Divided we fail, 04 Nov 2008
This is one of the worst books I have read in many a long year. It is not a novel at all but a collection of four or five short stories thinly connected by spurious and superficial links. There is no structure to the book whatsoever. It rambles from period to period without explanation. The characters have no substance. we know no more about them at the end of the book than at the beginning. The farm scene was interesting; so was the gambling but so what - it took us nowhere. Almost half of the book was about a late 19th early 20th century writer but why? Nothing is explained except the loose connection between him and a researcher. But how did Anne become a literary researcher? She ran away from home at sixteen with no money or graduation qualifications. How did she get into University at all, let alone becoming a researcher - no explanation is given. For that matter why did Lucien become a writer? No clue is provided in this short and underwritten book. Words are strung together interminably, many of them highly pretentious. I can only presume that this was written as a contractual obligation. It has no literary merit. For a writer with serious pretensions it is a disgrace

Great Literature but not a Great Read, 11 Oct 2008
When I first started reading I thought, Yowzer! This is really great stuff. Brilliant, but not intrusive, writing combined with intriguing characters, moody setting and a plot line full of possibilities. The first few chapters are late-night page turning fodder. However sadly, by the end of the book, I was left wondering what it was all about; as the plot and characters dissolved into four separate stories all left hanging in the air.

The first of these concerns three children, Anne, Claire and Coop growing up in a one parent family on a Californian ranch. The family is ripped apart by violence and story one ends. The second story concerns grown-up Coop's life as a professional poker player where he meets up with Claire but loses his memory. The third story concerns Anne undertaking research in France on an author called Lucien Segura and her fling with the village gypsy boy; the fourth is the life of Segura himself.

They are all well told stories and tremendously atmospheric and inventive (perhaps the gypsy boy idea is a bit naff) but they don't form a continuous narrative or fit together in plot terms except very slightly. As a result you are either left thinking this is a sublime work of a master with a sinuous substructure that shapes the meaning of the work or, like me, you are baffled. Because I've been told on the back cover that the writer is a genius I found myself with an emperor's new clothes kind of feeling, but I'm not quite brave enough to be the little boy who says this work is naked. Nonetheless I will go as far as the book ends up being Literature rather than a great read.

Everything is collage, 21 Jul 2008
Michael Ondaatje writes in his new novel, "[T]here is the hidden presence of others in us, even those we have known briefly. We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border that we cross." At one level "Divisadero" is such a collage, spreading scenarios across more than one hundred years and several continents. Initially seemingly disconnected events and individual stories are nevertheless intertwined in some way. They converge around Anna, the anchor in the narrative who brings the different segments together. At another level, Ondaatje's exquisitely written novel is about recurring themes of identity, love, loss and pain, and the potentially healing power of passing time and remembrance. Completely absorbing, I found it deeply moving and enriching. A book to be read more than once to be fully appreciated in composition and content.

A certain mystique surrounds the title; its varied possible interpretations find their echo in the structure of the novel and the personal histories of the protagonists. According to Anna "divisadero" means "to divide" and also "to gaze at from afar". A pivotal experience at some point in each protagonist's life has broken its continuity, resulting in a major change or split in their life from then on. Some inner consolidation may be achieved as time allows for re-examination of the past and discovering of similarities in others. Ondaatje uses different voices and perspectives to bring to the reader more than one linear narrative. The novel's structure also reminded me of a musical composition: across the distinct 'movements' themes are nonetheless recurring, and innocuous motifs, such as the shards of glass, can take on symbolic character in their repetition; parallels in the protagonists' lives are slowly revealed and linkages established. With each reiteration, new aspects of the story are introduced for the reader to explore.

The actual plot can be summarized very quickly. It is evidently not Ondaatje's primary motivation for writing "Divisadero". His interest clearly lies in exploring the essence of his characters, their feelings and sensuality, their interaction with others and their physical environments and finally, their ability to recover (or not) from deep trauma. A widower raises his daughter, Anna, and adopts an orphan girl, Claire, born on the same day, as a pseudo twin sister for her. Coop, son of a local farm hand, also an orphan, is added to the small family. When the girls are sixteen, a devastating event abruptly ends the until then mostly idyllic life in rural northern California. They break apart, each coping in a different way with what they experienced. "The raw truth of an incident never ends" Anna reflects later on. Claire's and Coop's stories are interleafed with Anna's. Coop's character, in particular, is expertly drawn, as he lives out the challenges of his youth.

We meet "Anna" again, living in Southern France, as a biographer, researching the life of Lucien Seguro, a little known author who lived there nearly a century ago. She has since shed her name and former identity. Her life becomes indirectly linked to the writer she studies, in part through Rafael, who was connected to Lucien in a similar vein that Coop was connected to Anna's family. While the narrative switches to Seguro's life, his coming of age and the people surrounding him, we are led to make connections, see parallels. Ondaatje's sensitive exploration of the growing fondness between Lucien and his young neighbour, Marie-Neige, is one of the most touching and haunting love stories one can imagine. Comparisons are invited between Anna's life and Lucien's. At every stage, though, Ondaatje leaves us guessing who the narrator is. Is everything written by Anna? Nietzsche's "We have art, so that we shall not be destroyed by the truth", is initially introduced by Anna on page one of the novel, and later repeated. While we are receiving signals that Anna's recollections may not be necessarily the only version of the truth, Ondaatje leaves the question open to interpretation. In a wider sense, encompassing the whole novel, there are hints of an "invented life" - to make it less painful and to come to terms with her abandonment of her sister and Coop in a time of crisis. The beginning is in the end completing the collage created. [Friederike Knabe]

Under-rated genius, 16 Jul 2008
No-one weaves together disparate lives like Ondaatje. He is as assured exploring the world of disaffected America, as he is writing of French poets. His exploration of creativity, family and self-destruction is compelling. I have been surprised by the lack of acclaim for this novel - although its themes are challenging, it is a gripping read.


