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Two Lives

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 1,526 ratings · 127 reviews

Widely acclaimed as one of the world's greatest living writers, Vikram Seth -- author of the international bestseller A Suitable Boy -- tells the heartrending true story of a friendship, a marriage, and a century. Weaving together the strands of two extraordinary lives -- Shanti Behari Seth, an immigrant from India who came to Berlin to study in the 1930s, and Helga Gerda...more

Paperback, 544 pages

Published June 13th 2006 by Harper Perennial (first published January 1st 2005)

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Oct 02, 2007 Jwala rated it 3 of 5 stars

Two Lives is a homage to two people(Shanti and Henny) and to a whole generation which despite being separated from us by mere decades, now seems to exist in a different world. The author combines a memoir of his own years with a biography of his aunt and uncle, who helped raise him in London as a teenager.I was very much impressed by the great care Seth takes in exploring even minor aspects of their character and story.
But i felt that the second half of the book which deals with aunty henny and...more

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Aug 10, 2007 Caroline rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was very surprised by how quickly this book went by. It wasn't written in a particularly exciting way, nor did it make any effort to express an atmosphere or immerse you in the narrative (the author commented a lot on his approach as he went along), but there was still something touching about it. And it was definitely interesting to read all of the letters from the author's great-aunt (in-law), who was a German Jew who escaped to Britain in the late 30s, to her acquaintances in Germany at the...more

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Dec 13, 2009 Vicky rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think Vikram Seth is my favorite Indian author. I read his huge (over 700 pages)novel A Suitable Boy while in Fiji because many of my Indian friends recommended it. It is the wonderful story of several Indian families, often humorous and always beautifully written, that covers the panorama of Indian history from Partition to the present. But I think his best book is Two Lives, the story of the aunt and uncle he lived with while going to university in London. These two very different people com...more

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Jan 22, 2009 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

While Two Lives is, on the surface, a double biography, perhaps it is more an intensely personal journey for Vikram Seth-an opportunity to explore the many sides of his uncle, Shanti, and his aunt, Henny, two people who loved and cared for him and were fixed points in his own firmament for most of his life. In doing that for himself, he delivers a subtle, yet affecting gift to his readers.

There have been so many moving accounts written of those who perished or survived during the painful years o...more While Two Lives is, on the surface, a double biography, perhaps it is more an intensely personal journey for Vikram Seth-an opportunity to explore the many sides of his uncle, Shanti, and his aunt, Henny, two people who loved and cared for him and were fixed points in his own firmament for most of his life. In doing that for himself, he delivers a subtle, yet affecting gift to his readers.

There have been so many moving accounts written of those who perished or survived during the painful years of World War Two. I was skeptical that another, even if it was written by an author I admire greatly, would add significantly to that oeuvre. That question wasn't answered clearly for me because it was the wrong one to ask. This book doesn't reveal shocking new truths about the Holocaust, although it describes how many of Henny's friends and family were deported to concentration camps, or managed to emigrate, as did she, with great difficulty. This book doesn't rival the best writing about the pluck of young men sent to war, some to die, some to return ravaged or inalterably changed, although it describes how, as a medical officer in Monte Cassino, Shanti has an arm blown off. It does not shock; indeed, it doesn't even touch deep emotional chords in the reader very often, which may be its biggest flaw. What it does do is bring the reader to a place of quiet recognition.

We live in a global society in which people from all cultures are thrown together. We can choose to trust each other, appreciate each other, even love each other, or we can seek the differences between us and use them as wedges. Two Lives is about two people who found common ground. At first, unconsciously, as Seth points out, they defaulted to the surprising similarities between the values of the Indian Hindu and German Jewish cultures, and later added to them a proper dollop of middle class English quotidian. Seth's Shanti Uncle and Aunty Henny built a Wahlverwandten (German for "chosen family") around them, and as it is for most families, it was far-flung, confounded by secrets, replete with fond memories, rife with misunderstandings, and as rich in what wasn't done and said as in what was.

