Two Lives

A Memoir

By: Vikram Seth

Narrated by: Vikram Seth

""The heartrending story of a two people, a marriage, and a century from the author of A Suitable Boy. . . . “[A] thoughtful, evocative, moving book.”—Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

Two Lives is an extraordinary tapestry of India, the Third Reich and the Second World War, Auschwitz and the Holocaust, Israel and Palestine, postwar Germany and 1970s Britain. Part biography, part memoir, part meditation on our times, here is a masterful work from one of our greatest living writers.

In this magnificent, tender story, Vikram Seth offers both a history of a violent century as well as an intimate portrait of an unlikely friendship, marriage, and abiding yet complex love: that of his beloved uncle, Shanti Behari Seth, an immigrant from India, and his aunt, Helga Gerda Caro, a German Jew who was forced to flee her homeland by the Nazis.

With Two Lives, Seth has written ""a truly heroic tale which demonstrates just how much can sometimes be achieved against monstrous odds."" (Washington Times)

Timely or timeless?

This story hit me at a time when the world news could be seen with a different lens...
When the student is ready the teacher will appear.

A lyrical memoir

This was a beautiful, lyrical memoir about the author's beloved uncle and aunt, who came from very different countries and backgrounds (India and Germany, respectively) and who both survived WWII. Their experiences were very different and yet uniting. I recommend this book for people who like thoughtful, lyrical writing and are curious about the lives and experiences of others, both joyful and tragic.

Two Lives

A lovely and thoughtful book. It has a close-up, personal view of WW2 comparable to that in Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.

Excellent!

I really enjoyed this book - it gives a perspective on the writer, Vikram Seth, and is a compelling story about the lives of 2 very different people, brought together by a war. The format is the letters of Shanti and Henny to each other, and their friends. It gives a very realistic view of what life was like during and after the war as well, which was very unsettling - to see the effects on ordinary people. If you like memoirs, you should like this book. The reading is also done very well, with 3 different readers contributing.

A slow start but keeps getting better

I bought this book on an impluse. I had read his "Suitable Boy" and jumped at a chance to read his latest book. I think he is a fine author. I must say I did not enjoy this book as much as I had liked "Suitable Boy" but then I think a comparison between those two books is unfair. This book is more personal and therefore more 'real'. The narration by Vikram Seth is very engaging. I think this book would be enjoyed by all those who have read Vikram Seth before. This book gives you an insight into the author himself. Its almost like having a chance to meet the author in person and getting to know him.
If you like fiction, if you have read Vikram Seth before, I am sure you will enjoy this book.