Parallel lives is a love story that takes place during the Cold War era. British academic and Russian art curator meet and fall in love. They are of different backgrounds and personalities, but what unites them is their love of books, art and travel. They want to get married despite all the barriers: geographic, political, cultural. Would the world let them be together? How do they achieve this impossible fit? Do they live happily ever after? The author cleverly ends the book at the high note sparing us the details of their subsequent domestic bliss. The title, Parallel lives, hints at the improbability of the story and especially, of a happy ending: we know that the parallel lines never meet. And yet, love, perseverance and, probably, a good measure of luck, prevail That's the book. The author is an art historian who is said to possess "a remarkable ability to portray intimate human drama against a vast historical canvas." It is very true. You get the live picture of two different worlds, Larissa's reality of a Soviet Russia and Francis' post-war Britain. At times, the book reads as if you are in the middle of John Le Carre thriller except it is inhabited by the real people who have entries in Wikipedia devoted to them. The book is more than a love story, more than the portrait of uncertain times. It offers more than one mystery. For example, what does the author mean when he refers to the 'lost continent' in the subtitle? There are more than one possible answers there. The book would be an excellent choice for people who like impressionistic 'star-crossed lovers' stories, people who are interested in the Cold War history, people who like the stories where not everything is spelled out, the stories that leave room for the reader to think.

This was a really fascinating view of two people, but also of the WWII and mid-century eras of Europe. I was a little disappointed that the book ended with Larissa and Francis's wedding with only a bit of an epilogue. They were fascinating people and I would have liked to read more about their life together. All in all, though, really worth reading.

Part history, part love story, it’s a fascinating account of twentieth-century Europe as well as a tense and dramatic personal saga. Larissa and Francis’s story is captivating, but so are their personalities, which Pears renders in sharp and intimate detail. One of the more unique books I’ve read in recent years.

It wasn’t long ago that someone from Russian would have had a difficult time leaving the country let alone dealing with the bureaucracy to marry a foreigner.

The fascinating story of Parallel Lives takes us inside the coming together of Larissa Salmina, a curator from the Hermitage and Francis Haskell, an art historian from England where he was established on the Cambridge faculty. The two meet while Larissa is in Venice as a representative of the Russian Government at the Biennale in 1962. Their shared enthusiasm for art, and their desire to discover more, bonded them together.

Larissa was married, but that was a minor detail, and it did not stop Francis from arranging other get togethers, even though her movement was supposed to be restricted. Larissa does push the relationship forward as Francis is a bit unsure of himself as a man and therefore only too happy when Larissa creates the bond.

They eventually live together in England, happily. Amazing to read about people from such different worlds finding love together.