For all of the particularity of Henny and Shanti's lives, they were extraordinarily ordinary, and that is perhaps what makes this book reverberate on such a deep level for all of us. In Two Lives we see in sharp relief how two people never compromised their true temperaments, whatever the circumstances, and as a result built a positive, connected life. If that meant accommodation, generosity, unexpressed anguish, devotion, hard work, so be it. This is certainly not Seth's most lyrical effort; he knows it cannot be if he's to integrate the vast detail of geography, culture, language, and time shifts that span nearly 80 years in a straightforward way. Seth's own raw pain at his uncle's anomalous behavior in his confused old age is just one more example of the book's humanity, of the complicated, unexpected twists that characterize every fully-lived life.

Neither Henny nor Shanti ever forgot their pasts, but move forward they did, and they did it together. What more could we readers ask of ourselves? (less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Anusha rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are biographies and then there are memoirs, and then there is that which is an intriguing 'braid' of the two. Where the author is no longer an outsider in the screenplay of events, but himself a living and breathing character, adding a few sprinkles of salt and pepper to the concoction. Two Lives by Vikram Seth is one such piece, and flipping page after page of a beautiful tale of love, life, friends, fiends and a time marked by events so strong, that half a century is defined by them, you...more There are biographies and then there are memoirs, and then there is that which is an intriguing 'braid' of the two. Where the author is no longer an outsider in the screenplay of events, but himself a living and breathing character, adding a few sprinkles of salt and pepper to the concoction. Two Lives by Vikram Seth is one such piece, and flipping page after page of a beautiful tale of love, life, friends, fiends and a time marked by events so strong, that half a century is defined by them, you grow breathless reminding yourself that the author is not weaving a web of fantasy, but instead, this story is one that actually unfolded over 50 years, and that these characters actually were alive and so real. The Seths of Biswan open the memoir with a view into what their principles were, and for times as old as the early 20th century, they come across as a family that is savvier than the others you have read about, and actually hold education in high esteem, besides the fact that their women seem so independent, given the times. Dr. Shanti Seth, somewhat fortuitous in the pecking order, nevertheless, is a character of compassion, moral strength and kindness. This trait of his, accompanies him through the book, until just about the very end of his life. Henny Caro, the lady with scars from a time that unjustly descended on her family in the form of a dictator who would go on and be responsible for the lives of thousands of people in one of the central countries of Europe, is an interesting ice-maiden of sorts, until the author pleasantly unveils her caring, motherly side. These two pivotal characters of the book are as interesting in their actions, thoughts and words in white as well as in the shades of grey. And it is this greyness that makes the book so credible and possible to relate to. And it is done in true Seth style - philosophically, with tenderness and a wisdom beyond years thats always makes him a pleasure to read, where he reveals a little more of me to myself. The only part of the book I would not have minded changed, is the author's purported description of the brutalities of the German concentration camps and what Henny's family must have gone through. Other than an in-your-face-can't -avoid feeling of disgust for something that has been condemned to no end, the description serves little purpose in the book.

Excerpts from the book:

'It is true that centuries are arbitrary units-determined, among other things, by the miscalculated date of birth of the founder of a religion and the number of fingers on our hands- but because we invest these units with spurious significance, they take on true significance. Shanti and Henny's lives were almost coeval with that arbitrary unit, the twentieth century. Both were born in 1908, Henny died in 1989 and Shanti in 1998. Many of the great currents and movements of the century are reflected through the events of their lives and those of their friends and family.I felt that a picture of those individual lives would be complemented by glimpses of their century,even if these glimpses were mediated by the opinion, perhaps opinionatedness, of the author. Indeed, the lens has also turned upon its wielder, for this book is memoir as well as biography.'

'Behind every door on every ordinary street, in every hut in very ordinary village o this middling planet of a trivial star, such riches are to be found. The strange journeys we undertake on our earthly pilgrimage, the joy and suffering we taste or confer, the chance events that cleave us together or apart, what a complex trace they leave: so personal as to be almost incommunicable, so fugitive as to be almost irrecoverable.'

'No one apart from the two parties concerned understands a marriage and what goes on in it and often enough, not even they.
What is perfect? In a world with so much suffering, isolation and indifference, it is cause for gratitude if something is sufficiently good.'(less)

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Jan 03, 2012 Charles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Two Lives: A Memoir by Vikram Seth

The Two Lives are those of the author's great uncle Shanti and great aunt Henny, who lived in Hendon when he knew them, but had met in Berlin before the Second World War. She was a Jewish native of Berlin. He was an Indian student of dentistry with connections in Britain.

