could not resist reading them 4 times... do buy them u'll REEEELY enjoy them.

The tales are surprisingly refreshing considering the time elapsed since they were first told. The poet interweaves the fables with delightful humour and his quirky philosophy which make the animals jump out of the pages and talk to the reader.

Vikram Seth is, I think, a fine writer. “A Suitable Boy” in particular is an exceptional novel. Here we find Seth in a very different vein. These verse fables in rhyming couplets probably owe as much to Hilaire Belloc as to Aesop, but whatever their literary source, they are a joy to read, witty, affectionate and wise. As with all the best children’s books this one gives every bit as much pleasure to adults. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed these rhymes and I'm sure children will too.

Beautifully written stories for all ages

Vikram Seth has, perhaps rightly, earned his awesome reputation on the back of weighty tomes like The Golden Gate and A Suitable Boy. However, to me the real gem is this slender little book of poems based on animal fables from around the world. In this delightful collection, Seth takes familiar tales with simple storylines and stereotypical animal characters, and makes them entirely his own by giving the protagonists sharp and quirky personalities, and with surprising twists in the tale. The tales range from the funny to the bitter-sweet to the deeply thought provoking, often within the space of a few stanzas.This delightful is a must-read for both adults and children, or adults-reading-for-children.

This book is perfect as an introduction to poetry. Vikram Seth's poetry is hilarious and subtle.Thanks to the seller and Amazon for good delivery and condition of product/pricing.

For whatever reason you’re looking for this book either to gift it to someone or for yourself but one thing is for sure You will never regret buying this. Go for it.