Dissapointing , 17 Mar 2008
Having greatly enjoyed Anil's Ghost and The English Patient the prospect of settling down for the afternnoon with Ondaatje's latest offering was an exciting one. Unfortunately this sense of excitement quickly dissipated as I was struck by the diminishment of talent on display in his latest novel.

Strip away the polish of his prose, and the foundations of the plot have all the originality of a Mills and Boon classic: forbidden romance between a farm hand and a delicate french speaking foundling , coitus interruptus by a freak ice storm, rounded off by a violent Oedipal struggle. Then enter our new love interest: the guitar playing Provencal gypsy son of a thief and a tarot card reader. Oh and just in case he wasn't already enough of a housewife's favourite lets not forget to mention the fact that he's a surprisingly gentle lover who can whip up a mean beef stew with the wild herbs he keeps handy in his top pocket..... It was at this point in the book that I began to wonder who Ondaatje had in mind to play Rafael in the movie...

Even the most cliched plot structure can of course be rendered original if viewed through a fresh philosphical or thematic lens. Divisadero certainly has pretensions of being a philosophical novel. Regrettably, however, pretension is the novel's only significant organisational system. The references to Collette, Nabokov et al are heavy handed and do nothing to deepen our understanding of either life or Ondaatje's book.

There are those who have criticised Divisadero's "lopsided arrangement". Aside from the occasional failings in logic mentioned in one or two of the reviews above, the novels' fragmented structure is in fact one of its more compelling features. Life is afer all often lopsided: and in reflecting this Divisadero does begin to take aim at realism. The biggest flaw in Ondaatje's attempt to make a profound statement about the human condition is his unrelenting humourlessness. Even in its bleakest moments, life will often proffer us the succour of laughter. Colette knew this; Nabokov knew this; who knows, perhaps even 'Lucien Segura' knew this. but what is clear is that Ondaatje does not. The only time Ondaatje managed to raise so much as a chuckle from this reader was when his self indulgence finally spiralled out of control, as he (and his seriously remiss editor) see fit to compare life's repetitions to a villanelle.

Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as the second world war ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of sheet lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

A book that binds readers of great literature, The English Patient secured the Booker Prize for author Ondaatje. The poet and novelist has also written In the Skin of a Lion, Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid; two collections of poems, The Cinnamon Peeler and There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do; and a memoir, Running in the Family.

Divided we fail, 04 Nov 2008
This is one of the worst books I have read in many a long year. It is not a novel at all but a collection of four or five short stories thinly connected by spurious and superficial links. There is no structure to the book whatsoever. It rambles from period to period without explanation. The characters have no substance. we know no more about them at the end of the book than at the beginning. The farm scene was interesting; so was the gambling but so what - it took us nowhere. Almost half of the book was about a late 19th early 20th century writer but why? Nothing is explained except the loose connection between him and a researcher. But how did Anne become a literary researcher? She ran away from home at sixteen with no money or graduation qualifications. How did she get into University at all, let alone becoming a researcher - no explanation is given. For that matter why did Lucien become a writer? No clue is provided in this short and underwritten book. Words are strung together interminably, many of them highly pretentious. I can only presume that this was written as a contractual obligation. It has no literary merit. For a writer with serious pretensions it is a disgrace

Great Literature but not a Great Read, 11 Oct 2008
When I first started reading I thought, Yowzer! This is really great stuff. Brilliant, but not intrusive, writing combined with intriguing characters, moody setting and a plot line full of possibilities. The first few chapters are late-night page turning fodder. However sadly, by the end of the book, I was left wondering what it was all about; as the plot and characters dissolved into four separate stories all left hanging in the air.

The first of these concerns three children, Anne, Claire and Coop growing up in a one parent family on a Californian ranch. The family is ripped apart by violence and story one ends. The second story concerns grown-up Coop's life as a professional poker player where he meets up with Claire but loses his memory. The third story concerns Anne undertaking research in France on an author called Lucien Segura and her fling with the village gypsy boy; the fourth is the life of Segura himself.

They are all well told stories and tremendously atmospheric and inventive (perhaps the gypsy boy idea is a bit naff) but they don't form a continuous narrative or fit together in plot terms except very slightly. As a result you are either left thinking this is a sublime work of a master with a sinuous substructure that shapes the meaning of the work or, like me, you are baffled. Because I've been told on the back cover that the writer is a genius I found myself with an emperor's new clothes kind of feeling, but I'm not quite brave enough to be the little boy who says this work is naked. Nonetheless I will go as far as the book ends up being Literature rather than a great read.

Everything is collage, 21 Jul 2008
Michael Ondaatje writes in his new novel, "[T]here is the hidden presence of others in us, even those we have known briefly. We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border that we cross." At one level "Divisadero" is such a collage, spreading scenarios across more than one hundred years and several continents. Initially seemingly disconnected events and individual stories are nevertheless intertwined in some way. They converge around Anna, the anchor in the narrative who brings the different segments together. At another level, Ondaatje's exquisitely written novel is about recurring themes of identity, love, loss and pain, and the potentially healing power of passing time and remembrance. Completely absorbing, I found it deeply moving and enriching. A book to be read more than once to be fully appreciated in composition and content.

A certain mystique surrounds the title; its varied possible interpretations find their echo in the structure of the novel and the personal histories of the protagonists. According to Anna "divisadero" means "to divide" and also "to gaze at from afar". A pivotal experience at some point in each protagonist's life has broken its continuity, resulting in a major change or split in their life from then on. Some inner consolidation may be achieved as time allows for re-examination of the past and discovering of similarities in others. Ondaatje uses different voices and perspectives to bring to the reader more than one linear narrative. The novel's structure also reminded me of a musical composition: across the distinct 'movements' themes are nonetheless recurring, and innocuous motifs, such as the shards of glass, can take on symbolic character in their repetition; parallels in the protagonists' lives are slowly revealed and linkages established. With each reiteration, new aspects of the story are introduced for the reader to explore.

