Lives Between the Lines is the moving and beautifully written story of a journey to explore [Vatikiotis's] identity by visiting the places - primarily Egypt and Israel - in which several generations of his Levantine ancestors made their homes. As well as being a highly personal family-memoir-cum-travelogue, it is a paean to tolerance between diverse faiths and different communities at a time when much of the Middle East is being consumed by bigotry, fanaticism and sectarian violence -- Justin Marozzi * FINANCIAL TIMES *
Vatikiotis's pen portraits left me wanting more of this amazing cast of characters. For the family are bit-part players in what is in fact a potted history of the late Levant, living proofs in his view of the Ottoman Empire's enlightened approach to minority cultures . . . Vatikiotis's final two chapters describe and acknowledge the ambiguities consequent on Britain's eventual imperial retreat and the region's expulsions of foreigners - British, Jewish, Greek, Italian alike. They are easily the finest and worth the cover price alone . . . fascinating -- Richard Spencer * THE TIMES *
Vatikiotis is quietly opinionated, a quality which makes him an admirable guide for this evocation of an era - a journey of personal discovery, where, despite complexities, everything stands neatly in historical and topographical context
-- Andrew Lycett * SPECTATOR *
[A] human and fascinating insider view of Levantine families in the mid-twentieth century * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *
A brilliant evocation of an era when the Middle East was a haven of peace and prosperity for people fleeing Europe.
Lives Between the Lines interweaves a fascinating family history with a portrait of a lost world - which has many echoes and lessons for today -- Gideon Rachman