Seth describes his dealings with the couple as he became friends with them as their lodger when he was studying in England. But the book is principally an account of their own relationship, whic...more Two Lives: A Memoir by Vikram Seth

The Two Lives are those of the author's great uncle Shanti and great aunt Henny, who lived in Hendon when he knew them, but had met in Berlin before the Second World War. She was a Jewish native of Berlin. He was an Indian student of dentistry with connections in Britain.

Seth describes his dealings with the couple as he became friends with them as their lodger when he was studying in England. But the book is principally an account of their own relationship, which Seth learns about through a series of interviews with his uncle and through the fortuitous discovery, late in the process of writing the book, of a suitcase of his aunt's correspondence with her circle of friends in Berlin during and after the war.

While Seth concludes, meditatively, that great drama can be found behind the quiet facades of any suburban house, in fact, his aunt and uncle's lives were both, in different ways, dramatic and unusual.

Her sister and mother died in concentration camps during the war. Seth's piecing together of that story is moving and powerful, as he is able to quote from the understated letters in which his aunt received heart-breaking fragments of news about her family's last days.

His uncle served as a dentist in the British army, where he lost an arm in Italy. His struggle and eventual success in resuming his profession with only one arm is as heroic as any military exploit.

I haven't read the book: instead I listened to the six CDs of the audio version, read by Seth himself, with a small cast of excellent actors playing the parts of his relations. Seth's own voice gives a unique depth to his story. Its melodies combine with his precise and restrained language to build a picture that is utterly engrossing.

The book is open about its own creation: how Seth was persuaded to write it; how he felt about his relations at all stages of his life and their's; how his judgements were revised in the light of comments from his earliest readers; and how his admiration of his uncle was challenged by a decision he made about his will in the last months of his life.

For me, the most fascinating part of the book was the detailed account of how his aunt picked up relations with her circle of German friends after the war. For each of them, a judgement had to be made: had they properly and full-heartedly opposed the Nazi regime, or had they simply made 'exceptions' of their Jewish friends? Sorting through what had happened and coming to a conclusion about who was a true friend and who would have to be dropped because of what had happened in the intervening years was a complex and difficult process.

Seth gives a masterful summary of German culture and Germany's contribution to history - both positive and negative -, but admits that his study of the horrors of Nazism for the book poisoned his appreciation of the German language for years afterwards.

Two Lives is more of a project than a book, though it is expertly written up. Its story is both personal and universal. I have listened to it twice because I found so much to admire, enjoy and learn. Nobody could hear it without being moved. I almost feel that I have acquired, in Seth, a much-loved family member.(less)

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Jun 08, 2009 Carole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, audible

This is a book written and narrated by Vikram Seth about his great uncle, Shanti, and his wife, Auntie Hennie. It is a story of two people from different cultures who met in Germany prior to WWII when Shanti came to Germany from India to pursue dental studies. Hennie was part of a very active circle of friends, Jewish and non-Jewish, and Shanti was taken in by the family. The book project began as a suggestion from Seth's mother because of Shanti's depression when his wife died, so it is based o...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

"I want [Shanti and Henny] complexly remembered," Seth writes. "I want to mark them true." Seth meets this goal. Two Lives, a biography and record of pre- and postwar life, is at heart a story about two individuals that fate and urgency__more than romantic love, perhaps__thrust together. Relying on interviews and Henny's gut-wrenching letters from the 1940s and 1950s, Seth reinterprets Germany's war years and depicts Shanti's struggle to establish a dental practice and the couple's deep friendsh

...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Lorri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: personally-own, holocaust, inspiration, biography, jewish-history, jewish-non-fiction, non-fiction

“Two Lives“, by Vikram Seth…what an incredible accomplishment, what an inspiring book!

This beautifully written memoir is one that you will remember, long after you have finished the last word, on the last page. The book is infused with prose that is poetic, sensitive, insightful, and pure. It is one of those memoirs that stay in your heart, in your mind, for a long time to come.

