The 20th Century in "Two Lives"

Vikram Seth's great-uncle and aunt met in 1930s Berlin and married in London almost two decades later. In the interim, Shanti B. Seth becomes a dentist and loses an arm in WWII while Henny Caro flees the Nazi machine and loses her fiance, mother, and sister.

The younger Seth is a talented fiction writer, but in his family members he found a rich and complex tale. Two Lives tells a love story unlike most that appear in books, one that is rewarding even if sometimes puzzling. Shanti and Henny are most vivid as individuals rather than as a couple - but evidence suggests that they were often seen as the latter. The hidden emotions and questions that (Vikram) Seth brings to the surface have lingered in my mind since I finished the book yesterday.

But this is a loooong book, and I'd prefer to write a short review. As a student of 20th century history, I found this a fantastic portrait of everyday life during and immediately after the Second World War. Seth unearthed a treasure trove of primary sources, and I believe that they illuminate many of the questions that will begin to attract scholarly attention. But it also reads much like a novel - Seth is sensitive to the fact that he is telling a story, and shares the reader's frustration when his "characters" remain obscured.

For me, this was a more satisfying read that A Suitable Boy, which I loved but fought with. Perhaps you can't fight with history in quite the same way; Henny & Shanti were real humans, both remarkable and flawed. Their tale is definitely worth a read.