The Golden Gate
- Author Vikram Seth
- Narrator Laurel Lefkow, Michael Neil, Barbara Barnes, Mark Leake, various
- Publisher BBC Audio
- Publish Date 10 June 2021
- Run Time 1 hours and 48 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Modern and contemporary fiction, Radio plays, scripts and performances, The Arts.
Flexible Pricing & Rewards For Listening
At xigxag, the more you read, the less you pay* on select audiobook and x-book® titles, as in the table below. Pricing updates automatically in the app and resets one year after your first purchase. And you can always find a selection of brilliant titles available for only £3.99.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price per title
- £8.99
- £7.99
- £6.99
- £5.99
- £4.99
*Only the full price titles you buy count toward your personal pricing tier. Full price titles don’t include Listen for Less or other books bought with a voucher or discount code.
Listen to a sample
What to expect
A BBC Radio 3 dramatisation of Vikram Seth's verse novel about the lives and loves of a group of twentysomethings in 1980s San Francisco
Award-winning novelist Vikram Seth is renowned worldwide for his magnum opus A Suitable Boy. But his dazzling debut, though less well-known, is equally innovative, masterly and ambitious. First published in 1986. and inspired by Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, it is written entirely in verse, comprising almost 600 stanzas of rhyming sonnets.
This epic poem focusses on the interconnected stories of five young professionals, as they make their way in the 'unfettered city' of San Francisco in the '80s. There's lonely computer engineer John; his sculptor ex-girlfriend Jan, a drummer in a heavy-metal band; his best friend Phil, a divorced dad who's turned his back on Silicon Valley to become a peacenik; lawyer Liz, devoted to her cranky, elderly cat Charlemagne and Ed, Liz's brother, a fervent Christian torn between his faith and his homosexuality.
We follow them from coffee shops to concerts, parties to peace protests, Sonoma Valley wineries to singles bars as they forge (and break) friendships, flirt, date, start relationships, split up and try again with someone new. Their search for romance, fulfilment and self-realisation - for 'someone who will do for love, and who may love us too' - will bring them happiness, heartbreak, joy and pain...
Not merely a portrait of youthful love and loss, but also of a time and a place - San Francisco at its zenith, before gentrification and the tech giants took over - Seth's delightful verse narrative is by turns funny, playful, lyrical and profound. This BBC Radio 3 adaptation, first broadcast in 1999, stars Mark Leake as John, with Barbara Barnes as Liz, Laurel Lefkow as Jan and Michael Neil as Phil.
Production credits
Written by Vikram Seth
Produced by Ekene Akalawu
Cast
John - Mark Leake
Liz - Barbara Barnes
Jan - Laurel Lefkow
Phil - Michael Neil
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3, 7-11 June 1999
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
| Author | Vikram Seth |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Laurel Lefkow, Michael Neil, Barbara Barnes, Mark Leake, various |
| Duration | 1 hours and 48 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781529141580 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | BBC Audio |
| Genre | Modern and contemporary fiction, Radio plays, scripts and performances, The Arts |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE, US |
More from the same
Author
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK’s only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at £8.99. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from £3.99. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.