“When I was seventeen I went to live with my great-uncle and great-aunt in England. He was an Indian by origin, she Ger...more “Two Lives“, by Vikram Seth…what an incredible accomplishment, what an inspiring book!

This beautifully written memoir is one that you will remember, long after you have finished the last word, on the last page. The book is infused with prose that is poetic, sensitive, insightful, and pure. It is one of those memoirs that stay in your heart, in your mind, for a long time to come.

“When I was seventeen I went to live with my great-uncle and great-aunt in England. He was an Indian by origin, she German. They were both sixty. I hardly knew them at the time.”

And, with these opening lines begins the journey through the lives of Shanti Behari Seth, Helga Gerda Karo, and, the author, Vikram Seth, which culminates in an emotional ending. Vikram Seth chronicles the lives of his great-uncle and great-aunt, with exacting details, which some might find over-reacting, or over-zealous in his endeavors.

But, we must remember, this is a memoir, a factual story of lives, and all the details need to be relayed and interwoven into the family fabric, the family quilt of their lifespans. This is not a novel, or fictionalized account, but, rather an actual documentation of their lives.

We watch the friendship and love grow between Shanti, who was born in India, and studied dentistry and medicine in Berlin; and Helga, a German Jew. Two very different cultures, and two lives, lives which receded and ebbed within The Holocaust, Auschwitz and Israel, in an ocean of torment, hate, persecution, and, love. From 1908 India, to 1908 Germany, and the years that follow in a Germany ruled by Hitler, we follow the journey of Shanti and Helga, to England, and also the journey of the author, Vikram Seth, into the lives of this childless couple.

These two lives couldn’t have been more different, yet more alike, than either of them could have imagined…overcoming racial and ethnic hatred, and genocide, their lives become fulfilled and realized, with the inclusion of Vikram Seth into their family. This is a memoir weaved straight from cultural threads, threads of understanding and love, woven into a quilt of unconditional love, compassion and the overcoming of adversity.

Vikram Seth is brilliant with his use of word visuals and descriptives.”>Two Lives” is a must read for everyone who is interested in World War II, The Holocaust, India, England, multi-cultural relationships, and a love that crosses all the cultural boundaries. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down.