The actual plot can be summarized very quickly. It is evidently not Ondaatje's primary motivation for writing "Divisadero". His interest clearly lies in exploring the essence of his characters, their feelings and sensuality, their interaction with others and their physical environments and finally, their ability to recover (or not) from deep trauma. A widower raises his daughter, Anna, and adopts an orphan girl, Claire, born on the same day, as a pseudo twin sister for her. Coop, son of a local farm hand, also an orphan, is added to the small family. When the girls are sixteen, a devastating event abruptly ends the until then mostly idyllic life in rural northern California. They break apart, each coping in a different way with what they experienced. "The raw truth of an incident never ends" Anna reflects later on. Claire's and Coop's stories are interleafed with Anna's. Coop's character, in particular, is expertly drawn, as he lives out the challenges of his youth.

We meet "Anna" again, living in Southern France, as a biographer, researching the life of Lucien Seguro, a little known author who lived there nearly a century ago. She has since shed her name and former identity. Her life becomes indirectly linked to the writer she studies, in part through Rafael, who was connected to Lucien in a similar vein that Coop was connected to Anna's family. While the narrative switches to Seguro's life, his coming of age and the people surrounding him, we are led to make connections, see parallels. Ondaatje's sensitive exploration of the growing fondness between Lucien and his young neighbour, Marie-Neige, is one of the most touching and haunting love stories one can imagine. Comparisons are invited between Anna's life and Lucien's. At every stage, though, Ondaatje leaves us guessing who the narrator is. Is everything written by Anna? Nietzsche's "We have art, so that we shall not be destroyed by the truth", is initially introduced by Anna on page one of the novel, and later repeated. While we are receiving signals that Anna's recollections may not be necessarily the only version of the truth, Ondaatje leaves the question open to interpretation. In a wider sense, encompassing the whole novel, there are hints of an "invented life" - to make it less painful and to come to terms with her abandonment of her sister and Coop in a time of crisis. The beginning is in the end completing the collage created. [Friederike Knabe]

Under-rated genius, 16 Jul 2008
No-one weaves together disparate lives like Ondaatje. He is as assured exploring the world of disaffected America, as he is writing of French poets. His exploration of creativity, family and self-destruction is compelling. I have been surprised by the lack of acclaim for this novel - although its themes are challenging, it is a gripping read.


Dissapointing , 17 Mar 2008
Having greatly enjoyed Anil's Ghost and The English Patient the prospect of settling down for the afternnoon with Ondaatje's latest offering was an exciting one. Unfortunately this sense of excitement quickly dissipated as I was struck by the diminishment of talent on display in his latest novel.

Strip away the polish of his prose, and the foundations of the plot have all the originality of a Mills and Boon classic: forbidden romance between a farm hand and a delicate french speaking foundling , coitus interruptus by a freak ice storm, rounded off by a violent Oedipal struggle. Then enter our new love interest: the guitar playing Provencal gypsy son of a thief and a tarot card reader. Oh and just in case he wasn't already enough of a housewife's favourite lets not forget to mention the fact that he's a surprisingly gentle lover who can whip up a mean beef stew with the wild herbs he keeps handy in his top pocket..... It was at this point in the book that I began to wonder who Ondaatje had in mind to play Rafael in the movie...

Even the most cliched plot structure can of course be rendered original if viewed through a fresh philosphical or thematic lens. Divisadero certainly has pretensions of being a philosophical novel. Regrettably, however, pretension is the novel's only significant organisational system. The references to Collette, Nabokov et al are heavy handed and do nothing to deepen our understanding of either life or Ondaatje's book.

There are those who have criticised Divisadero's "lopsided arrangement". Aside from the occasional failings in logic mentioned in one or two of the reviews above, the novels' fragmented structure is in fact one of its more compelling features. Life is afer all often lopsided: and in reflecting this Divisadero does begin to take aim at realism. The biggest flaw in Ondaatje's attempt to make a profound statement about the human condition is his unrelenting humourlessness. Even in its bleakest moments, life will often proffer us the succour of laughter. Colette knew this; Nabokov knew this; who knows, perhaps even 'Lucien Segura' knew this. but what is clear is that Ondaatje does not. The only time Ondaatje managed to raise so much as a chuckle from this reader was when his self indulgence finally spiralled out of control, as he (and his seriously remiss editor) see fit to compare life's repetitions to a villanelle.








Utterly absorbing., 12 Jul 2008
This is a beautifully written book with timeless appeal and I can't recommend it highly enough. The English Patient draws the reader into a world that after a while appears to consist of only four people as they learn to love and live with each other. Each character adds another dimension to the microcosm created in a secluded Italian villa, but set against the vividly described past lives of the patient himself and his new companions. Having watched the film many years ago I was intrigued to see how the book differed. Ondaatje's rich and poetic language was thoroughly absorbing and now I find the film doesn't really do it justice. If you have seen the film and weren't impressed, please don't be put off as this book is one of the best I've read in a long time.

Poetry as prose, 28 May 2008
This is one of the most beautiful books ever written. I dipped into it recently (having read it twice on the past several years) and the quality and beauty of the prose left me staggered at what can be done with the English language. The descriptions put you right into the location with the characters, from Kip in a crater defusing a bomb, to the eponymous patient in the desert.

One of the cleverest things about it is the way that we become acquainted with the characters as they would have got to know one another: in fits and starts, without chronology. They are built up layer by layer, incident by incident. They become visible in the mind's eye. Not only that, but we see the world through their eyes: the image of Kip lighting flares and swinging in space to look at the paintings inside the domes of churches is magical - and I'm not sure Ondaatje could have written it had he not come at Western culture from the East, born as he was into the Ceylon Burgher community.

The plot is complex, the characters are complex, the prose is amongst the best you will ever read. Now and then the switches of time and location will leave you gasping, as you turn the page expecting to read more about one of the characters, only to find yourself dropped into another part of the story.

