TWO LIVES tells the remarkable story of Seth''s great uncle and
aunt. His great uncle Shanti left India for medical school in
Berlin in the 1930s and lodged with a German Jewish family. In the
household was a daughter, Henny, who urged her mother ''not to take
the blackie''. But a friendship developed and each managed to leave
Germany and found their way to Britain as the Nazis rose to power.
Shanti joined the army and lost his right arm at the battle of
Monte Cassino, while Henny whose family were to die in the camps
made a life for herself in her adopted country. After the war they
married and lived the emigre life in north London where Shanti,
despite the loss of his arm, became a much-loved dentist. During
his own adolescence in England, Vikram Seth lived with Shanti and
Henny and came to know and love them deeply. His is the third life
in this story of TWO LIVES. This is also a book about history,
encompassing as it does many of the most significant themes and
events in the 20th century, whose currents are reflected in the
lives of Shanti, Henny and their family: from the Raj and the
Indian freedom movement to the Third Reich, the Holocaust and
British postwar society.
關於作者:
Vikram Seth was born in India. He was educated there and in
England, China and the USA. He has written great books in every
genre: verse novel THE GOLDEN GATE; travel book FROM HEAVEN LAKE
winner Thomas Cook Travel Book Award; epic masterpiece A SUITABLE
BOY.