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Two Lives
 
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Two Lives (Paperback)

by Vikram Seth (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Customers buy this book with A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Two Lives + A Suitable Boy
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  • This item: Two Lives by Vikram Seth

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    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
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Product details

  • Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Abacus; New edition edition (6 Jul 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0349117985
  • ISBN-13: 978-0349117980
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 12,798 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Biography > Political > Countries & Regions > Indian Subcontinent
    #2 in  Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Indian Subcontinent
    #7 in  Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > 1901 Onwards

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Product Description

Review
'Truly unforgettable... moving and illuminating' THE TIMES ** 'Two Lives has about it a purity of intent and a goodness of heart that are rare in modern literature...no one could read this book without feeling moved by these two human beings, and their str

Irish Times
'[A] Persian carpet of a biography ... pleasurable and
astonishing'


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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Two Lives
77% buy the item featured on this page:
Two Lives 4.3 out of 5 stars (14)
£6.99
A Suitable Boy
10% buy
A Suitable Boy 4.8 out of 5 stars (75)
£6.99
An Equal Music
6% buy
An Equal Music 3.9 out of 5 stars (86)
£5.99
The White Tiger
4% buy
The White Tiger 3.7 out of 5 stars (102)
£3.84
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars stunning inspirational work from A SUITABLE BOY author, 6 Oct 2005
This review is from: Two Lives (Hardcover)
This is an extraordinary memoir of the lives of two quite ordinary people: Vikram Seth's great aunt Henny,a German Jewess, and great uncle Shanti, an Indian Hindi. I loved A Suitable Boy so it was wonderful to read the story of this great author's upbringing and inspiration. Henny is trying to find out what happened to her family during the war - Seth uses all her long-forgotten letters to document this unbearably poignant tale. Two Lives is a really fantastic book: somehow it manages to entwine strands of India, Third Reich and Second World War, Auschwitz and the Holocaust, Israel and Palestine, post-war Germany and 1970s Britain. Yet, despite such a complex and rich background, the two main characters come vividly to life, particuarly because their letters and direct quotations are used liberally throughout. This way, we become intimately involved in them and their lives. I can't criticise this book - I thought it was absolutely incredible and so well told. I'd recommend it every time.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, 22 Aug 2006
Vikram Seth turns the narrative skills so evident in "A Suitable Boy" on his own family, and the result is this compelling and engaging biography. His Indian great-uncle and German Jewish great-aunt lived through a turbulent period in the history of Europe and the world, and Seth manages to make the large-scale elements - such as the battle of Monte Cassino, the fate of the Jews in Berlin and the wider Reich - and the personal details of Shanti and Henny's own stories - his career as a dentist, her correspondence with her German friends, their marriage - equally vivid. The stories are not sentimentalised, either - while Seth's great affection for Shanti and Henny is obvious, he presents the reader with a remarkably clear-eyed view of their flaws and failings as well. The whole thing presents a fresh look at a much-chronicled era.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars wide ranging and moving, 17 Dec 2006
What a tour de force! I really enjoyed this mix of biography, family history and world history brought together in a beatifully told narrative. It seems particularly pertinent today as it describes the complex relationships between religions as well as family happiness and conflict. Jews, Hindus and Christians live and work together, experience love and betrayal, including the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. I have recently visited Auschwitz-Birkenau and the description of the final days of Lola's life was almost unbearable in its detail and feeling. I also enjoyed getting to know the characters and finding out more and more detail, good and bad, as the book went on. Very real because it is so complex, very respectful but also true. Politically astute and relevant, I highly recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Abridged, but Seth is a wonderful performer
Note that the book is abridged. I didn't know when I ordered it and I was quite disappointed, as I wanted to re-read and listen to it at the same time (always trying to improve my... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Magdalena Costa Valles

4.0 out of 5 stars Extra-ordinary
This book shows how extraordinary two 'ordinary' people can be. Even if it doesn't set out to, it highlights the vacuousness of being famous just for being famous. Read more
Published 18 months ago by U Budgerigar

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this more than A Suitable Boy!
And I very much enjoyed A Suitable Boy!

This was a very moving and engrossing account of the lives of Seth's great uncle and aunt in pre-war Berlin, during the war... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Lovetoread

4.0 out of 5 stars Enduring Love
A very moving memoir about the author's great-uncle Shanti and great-aunt Henny. He became very close to them after they welcomed him into their home, when as a seventeen year... Read more
Published 23 months ago by LindyLouMac

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegy for a tormented century
A one-armed dentist and his company secretary wife who quarrel noisily in German without embarrassment in front of uncomprehending English-speaking guests - they do not seem an... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Pipistrel

3.0 out of 5 stars Seth's secret revealed
At last, the enigma of Vikram Seth is uncovered. We now understand why his books are intelectually underpowered and don't actually go anywhere. Read more
Published on 7 Jul 2007 by Sheila Choudhri

4.0 out of 5 stars Like nothing else you'll read this year
It would be near impossible not to be moved by this remarkable double memoir. Seth transforms his seemingly-ordinary aunt and uncle as he examines their lives as well as their... Read more
Published on 15 May 2007 by Mr. S. Miller

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable biography
This is an exceptional account of the lives of Shanti and Henny Seth, the author's great uncle and aunt. Read more
Published on 3 April 2007 by A. Hope

4.0 out of 5 stars Coping with loss
The Two Lives of the title are those of the author's great-uncle, the Indian-born Shanti and of his Jewish German-born wife Henny, both born in 1908. Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2006 by Ralph Blumenau

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating account of two very different lives
I too enjoyed this book. Vikram Seth seems to enjoy writing long books often with some heavy going passages but this time I sailed through finding it difficult to put the book... Read more
Published on 24 Jul 2006 by Heloise

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