Lavie Tidhar, better known for his speculative fiction, has recently branched more into historical fiction. His other recent historical fiction books Adama and Maror focus on the modern history of Israel. His latest book Six Lives takes a much broader view, ranging across the world and over 150 years of history. It is a collection of six, connected short stories, each told in a different style, loosely following a single family and various people who come in contact with them over that time.
The first story is set in 1855, and follows Edward Feebes, junior member of a London trading family, who is sent to Lima to investigate issues with the highly lucrative guano trade. The next story jumps to 1912 and focusses on Edward’s illegitimate daughter Annie, who lives in Ireland and works for a photographer and blackmailer and dreams of escape to America. The third story moves to 1933 and is country house murder mystery at the Feebes estate (complete with Agatha Christie-style mystery writer on board) and involves Annie’s son Edgar (although he was given away as a baby and does not know his connection to the family). The style flips again in 1964 to become a spy story focussing on a Russian in Cairo who moves in the expat society which also includes Henrietta, a Feebes heiress. The fourth story, set in 1987 is a rags to riches story of Mariam who rises from the Egyptian slums to become a global movie star. And finally 2012, to Isabelle Feebes, Henrietta’s adopted daughter dealing with her stepmother’s death.
There are many many connections between these stories. Characters who age and then come in and out at different points, descendants of characters from earlier stories. And it feels like what Tidhar is trying to do with these stories is touch on some of the key turning points of the last century and a half. Whether it is British trading power and the opium trade of the 19th century, or the voyage of the Titanic, or the British double agents in MI5, or the rise of Irish nationalism. And he does son through a rolling, interconnected cast connected through the Feebes family which seems to stay rich no matter what is happening in the world.
The aspect that lets Six Lives down is that despite its precis of world events, and its playful use of form, it does not seem to actually be about anything. That is to say, there does not seem to be a connecting idea between these particular characters and these particular times and places. Sure they are all interesting in and of themselves and readers will encounter recurring characters or their descendants but it does not seem to lead anywhere. This in contrast to his previous forays into historical fictionwhich were very pointed novels with a specific point of view and something to say.
All this to say that Six Lives is a well written and engaging series of six linked short stories. But the stories do not resonate, and having characters in later stories channel some of the emotions or challenges of earlier characters is not so sufficient. Which leaves Six Lives as a series of interesting short diversions that not rise up to be more than the sum of its parts.
Six Lives by Lavie Tidhar
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