The only thing that puzzled me was the persistent survival of the patient: that anyone so badly burned could survive so long seems illogical. Aside from that, I thought it was a perfect book about loss and longing, and written with almost implausible talent and skill. Ondaatje is a poet as well as a novelist, and that is very obvious in the pages of this story.

not bad, nothing like the film though., 18 Apr 2008
I watched the film and thought it was brilliant so I read the book and was disappointed. It is written beautifully but it was just so different to what I expected.

SPOILERS

The main story is all about Kip, then Hana and then their relationship, the actual English patient features very little throughout the book to the point that I was wondering why the book is called The English Patient. His relationship with Katherine only takes up a few pages.

It is a good book and I liked the story but if you've seen the film first, don't expect much of it to be in this book. I actually prefered the film.

Sublime., 13 Apr 2008
I picked this book up after watching the film on television, and read it in a day.
The English Patient is not only the story of the burned "English Patient" and his tragic love affair with the wife of a colleague, but the stories of Hana, a nurse who is caring for him, a crippled thief, David Caravaggio, and a Sikh, Kip, who is part of a bomb-disposal unit, drawn together in an old bombed hospital in Italy.
The story switches between these characters; we are allowed into the minds of all of them, and hear their stories. The book is written in beautiful, evocative prose, reading almost like a poem rather than a novel, but never descending into the region of overly descriptiveness and boring the reader.
As for a comparison to the film; I think it's much more interesting. For a start, there isn't so much focus on the love affair between Almasy and Katherine Clifton; we are allowed to see much deeper into the stories of the other characters.
In short, the prose is breathtakingly beautiful, and is held together by an entertaining and emotional plot. If you have not read this book already, do so.

A beautiful book, 23 Jul 2007
See the film, but do read the book, as both are just magnificent.
I especially like the character, Kip. the Indian sapper, who listens to music while defusing bombs: 'Noise did not matter. There would be no faint tickings or clickings to signal danger on this kind of bomb. The distraction of music helped him towards clear thought, to the possible forms of structure in the mine, to the personality that had laid the city of threads and then poured wet concrete over it'.

There is so much in this book: Romance; the beauty of the desert; a spy story; archaeology; and much more below the surface.

Divided we fail, 04 Nov 2008
This is one of the worst books I have read in many a long year. It is not a novel at all but a collection of four or five short stories thinly connected by spurious and superficial links. There is no structure to the book whatsoever. It rambles from period to period without explanation. The characters have no substance. we know no more about them at the end of the book than at the beginning. The farm scene was interesting; so was the gambling but so what - it took us nowhere. Almost half of the book was about a late 19th early 20th century writer but why? Nothing is explained except the loose connection between him and a researcher. But how did Anne become a literary researcher? She ran away from home at sixteen with no money or graduation qualifications. How did she get into University at all, let alone becoming a researcher - no explanation is given. For that matter why did Lucien become a writer? No clue is provided in this short and underwritten book. Words are strung together interminably, many of them highly pretentious. I can only presume that this was written as a contractual obligation. It has no literary merit. For a writer with serious pretensions it is a disgrace

Great Literature but not a Great Read, 11 Oct 2008
When I first started reading I thought, Yowzer! This is really great stuff. Brilliant, but not intrusive, writing combined with intriguing characters, moody setting and a plot line full of possibilities. The first few chapters are late-night page turning fodder. However sadly, by the end of the book, I was left wondering what it was all about; as the plot and characters dissolved into four separate stories all left hanging in the air.

The first of these concerns three children, Anne, Claire and Coop growing up in a one parent family on a Californian ranch. The family is ripped apart by violence and story one ends. The second story concerns grown-up Coop's life as a professional poker player where he meets up with Claire but loses his memory. The third story concerns Anne undertaking research in France on an author called Lucien Segura and her fling with the village gypsy boy; the fourth is the life of Segura himself.

They are all well told stories and tremendously atmospheric and inventive (perhaps the gypsy boy idea is a bit naff) but they don't form a continuous narrative or fit together in plot terms except very slightly. As a result you are either left thinking this is a sublime work of a master with a sinuous substructure that shapes the meaning of the work or, like me, you are baffled. Because I've been told on the back cover that the writer is a genius I found myself with an emperor's new clothes kind of feeling, but I'm not quite brave enough to be the little boy who says this work is naked. Nonetheless I will go as far as the book ends up being Literature rather than a great read.

Everything is collage, 21 Jul 2008
Michael Ondaatje writes in his new novel, "[T]here is the hidden presence of others in us, even those we have known briefly. We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border that we cross." At one level "Divisadero" is such a collage, spreading scenarios across more than one hundred years and several continents. Initially seemingly disconnected events and individual stories are nevertheless intertwined in some way. They converge around Anna, the anchor in the narrative who brings the different segments together. At another level, Ondaatje's exquisitely written novel is about recurring themes of identity, love, loss and pain, and the potentially healing power of passing time and remembrance. Completely absorbing, I found it deeply moving and enriching. A book to be read more than once to be fully appreciated in composition and content.

A certain mystique surrounds the title; its varied possible interpretations find their echo in the structure of the novel and the personal histories of the protagonists. According to Anna "divisadero" means "to divide" and also "to gaze at from afar". A pivotal experience at some point in each protagonist's life has broken its continuity, resulting in a major change or split in their life from then on. Some inner consolidation may be achieved as time allows for re-examination of the past and discovering of similarities in others. Ondaatje uses different voices and perspectives to bring to the reader more than one linear narrative. The novel's structure also reminded me of a musical composition: across the distinct 'movements' themes are nonetheless recurring, and innocuous motifs, such as the shards of glass, can take on symbolic character in their repetition; parallels in the protagonists' lives are slowly revealed and linkages established. With each reiteration, new aspects of the story are introduced for the reader to explore.

