The Ascetic of Desire
by Sudhir Kakar
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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 show more 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) show lessTags
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A journey into the furthest past, an ecstatic dream beyond all times: Vogue. An impassioned and unusual tale with scintillating details and sexual philosophy: Publishers Weekly
Il giovane poeta Kavi viene accolto come discepolo dal saggio Vatsyayana, autore del Kamasutra.
La vicenda, ambientata nello splendido scenario naturale di un'India antichissima, nel raccontare la formazione di Kavi ci permette di esplorare il significato del "kama", la via del desiderio, la conoscenza dell'amore come desiderio di bellezza.
La vicenda, ambientata nello splendido scenario naturale di un'India antichissima, nel raccontare la formazione di Kavi ci permette di esplorare il significato del "kama", la via del desiderio, la conoscenza dell'amore come desiderio di bellezza.
Mar 28, 2011Italian
> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Kakar-Lascete-du-desir/520453
> Psycha Analyse : SUDHIR KAKAR - BIBLIOGRAPHIE ET BIOGRAPHIE (5 Pages - 357 Ko)
> Sudhir Kakar est l'un des rares psychanalystes indiens. Auteur de "Moksha" et de "La folle et le Saint" (avec Catherine Clément) il s'essaye ici, un peu maladroitement, au roman pour nous conter l'histoire imaginée de Vatsyayana l'auteur du célèbre Kama Sutra.
—Infos Yoga
> Psycha Analyse : SUDHIR KAKAR - BIBLIOGRAPHIE ET BIOGRAPHIE (5 Pages - 357 Ko)
> Sudhir Kakar est l'un des rares psychanalystes indiens. Auteur de "Moksha" et de "La folle et le Saint" (avec Catherine Clément) il s'essaye ici, un peu maladroitement, au roman pour nous conter l'histoire imaginée de Vatsyayana l'auteur du célèbre Kama Sutra.
—Infos Yoga
Feb 11, 2022 (Edited)French
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51+ Works 778 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Ascetic of Desire
- Original title
- The ascetic of desire
- Original publication date
- 1998
- People/Characters
- Vatsyayana
- Important places
- Varanasi, India; Kausambi, India
- Dedication
- To my wife Katha, the beginning of another story
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- Members
- 94
- Popularity
- 341,044
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.15)
- Languages
- 5 — English, French, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese (Portugal)
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 1
