Vikram Seth's "Two Lives" Is an Odd Book, and Disappointing

I went into it with so much hope. A renowned writer, whom I had never read. A sparkling presentation at Politics and Prose. A subject matter (Indian great-uncle/German Jewish great-aunt in Germany and England) with so much promise. Where did it go wrong?

First, the source material could have been expanded. Why, for example, did Seth pay so much homage to the often fascinating correspondence of his Aunty Henny and her pre-war German friends, without apparently ever trying to contact those friends (or their children) to see what more could be discovered from this perspective? Why, as his Aunty Henny and Shanti Uncle were married for almost forty years, and together as close friends for more than a decade before that in England, did he not talk to their English friends? Why rely virtually exclusively on one trunk of correspondence of his aunt's, his interviews with his sick, octogenarian great uncle, his own memories, and a few communications with his own relatives, mainly in India?

Second, what was this book about? Henny and Shanti (obviously an interesting topic)? Was it about the way the story was uncovered and the book put together (sort of like that classic "The Search for Corvo")? Was it about Seth and his realization that the world was a bit more complicated than even he, with all of his sophistication and intelligence, dreamed?

You get the clear feeling that Vikram Seth struggled with this book. (In fact, from the length of time he apparently spent writing other books, you get the feeling that he does a lot of struggling to finish a book - although you cannot tell if it is because he agonizes so much over every page, or because he is easily diverted. My hunch is the latter.) I also came away with the conclusion that it was published well before it was finished. That it would have taken substantially more work and time to track down more of the story, and that it needed a fair amount of editing. Hard editing.

Perhaps Seth was tired of the subject; perhaps his concentration is limited; perhaps his publisher was impatient. Perhaps, one day, someone will write "Vikram Seth - One Life" and we will find out.