The actual plot can be summarized very quickly. It is evidently not Ondaatje's primary motivation for writing "Divisadero". His interest clearly lies in exploring the essence of his characters, their feelings and sensuality, their interaction with others and their physical environments and finally, their ability to recover (or not) from deep trauma. A widower raises his daughter, Anna, and adopts an orphan girl, Claire, born on the same day, as a pseudo twin sister for her. Coop, son of a local farm hand, also an orphan, is added to the small family. When the girls are sixteen, a devastating event abruptly ends the until then mostly idyllic life in rural northern California. They break apart, each coping in a different way with what they experienced. "The raw truth of an incident never ends" Anna reflects later on. Claire's and Coop's stories are interleafed with Anna's. Coop's character, in particular, is expertly drawn, as he lives out the challenges of his youth.

We meet "Anna" again, living in Southern France, as a biographer, researching the life of Lucien Seguro, a little known author who lived there nearly a century ago. She has since shed her name and former identity. Her life becomes indirectly linked to the writer she studies, in part through Rafael, who was connected to Lucien in a similar vein that Coop was connected to Anna's family. While the narrative switches to Seguro's life, his coming of age and the people surrounding him, we are led to make connections, see parallels. Ondaatje's sensitive exploration of the growing fondness between Lucien and his young neighbour, Marie-Neige, is one of the most touching and haunting love stories one can imagine. Comparisons are invited between Anna's life and Lucien's. At every stage, though, Ondaatje leaves us guessing who the narrator is. Is everything written by Anna? Nietzsche's "We have art, so that we shall not be destroyed by the truth", is initially introduced by Anna on page one of the novel, and later repeated. While we are receiving signals that Anna's recollections may not be necessarily the only version of the truth, Ondaatje leaves the question open to interpretation. In a wider sense, encompassing the whole novel, there are hints of an "invented life" - to make it less painful and to come to terms with her abandonment of her sister and Coop in a time of crisis. The beginning is in the end completing the collage created. [Friederike Knabe]

Under-rated genius, 16 Jul 2008
No-one weaves together disparate lives like Ondaatje. He is as assured exploring the world of disaffected America, as he is writing of French poets. His exploration of creativity, family and self-destruction is compelling. I have been surprised by the lack of acclaim for this novel - although its themes are challenging, it is a gripping read.


Dissapointing , 17 Mar 2008
Having greatly enjoyed Anil's Ghost and The English Patient the prospect of settling down for the afternnoon with Ondaatje's latest offering was an exciting one. Unfortunately this sense of excitement quickly dissipated as I was struck by the diminishment of talent on display in his latest novel.

Strip away the polish of his prose, and the foundations of the plot have all the originality of a Mills and Boon classic: forbidden romance between a farm hand and a delicate french speaking foundling , coitus interruptus by a freak ice storm, rounded off by a violent Oedipal struggle. Then enter our new love interest: the guitar playing Provencal gypsy son of a thief and a tarot card reader. Oh and just in case he wasn't already enough of a housewife's favourite lets not forget to mention the fact that he's a surprisingly gentle lover who can whip up a mean beef stew with the wild herbs he keeps handy in his top pocket..... It was at this point in the book that I began to wonder who Ondaatje had in mind to play Rafael in the movie...

Even the most cliched plot structure can of course be rendered original if viewed through a fresh philosphical or thematic lens. Divisadero certainly has pretensions of being a philosophical novel. Regrettably, however, pretension is the novel's only significant organisational system. The references to Collette, Nabokov et al are heavy handed and do nothing to deepen our understanding of either life or Ondaatje's book.

There are those who have criticised Divisadero's "lopsided arrangement". Aside from the occasional failings in logic mentioned in one or two of the reviews above, the novels' fragmented structure is in fact one of its more compelling features. Life is afer all often lopsided: and in reflecting this Divisadero does begin to take aim at realism. The biggest flaw in Ondaatje's attempt to make a profound statement about the human condition is his unrelenting humourlessness. Even in its bleakest moments, life will often proffer us the succour of laughter. Colette knew this; Nabokov knew this; who knows, perhaps even 'Lucien Segura' knew this. but what is clear is that Ondaatje does not. The only time Ondaatje managed to raise so much as a chuckle from this reader was when his self indulgence finally spiralled out of control, as he (and his seriously remiss editor) see fit to compare life's repetitions to a villanelle.








Utterly absorbing., 12 Jul 2008
This is a beautifully written book with timeless appeal and I can't recommend it highly enough. The English Patient draws the reader into a world that after a while appears to consist of only four people as they learn to love and live with each other. Each character adds another dimension to the microcosm created in a secluded Italian villa, but set against the vividly described past lives of the patient himself and his new companions. Having watched the film many years ago I was intrigued to see how the book differed. Ondaatje's rich and poetic language was thoroughly absorbing and now I find the film doesn't really do it justice. If you have seen the film and weren't impressed, please don't be put off as this book is one of the best I've read in a long time.

Poetry as prose, 28 May 2008
This is one of the most beautiful books ever written. I dipped into it recently (having read it twice on the past several years) and the quality and beauty of the prose left me staggered at what can be done with the English language. The descriptions put you right into the location with the characters, from Kip in a crater defusing a bomb, to the eponymous patient in the desert.

One of the cleverest things about it is the way that we become acquainted with the characters as they would have got to know one another: in fits and starts, without chronology. They are built up layer by layer, incident by incident. They become visible in the mind's eye. Not only that, but we see the world through their eyes: the image of Kip lighting flares and swinging in space to look at the paintings inside the domes of churches is magical - and I'm not sure Ondaatje could have written it had he not come at Western culture from the East, born as he was into the Ceylon Burgher community.

The plot is complex, the characters are complex, the prose is amongst the best you will ever read. Now and then the switches of time and location will leave you gasping, as you turn the page expecting to read more about one of the characters, only to find yourself dropped into another part of the story.