I applaud Vikram Seth for bringing such an inspirational and poignant story to the forefront.
~~~~~~
(less)

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May 14, 2013 Marianne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Two Lives is a memoir written by international best-selling author, Vikram Seth. In this interesting and engaging book, Seth writes about his great uncle Shanti Behari Seth (Shanti Uncle), born in Biswan, and his German Jewish great aunt, Hennerle Caro (Aunty Henny), born in Berlin, describing them as two exiles who found their home in each other. Using interviews with his uncle as well as letters, photographs and official documents, Seth builds up a comprehensive image of the lives of two peopl...more

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Apr 15, 2010 Fionnuala rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what Seth intended with this book, and that absence at its heart is somehow fascinating rather than annoying. On the surface it is the backstory of two relatives he got to know as a teenager, but at times it almost becomes Seth's own story of finding a place as a foreigner in the world, and by the end I felt I was reading a meditation on forgiveness. The most gripping part for me was the post-war correspondence between his Aunt Henny(a German Jew who escaped to England in the 1930s)...more

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Sep 12, 2009 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: india, europe-the-known-world, ww2, bios-memoirs

This is a very memorable book. It is about the author's indian uncle and his wife, a jewish refugee from Hitler's Germany. These two fine people, already close friends, are compelled into marriage, not because of star-crossed love but because of the realities of the war and its powerful tragedy. It is a testament to the love and devotion between these two people who are forever dear to each other, and to the difficulties and immense pains and tragedies of the war that consumed and defined their...more

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Jan 16, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

SPOILER ALERT
I love Vikram Seth's novels, and I thought this would be interesting. It was interesting, but here are my criticisms: the story is told haphazardly, especially in the second half of the book. It sometimes seems as though the author took a bunch of documents and pieced them together without much commentary in between. I'm sure he thought about how they would fit together, but he didn't let me (the reader) know. Also, the book was a lot more depressing than I thought I would be. It wa...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Somehow, this book had found me. It all started with a mere coincidence: Someone's last name reminded me of the author's first name, which sounded vaguely familiar. All the while I was unable to match it with a title of a book of his or even snippets of his biography. Google, however, quickly quenched my thirst for knowledge, and no sooner had I read a brief description of Two Lives than I had bought it.

I didn't know it was a 500-pages tome until I eventually held it in my hands. Somewhat reluc...more Somehow, this book had found me. It all started with a mere coincidence: Someone's last name reminded me of the author's first name, which sounded vaguely familiar. All the while I was unable to match it with a title of a book of his or even snippets of his biography. Google, however, quickly quenched my thirst for knowledge, and no sooner had I read a brief description of Two Lives than I had bought it.

I didn't know it was a 500-pages tome until I eventually held it in my hands. Somewhat reluctant to embark on what seemed to be a long journey, I started to read it – and, contrary to my expectations, found it to be enthralling. That Shanti Behari Seth, a war veteran from India, should be so lucky as to meet his old German-Jewish friend and future wife Henny Caro in post-war England, seems to be too extraordinary to pass as a true story. But true it certainly is.

How then would someone like Shanti, who, almost ironically, participated in crucial events of recent European history as an Asian, win Henny over? Could he be a solace to her, the Holocaust refugee who lost her mother and sister? While only few of her relatives had survived the atrocities of Nazi rule, Shantis family was numerous and brought along its own little tragedies and misunderstandings, so very painful to both Shanti and Henny, to whom family ties were most dearly cherished.

While I wished Vikram Seth hadn't had his great uncle Shanti recount his war time stories, or give a detailed account of his sickness during the last years of his life, I was captivated by the way the author told their stories from quite a personal point of view, without being too obtrusive and without assuming the role of a commentator who knows it all. Vikram Seth's deep insight into history and cultural varieties make this a delightful read. There is no artificial attempt at bridging cultural or ethnical gaps, because he depicts the bond of two persons from two very different backgrounds as something natural and common – which it would be nowadays, of course, but most likely not back in the 30s or even in the late 50s.

Now I'm looking forward to discovering Seth, the novelist and poet.(less)

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Jun 05, 2011 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, history, nb-critics-circle, indian-lit

