Categories: books
Date: 10 March 2008 22:00:40
Vikram Seth is possibly known to you for having written the weighty tome called A Suitable Boy. Two Lives (in its hardback version at least) is another weighty volume of 503 pages. It gives an account of two people who met in 1930s Germany. One was Shanti Seth, the author's uncle who was born in India in 1908 and lived under the Raj. The other was Henny Caro, a German Jew, also born in 1908. Shanti was sent to Germany in the late 20s to study medicine and dentistry (quite an amazing thing in itself, given he didn't speak the language!) where he met Henny. Vikram Seth met Shanti and Henny when he left India in the 1970s to study in Britain, which is where they were both living by then.
This biography pieces together the two histories which Seth compiles from his uncle's memory in his latter years (he died in his 90th year) and from letters and documents of Henny's which he finds.
I found it quite fascinating because it deals not only with the Second World War - which is relatively familiar territory - but also with the Indian perspective on the war - something I hadn't ever really thought much about.
For me, Shanti and Henny's experiences throw the whole issue of friendship into sharp relief. Who are one's friends, how much can you expect of them and, crucially, to what extent does one live up to one's own standards expected from friendships (and family in some cases) when these are put under extraordinary pressure? This book is not a quick read but I think you will find it a rewarding one.