The only thing that puzzled me was the persistent survival of the patient: that anyone so badly burned could survive so long seems illogical. Aside from that, I thought it was a perfect book about loss and longing, and written with almost implausible talent and skill. Ondaatje is a poet as well as a novelist, and that is very obvious in the pages of this story.

not bad, nothing like the film though., 18 Apr 2008
I watched the film and thought it was brilliant so I read the book and was disappointed. It is written beautifully but it was just so different to what I expected.

SPOILERS

The main story is all about Kip, then Hana and then their relationship, the actual English patient features very little throughout the book to the point that I was wondering why the book is called The English Patient. His relationship with Katherine only takes up a few pages.

It is a good book and I liked the story but if you've seen the film first, don't expect much of it to be in this book. I actually prefered the film.

Sublime., 13 Apr 2008
I picked this book up after watching the film on television, and read it in a day.
The English Patient is not only the story of the burned "English Patient" and his tragic love affair with the wife of a colleague, but the stories of Hana, a nurse who is caring for him, a crippled thief, David Caravaggio, and a Sikh, Kip, who is part of a bomb-disposal unit, drawn together in an old bombed hospital in Italy.
The story switches between these characters; we are allowed into the minds of all of them, and hear their stories. The book is written in beautiful, evocative prose, reading almost like a poem rather than a novel, but never descending into the region of overly descriptiveness and boring the reader.
As for a comparison to the film; I think it's much more interesting. For a start, there isn't so much focus on the love affair between Almasy and Katherine Clifton; we are allowed to see much deeper into the stories of the other characters.
In short, the prose is breathtakingly beautiful, and is held together by an entertaining and emotional plot. If you have not read this book already, do so.

A beautiful book, 23 Jul 2007
See the film, but do read the book, as both are just magnificent.
I especially like the character, Kip. the Indian sapper, who listens to music while defusing bombs: 'Noise did not matter. There would be no faint tickings or clickings to signal danger on this kind of bomb. The distraction of music helped him towards clear thought, to the possible forms of structure in the mine, to the personality that had laid the city of threads and then poured wet concrete over it'.

There is so much in this book: Romance; the beauty of the desert; a spy story; archaeology; and much more below the surface.

Poetry and pain., 28 Nov 2007
This is a difficult novel to classify given that it has a barely coherent plot. I'd say it was more a collection of vignettes that sometimes bounce off each other and intersect at times. If you're expecting a novel in the classic sense, then this isn't it.

If, however, you appreciate great writing, great human insight and a novel which will resonate with you, then pick it up immediately. In my opinion, the distinguishing characteristic a great novel is resonance, and this has it in spades. Unfortunately, I believe resonance is a very personal thing, and indeed, somewhat illusory. It's therefore not easy to describe why it has resonance (it just does, ok!)

I found this to be a far better novel then the sequel (The English Patient). It's almost a hymn to workers, lovers....and people. It's a simple, yet mesmerizing piece about how people live and love, with prose that is so delicate, you think that if you were to speak it out loud, it'd disappear.

All I can say is read it! I think it is the best novel I've ever read.



A very "difficult" book, 25 Apr 2005
In saying this I'm probably going to be on a few peoples hit list but I found this book on the whole a fragmented and frankly quite boring affair. The entirely narrative structure of the novel destroys any notion of story and as a writing technique is sadly very poorly executed in this particular case. That is not to say the book is totally without merit as there are flashes of brilliance but unfortunately these were merely highlights that did little to shake my apathy whilst reading what turned out to be a very "difficult" book.

Poetic ode to labour and love, 04 Mar 2005
I read 'The English Patient' some years ago and enjoyed it immensely, prompting me to buy this earlier work. Regrettably, I buy more books than I get around to reading (I can't be the only culprit...), but I am so, so pleased that I've finally got around to reading this wonderful book...

In the Skin of a Lion is set in Canada, moving between rural Ontario and Toronto, and primarily charts the life of Patrick Lewis from the turn of the twentieth century to the late 1930s. However, the novel is not as structurally straight-forward as this suggests, as some of the chapters focus heavily on two of the three other main male characters. Nonetheless, Ondaatje hints within the novel that there is a structure, and indeed there is order and interconnectedness between the stories of these three mens' lives.

Ondaatje employs strong, physical descriptive language to honour the labours, particularly of migrant groups such as Macedonians, that shaped modern Canada - logging; dynamiting; cattle-herding; bridge-building and dam construction: the realistic and evocative writing on this range of human endeavours must have required a lot of research.

The novel also includes three intriguing, strong-willed female characters: radio actress and love of Patrick's life (despite many formidable hurdles) Clara Dickens; her best friend, Alice Gull, and Alice's daughter, Hana. Beautifully-crafted, poetic language describes the relationships that evolve over the years, and both the stories and language are a genuine delight for the reader to savour.

Monumental, 13 Oct 2000
This book is an explosion of language, a clever plot and an engrossing account of the hard lives of tender people. If you love language and are invigorated by story telling of the highest order, read this as soon as you can.

The best book ever written?, 05 Mar 2000
Michael Ondaatje (best known for The English Patient) writes a faultless novel looking at ordinary people in a most extraordinary way. The myriad of characters in this novel bring together many aspects of human nature and in doing so show one shared characteristic, survival. They all all survive in one way or another, whether it be because of the birth of a child or because they are caught whilst falling from a bridge the (ordinary?) humans in this book survive. It is a book about learning, about dreaming and ultimately about life. Ondaatje brings all these aspects of human nature together bound in exquisite language and genuine feeling. Is this the best book ever written? I believe so.

Anil's Ghost is Michael Ondaatje's eagerly awaited follow-up to his classic Booker prize-winning novel The English Patient. Drawing on Ondaatje's own Sri Lankan heritage, wonderfully explored in his travel narrative Running in the Family, Anil's Ghost is located in contemporary Sri Lanka, in the midst of interminable internecine civil war between government forces, separatist Tamils and antigovernment insurgents.