Two Lives: A Memoir is the story of the two lives of the title, but it is very much more and that is why I enjoyed reading it. First there is the story of Shanti Behari Seth, an immigrant from India who came to Berlin to study in the 1930s, and Helga Gerda Caro, the young German woman who became his wife. Secondly we have the introductory section (Part One) that introduces the author, Vikram Seth and his schooling in England (and later the United States) which precipitated his close relationship...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars

There are in this book many interesting and moving details about people's lives and thoughts in an historical perspective.

However, the book has the feel of a thesis written by an undergraduate student whose primary concern is to be sure to include every single detail about every single point he can find concerning his characters. This is all the more annoying as some historical events (for instance battles or war campaigns) are summed up in a couple of sweeping sentences that seem to express the...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Lynne added it

I thought this book, by the author of one of my absolute favorite books, "A Suitable Boy", would be a nice memoir of a love story of some sort and almost certainly well-written. What it really is is an intimate portrait of what happens to a middle-class Jewish family from Berlin and their circle of mostly non-Jewish friends during World War II and after. The simple, straightforward way the author goes about piecing together the story of the loss of their freedoms, livelihoods and eventually, for...more

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Mar 22, 2007 sima rated it 4 of 5 stars

Seth is a great storyteller, and his prose is beautiful. This book is ultimately a love story, although it doesn't read like one. It's also a historical account of Germany's societal changes before and after WWII.

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Jan 12, 2011 snowwhite123 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Two Lives is an absorbing memoir. It leads us into the lives of Shanti and Henny ; an Indian and a German, two people from entirely different cultural backgrounds leading their lives together. Though it talks about both their lives , it is Henny's life that manages to touch a chord with the reader. Her life is torn to pieces during the second world war and the Nazi rule preceding it. She loses almost her entire family ; her mother and sister; to this brutal extermination of Jews followed by the...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Martine rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book came highly recommended and I was not disappointed at all. It was honest in a way that some true stories often are not. So much so that I swayed from genuine like/dislike of the two characters several times.

The period of time covered by the book and lived through by the main protagonists was one of such fundamental change partly driven by the war that they each suffered through, Henny more than Shanti I believe but like so many others. Yet, I never felt this was just a litany of histo...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Hayley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a truly amazing biography and memoir of a Indian Hindu, Shanti Uncle, and a German Jew, Aunty Henny, who lived through pivotal historical moments of the 20th Century. Written by their Indian-born great nephew, Vikram Seth, the memoir offers a refreshing insight into how the events of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s and so on, shaped the lives of the people who lived through them.

This book will give you a new perspective on events that happened in Germany, Britain, India and elsewhere during the...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

I chose this book because I enjoyed Seth's novel, "A Suitable Boy". The choice was made quickly and only later did I see the word "memoir". It turns out that Seth is honoring an uncle and aunt by recounting their lives. It is an interesting read in that it focuses on surviving Jews and non-whites during and post Holocaust. I felt that Seth stepped out of his "recounting" role and provided background material that was not necessarily pertinent to the lives of the two characters. He also spent a s...more

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Apr 26, 2009 Deborah rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm pleased to report that notwithstanding my compulsion to complete things I've begun, and the fine writing of the loving nephew who profiles his aunt and uncle in the book, I returned it to the bookshelf about a quarter of the way through. I don't know how it happened that I grabbed this book right after finishing Angle of Repose, which is another painstaking retrospective parsing of a relationship that spanned decades. While Angle of Repose posed a challenge to my stick-to-it-iveness, I did c...more

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Feb 02, 2011 Bicefalus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

lastoria di due mondi e due universi ceh si incontrano e si fondano
un dentista di origini indiane hce ha studiato a berlino e ha praticato la professione a londra
una donnadi berlino ebrea fuggita da hitler
due compagni ...
raccontata dal nipote il sempre delicato vrickam seth uno spaccato di 50 anni di storia ...
uno spaccato di come una coppia possa reggersi anche solo sul rispetto e la complicità senza che l'AMORE sia di quelli che bruciano tutto nella fiamma della passione

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Oct 16, 2012 Pooja Mugeraya rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading Vikram Seth, although I've wanted to for quite some time now. Funny that I picked up a biography for a first read.(not consciously though!:P) He writes very simply and factually doting very little on the emotional aspect of things. The emotional outcome happens as a gradual process, by the narrative itself. That he is a prolific writer is very clear right from the start. He has a sort of confidence to his style. Two Lives is a biographic account of his uncle Shanti...more

