Intimate biography of Seth's great aunt and uncle. The uncle is an indian-born dentist who studied in Germany where he met, fell in love with, and eventually married a Jewish-German girl in the shadow of the Nazi parties. Very sad book at times, but gives a personal insight into the horror of those events. In many ways a study of privation, struggle and triumph by two exception people as representatives of the greatest generation. ( )

Vikram Seth's memoir of the lives of his uncle and aunt, with whom he lived, with on and off, during his school years in England. His uncle, a dentist who served in WWII, and his aunt, who lost her mother and sister during the Holocaust, have loving marriage and interesting back story which Seth only investigates many years later. ( )

Somewhat biased but very interesting perspective of Berlin after WWII. Comments concerning Israel incorrect. I would have liked to ask the author where he would like the Jews to live? Anti-sematism and killing of Jewish people did not begin in Hitler's Germany.

I found this book very interesting and informative overall, and also very emotional in parts. However in some bits the focus seemed to drift a bit and it was less engaging. But generally it really brought the family and their history alive. Really tragic to hear of the holocaust from such a personal direct viewpoint as his aunts letters. I also enjoyed spotting people in it from Seth's family that seemed like the basis of characters in A Suitable Boy! ( )

I was expecting a love story. But this book is better described as a story of two people making the best of their lives following the upheaval of the WWII and the holocaust. The author first explains why the couple Shanti and Henny, his great uncle and aunt, were important people in his life. Then he proceeds to tell their stories. His great-uncle Shanti, a native of India, attended school in Berlin in the early 30s and became part of a circle of friends centered around the family apartment where he boarded. The group included both Jewish and non-Jewish friends. Henny was the daughter of the Jewish family also living in the apartment. Then Hitler came to power, and we all know what happened after that. Both Shanti and Henny were able to leave Germany before the war at different times and by different routes. Shanti lost an arm during the war while serving as a surgeon with the British Army.

The most heart-wrenching part of the book for me was the part containing Henny's correspondance with her German friends after the war trying to learn what had happened to her Mother and sister. It is an up-close and personal look at the sorrow and suffering repeated millions to times over during the holocaust. And, in addition to the anguish of learning about the fate of her family, Henny had to deal with her ambivalent feelings toward her non-Jewish friends. She even received a letter from her former German boyfriend, who had played the part of a good Nazi during the war, hinting at an interest in a continuing relationship. She also learns that her brother was able to flee to South American prior to the war but had squandered money that could have been used to get her mother and sister out of Germany. She was particularly disturbed to learn that the husband of one of her closest friends may have been a member of the Nazi SA.

In England the only person Henny knew who shared any memories of her family and former life was Shanti. Shanti's life on the other hand was dramatically changed by the loss of his arm. So they found comfort in each other’s company. They eventually got married, but the slow deliberate pace of their courtship indicates little romantic passion.

The author spends considerable time talking about world politics and the modern history of Germany and Israel. He also shares some details of settling Shanti's estate after his death. I question whether these parts of the book were needed. ( )