The novel's action revolves around Anil Tissera, a young forensic anthropologist, born in Sri Lanka but educated in Europe and America, who "had courted foreignness", and "was at ease whether on the Bakerloo line or on the highways around Santa Fe". Anil returns to the country of her birth after 15 years on a United Nations sponsored investigation into the escalating number of politically motivated murders engulfing the island. As Anil begins to realise the scale of the murder and horror which her investigations reveal, it becomes clear that "the darkest Greek tragedies were innocent compared with what was happening here". She reluctantly teams up with Sarath Diyasena, "the archaeologist selected by the government" to investigate a particularly sensitive murder; skeletons discovered buried in the Bandarawela caves, one of the most archaeologically sensitive sites in the entire country. One skeleton in particular fascinates both Anil and Sarath. Simply known as "Sailor", the quest for the skeleton's identity sucks both Anil and Sarath into the terrifying heart of darkness which makes up contemporary Sri Lankan politics. Ondaatje reflects upon the ancient history of Sri Lanka through the fragments of history and identity that Anil and Sarath uphold in the face of the murder and chaos which surrounds them.

Although Anil's Ghost is a poetic and beautifully written book, it is also a tough, uncompromising and brave novel about a terrifying conflict that the world has chosen to ignore. --Jerry Brotton

Divided we fail, 04 Nov 2008
This is one of the worst books I have read in many a long year. It is not a novel at all but a collection of four or five short stories thinly connected by spurious and superficial links. There is no structure to the book whatsoever. It rambles from period to period without explanation. The characters have no substance. we know no more about them at the end of the book than at the beginning. The farm scene was interesting; so was the gambling but so what - it took us nowhere. Almost half of the book was about a late 19th early 20th century writer but why? Nothing is explained except the loose connection between him and a researcher. But how did Anne become a literary researcher? She ran away from home at sixteen with no money or graduation qualifications. How did she get into University at all, let alone becoming a researcher - no explanation is given. For that matter why did Lucien become a writer? No clue is provided in this short and underwritten book. Words are strung together interminably, many of them highly pretentious. I can only presume that this was written as a contractual obligation. It has no literary merit. For a writer with serious pretensions it is a disgrace

Great Literature but not a Great Read, 11 Oct 2008
When I first started reading I thought, Yowzer! This is really great stuff. Brilliant, but not intrusive, writing combined with intriguing characters, moody setting and a plot line full of possibilities. The first few chapters are late-night page turning fodder. However sadly, by the end of the book, I was left wondering what it was all about; as the plot and characters dissolved into four separate stories all left hanging in the air.

The first of these concerns three children, Anne, Claire and Coop growing up in a one parent family on a Californian ranch. The family is ripped apart by violence and story one ends. The second story concerns grown-up Coop's life as a professional poker player where he meets up with Claire but loses his memory. The third story concerns Anne undertaking research in France on an author called Lucien Segura and her fling with the village gypsy boy; the fourth is the life of Segura himself.

They are all well told stories and tremendously atmospheric and inventive (perhaps the gypsy boy idea is a bit naff) but they don't form a continuous narrative or fit together in plot terms except very slightly. As a result you are either left thinking this is a sublime work of a master with a sinuous substructure that shapes the meaning of the work or, like me, you are baffled. Because I've been told on the back cover that the writer is a genius I found myself with an emperor's new clothes kind of feeling, but I'm not quite brave enough to be the little boy who says this work is naked. Nonetheless I will go as far as the book ends up being Literature rather than a great read.

Everything is collage, 21 Jul 2008
Michael Ondaatje writes in his new novel, "[T]here is the hidden presence of others in us, even those we have known briefly. We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border that we cross." At one level "Divisadero" is such a collage, spreading scenarios across more than one hundred years and several continents. Initially seemingly disconnected events and individual stories are nevertheless intertwined in some way. They converge around Anna, the anchor in the narrative who brings the different segments together. At another level, Ondaatje's exquisitely written novel is about recurring themes of identity, love, loss and pain, and the potentially healing power of passing time and remembrance. Completely absorbing, I found it deeply moving and enriching. A book to be read more than once to be fully appreciated in composition and content.

A certain mystique surrounds the title; its varied possible interpretations find their echo in the structure of the novel and the personal histories of the protagonists. According to Anna "divisadero" means "to divide" and also "to gaze at from afar". A pivotal experience at some point in each protagonist's life has broken its continuity, resulting in a major change or split in their life from then on. Some inner consolidation may be achieved as time allows for re-examination of the past and discovering of similarities in others. Ondaatje uses different voices and perspectives to bring to the reader more than one linear narrative. The novel's structure also reminded me of a musical composition: across the distinct 'movements' themes are nonetheless recurring, and innocuous motifs, such as the shards of glass, can take on symbolic character in their repetition; parallels in the protagonists' lives are slowly revealed and linkages established. With each reiteration, new aspects of the story are introduced for the reader to explore.

The actual plot can be summarized very quickly. It is evidently not Ondaatje's primary motivation for writing "Divisadero". His interest clearly lies in exploring the essence of his characters, their feelings and sensuality, their interaction with others and their physical environments and finally, their ability to recover (or not) from deep trauma. A widower raises his daughter, Anna, and adopts an orphan girl, Claire, born on the same day, as a pseudo twin sister for her. Coop, son of a local farm hand, also an orphan, is added to the small family. When the girls are sixteen, a devastating event abruptly ends the until then mostly idyllic life in rural northern California. They break apart, each coping in a different way with what they experienced. "The raw truth of an incident never ends" Anna reflects later on. Claire's and Coop's stories are interleafed with Anna's. Coop's character, in particular, is expertly drawn, as he lives out the challenges of his youth.