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May 13, 2012 Neha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, kwench

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Vikram Seth’s book Two Lives - a chronological documentary on the lives of his maternal grand uncle & aunt. It is based on his interaction with them, some interviews with his uncle & other relatives, and some letters and old documents which belonged to his aunt. But throughout the book I couldn’t figure out why he still wrote it. Could it be because:

1.He admired these two people and very close to them. So when they died he wanted to write a tribute to them
2.He spent a lot of time with th...more Vikram Seth’s book Two Lives - a chronological documentary on the lives of his maternal grand uncle & aunt. It is based on his interaction with them, some interviews with his uncle & other relatives, and some letters and old documents which belonged to his aunt. But throughout the book I couldn’t figure out why he still wrote it. Could it be because:

1.He admired these two people and very close to them. So when they died he wanted to write a tribute to them
2.He spent a lot of time with them and found some letters and content on their lives so though of documenting them
3.His aunt & her family were impacted by Holocaust which is one of the most intriguing literary subject

But this book does not appear even a scratch on his first book ‘The Suitable Boy’. The earlier book had a valid subject, interesting characters and an intriguing plot. In fact his poetry and quips added to whole book making it a most charming and beautiful read. But where the length of Suitable Boy was matched with great writing skills and an engaging plot. This book falters at various instances – first like I said the length of the book 500 pages which could have been better with 200. Rather than quoting all letters and every word ever written by the protagonists – it could have stuck to the story. Second it appeared more like an essay rather than a story. Like a teacher told him why don’t you write 500 pages on the time spent with your uncle and aunt in London, along with their character sketch and describe their relationships with other people. So Vikram like a good student does a lot of homework, talks to people, discovers study & reference materials on them and writes a very well written essay. I am sure the teacher must be really proud of him for his honest and true attempt, but why publish it as a book. Because it is a biography of a couple - an Indian who fought in WWII and a German Jew who suffered the holocaust.

But despite this the book is very chronological and verbose, honest but boring, well written but bland. All true stories are very hard hitting but this one was not. Sorry Vikram I love you as an author and I look forward to reading all your books, but I found this one pretty average. Its one of those books which you say – its nicely written, you can see the author has put a lot of efforts but only read it if you like him and have a lot of useless time on you. Some average quotes.. if you have not already heard them.

Put your back bone, where your wish bone is.
Never Trouble the trouble.. until the trouble troubles you.(less)

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Jan 13, 2012 Stefanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Schon vor zwei Wochen habe ich dieses Buch beendet, aber ich musste das Gelesene erst etwas sacken lassen, bevor ich jetzt meine Meinung formulieren kann.

Vikram Seth erzählt in diesem Buch die Geschichte seines Onkels Shanti und seiner Tante Henny, bei denen er als Jugendlicher längere Zeit wohnte und zu denen er so lange sie lebten eine ganz besondere Bindung hatte. Er beginnt die Geschichte mit seinen persönlichen Erfahrungen und beschreibt im ersten Teil seine Zeit mit Henny und Shanti. Mit H...more Schon vor zwei Wochen habe ich dieses Buch beendet, aber ich musste das Gelesene erst etwas sacken lassen, bevor ich jetzt meine Meinung formulieren kann.

Vikram Seth erzählt in diesem Buch die Geschichte seines Onkels Shanti und seiner Tante Henny, bei denen er als Jugendlicher längere Zeit wohnte und zu denen er so lange sie lebten eine ganz besondere Bindung hatte. Er beginnt die Geschichte mit seinen persönlichen Erfahrungen und beschreibt im ersten Teil seine Zeit mit Henny und Shanti. Mit Hilfe von Interviews mit Shanti und einem Koffer voll Korrespondenz von Henny rekonstruiert er das Leben der beiden und lässt auch viele eigene Erinnerungen einfließen.

Ich bin noch immer sehr zwiegespalten, wie ich das Buch denn nun fand. Einerseits finde ich es auch mal ganz interessant, über reale Personen zu lesen und nicht über Figuren, die nur der Fantasie des Autors entsrpingen. Andererseits müssen diese realen Personen dann auch irgendwie besonders sein, so dass es sich lohnt, über sie zu schreiben. Dieser Punkt ist für mich bei Henny und Shanti nicht ganz erfüllt. Jedes Menschenleben liefert sicherlich Erzählenswertes und wenn diese Menschen dann auch noch den zweiten Weltkrieg durchlebt haben - Henny sogar als Jüdin - gibt es wohl auch genug Stoff für ein Buch. Allerdings sind mir diese doch ganz normalen und durchschnittlichen Leben zu ausführlich erzählt.

Gerade der dritte Teil, der sich um Hennys Leben dreht und zusätzlich der ausführlichste der fünf Teile ist, konnte mich einfach nicht fesseln und kein übermäßiges Interesse in mir wecken. Da Henny schon tot war, als Vikram Seth den Entschluss fasste, ein Buch über die beiden zu schreiben, blieb ihm nur ihre Korrespondenz mit diversen Personen, um ihr Leben zu rekonstruieren. Viele Briefe sind komplett im Buch enthalten, der Autor gibt vorher aber oft noch eine kurze Zusammenfassung ab oder greift die wichtigsten Punkte heraus, so dass es fast überflüssig ist, die Briefe selbst noch zu lesen. Zusätzlich springt er oft in der Zeit und zwischen den verschiedenen Briefeschreibern hin und her, so dass alles etwas verwirrend ist.

Da ich kein Fan bin von Literatur, die vom zweiten Weltkrieg handelt, hat mir der Krieg in diesem Buch auch einmal mehr zu viel Raum eingenommen. Ich kann verstehen, dass dieser Krieg auf alle Personen, die in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts gelebt haben, einen großen Einfluss hatte. Allerdings muss man dann nicht in so einem Buch, das ja von realen Geschehnissen handelt, Ereignisse in den dunkelsten Farben ausmalen, von denen niemand wissen kann, wie sie wirklich passiert sind. Das Leben in einem KZ und die Judenverfolgung wurden von anderen Autoren in anderen Büchern schon oft genug beschrieben, als dass man sie auch hier nochmal so in den Mittelpunkt stellen müsste. Das ist zumindest meine Meinung, da mir die Thematik langsam wirklich zu viel wird, vor allem, wenn man bei einem Buch gar nicht damit rechnet.

Die Beziehung zwischen Henny und Shanti ist noch so ein Punkt, von dem ich nicht so ganz weiß, wie ich über ihn denken soll. Einerseits kann man in Personen nicht hineinschauen und im Nachhinein auch schlecht beurteilen, wie ihre Gefühle zueinander waren. Andererseits habe ich beim Lesen mehr und mehr den Eindruck gewonnen, dass es sich - zumindest auf Hennys Seite - nur um eine Zweckehe handelte, da einfach sonst niemand aus ihrem Bekanntenkreis mehr da war. Wenn dieses Buch dann als "große Liebesgeschichte, die ein Jahrhundert umspannt" beworben wird, fühle ich mich als Leser etwas betrogen, da die große Liebe für mich nicht zu spüren war.

Positiv ist natürlich die schöne Aufmachung des Buches. Ich habe das Hardcover gelesen und da ist schon allein das Cover ein Highlight. Es ist ein kleines "Fenster" hineingeschnitten, durch das man ein Foto von Shanti und Henny sehen kann, das auf dem Vorsatzpapier aufgedruckt ist. Außerdem sind mehrere Fotos enthalten und einige Briefe oder Dokumente sind im Original abgedruckt.

Abschließend lässt sich auch noch sagen, dass Vikram Seth sicherlich ein beeindruckender Autor ist. Sprachlich ist das Buch sehr ansprechend und ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass ein anderer Roman von ihm mich mehr überzeugen würde als Zwei Leben.

Für ein Buch, bei dem ich einige Passagen nur überflogen habe, andere dafür sehr gerne gelesen habe und das mich auch sicher nachhaltig beschäftigen wird, vergebe ich 3 Sterne(less)

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Jul 23, 2011 Shriya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who believes biographies can never be interesting

Shelves: something-borrowed, favourites, non-fiction

Before I begin with the review, let me make it very clear : I hate biographies and 'Two Lives' came in my hands as a signed copy belonging to a friend who is a fan of the author. Since I've liked Vikram Seth, since the days of 'The Frog and the Nightingale', I didn't object to 'Two Lives' even though it belonged to the only genre I hate when it comes to books. And was I glad I didn't complain!

No other author, not even the best one there is, can make his granduncle sound interesting, even if the...more

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Jun 29, 2011 SamMarie rated it 4 of 5 stars

There was something so raw and delightful about the rich tapestry of letters in Two Lives. The early letters between Shanti and Henny were beautifully intimate and elegant. While I enjoyed the stories of Shanti's life and particularly the wisdom and humour in some of the first hand interviews, it was the trove of Henny’s letters that was my favourite section of the book. I poured over the raft of letters between Henny and her friends and acquaintances. They really brought home that living throug...more

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Nov 04, 2010 Drani rated it 4 of 5 stars

In this exploration of war, culture clashes, interracial marriage, the nature of love, aging, and lots more, Vikram Seth also leaks information about his own life and personality to eager fans like me. Although there's certainly not enough to call it an autobiography, I feel like I know him better -- enough to guess that statement would make uncomfortable a shy and slightly reclusive person like him.

If I hadn't been such a fan of the author, however, I'm not sure the presentation of the characte...more

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About Vikram Seth

Vikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and memoirist.

During the course of his doctorate studies at Stanford, he did his field work in China and translated Hindi and Chinese poetry into English. He returned to Delhi via Xinjiang and Tibet which led to a travel narrative From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet (1983) which won...more

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From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet

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“Behind every door on every ordinary street, in every hut in every ordinary village in this middling planet of a trivial star, such riches are to be found. The strange journeys we undertake on our earthly pilgrimage, the joy and suffering we taste or confer, the chance events that leave us together or apart, what a complex trace they leave: so personal as to be almost incommunicable, so fugitive as to be almost irrecoverable.” — 2 people liked it

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