We meet "Anna" again, living in Southern France, as a biographer, researching the life of Lucien Seguro, a little known author who lived there nearly a century ago. She has since shed her name and former identity. Her life becomes indirectly linked to the writer she studies, in part through Rafael, who was connected to Lucien in a similar vein that Coop was connected to Anna's family. While the narrative switches to Seguro's life, his coming of age and the people surrounding him, we are led to make connections, see parallels. Ondaatje's sensitive exploration of the growing fondness between Lucien and his young neighbour, Marie-Neige, is one of the most touching and haunting love stories one can imagine. Comparisons are invited between Anna's life and Lucien's. At every stage, though, Ondaatje leaves us guessing who the narrator is. Is everything written by Anna? Nietzsche's "We have art, so that we shall not be destroyed by the truth", is initially introduced by Anna on page one of the novel, and later repeated. While we are receiving signals that Anna's recollections may not be necessarily the only version of the truth, Ondaatje leaves the question open to interpretation. In a wider sense, encompassing the whole novel, there are hints of an "invented life" - to make it less painful and to come to terms with her abandonment of her sister and Coop in a time of crisis. The beginning is in the end completing the collage created. [Friederike Knabe]

Under-rated genius, 16 Jul 2008
No-one weaves together disparate lives like Ondaatje. He is as assured exploring the world of disaffected America, as he is writing of French poets. His exploration of creativity, family and self-destruction is compelling. I have been surprised by the lack of acclaim for this novel - although its themes are challenging, it is a gripping read.


Dissapointing , 17 Mar 2008
Having greatly enjoyed Anil's Ghost and The English Patient the prospect of settling down for the afternnoon with Ondaatje's latest offering was an exciting one. Unfortunately this sense of excitement quickly dissipated as I was struck by the diminishment of talent on display in his latest novel.

Strip away the polish of his prose, and the foundations of the plot have all the originality of a Mills and Boon classic: forbidden romance between a farm hand and a delicate french speaking foundling , coitus interruptus by a freak ice storm, rounded off by a violent Oedipal struggle. Then enter our new love interest: the guitar playing Provencal gypsy son of a thief and a tarot card reader. Oh and just in case he wasn't already enough of a housewife's favourite lets not forget to mention the fact that he's a surprisingly gentle lover who can whip up a mean beef stew with the wild herbs he keeps handy in his top pocket..... It was at this point in the book that I began to wonder who Ondaatje had in mind to play Rafael in the movie...

Even the most cliched plot structure can of course be rendered original if viewed through a fresh philosphical or thematic lens. Divisadero certainly has pretensions of being a philosophical novel. Regrettably, however, pretension is the novel's only significant organisational system. The references to Collette, Nabokov et al are heavy handed and do nothing to deepen our understanding of either life or Ondaatje's book.

There are those who have criticised Divisadero's "lopsided arrangement". Aside from the occasional failings in logic mentioned in one or two of the reviews above, the novels' fragmented structure is in fact one of its more compelling features. Life is afer all often lopsided: and in reflecting this Divisadero does begin to take aim at realism. The biggest flaw in Ondaatje's attempt to make a profound statement about the human condition is his unrelenting humourlessness. Even in its bleakest moments, life will often proffer us the succour of laughter. Colette knew this; Nabokov knew this; who knows, perhaps even 'Lucien Segura' knew this. but what is clear is that Ondaatje does not. The only time Ondaatje managed to raise so much as a chuckle from this reader was when his self indulgence finally spiralled out of control, as he (and his seriously remiss editor) see fit to compare life's repetitions to a villanelle.








Utterly absorbing., 12 Jul 2008
This is a beautifully written book with timeless appeal and I can't recommend it highly enough. The English Patient draws the reader into a world that after a while appears to consist of only four people as they learn to love and live with each other. Each character adds another dimension to the microcosm created in a secluded Italian villa, but set against the vividly described past lives of the patient himself and his new companions. Having watched the film many years ago I was intrigued to see how the book differed. Ondaatje's rich and poetic language was thoroughly absorbing and now I find the film doesn't really do it justice. If you have seen the film and weren't impressed, please don't be put off as this book is one of the best I've read in a long time.

Poetry as prose, 28 May 2008
This is one of the most beautiful books ever written. I dipped into it recently (having read it twice on the past several years) and the quality and beauty of the prose left me staggered at what can be done with the English language. The descriptions put you right into the location with the characters, from Kip in a crater defusing a bomb, to the eponymous patient in the desert.

One of the cleverest things about it is the way that we become acquainted with the characters as they would have got to know one another: in fits and starts, without chronology. They are built up layer by layer, incident by incident. They become visible in the mind's eye. Not only that, but we see the world through their eyes: the image of Kip lighting flares and swinging in space to look at the paintings inside the domes of churches is magical - and I'm not sure Ondaatje could have written it had he not come at Western culture from the East, born as he was into the Ceylon Burgher community.

The plot is complex, the characters are complex, the prose is amongst the best you will ever read. Now and then the switches of time and location will leave you gasping, as you turn the page expecting to read more about one of the characters, only to find yourself dropped into another part of the story.

The only thing that puzzled me was the persistent survival of the patient: that anyone so badly burned could survive so long seems illogical. Aside from that, I thought it was a perfect book about loss and longing, and written with almost implausible talent and skill. Ondaatje is a poet as well as a novelist, and that is very obvious in the pages of this story.

not bad, nothing like the film though., 18 Apr 2008
I watched the film and thought it was brilliant so I read the book and was disappointed. It is written beautifully but it was just so different to what I expected.

SPOILERS

The main story is all about Kip, then Hana and then their relationship, the actual English patient features very little throughout the book to the point that I was wondering why the book is called The English Patient. His relationship with Katherine only takes up a few pages.

It is a good book and I liked the story but if you've seen the film first, don't expect much of it to be in this book. I actually prefered the film.

Sublime., 13 Apr 2008
I picked this book up after watching the film on television, and read it in a day.
The English Patient is not only the story of the burned "English Patient" and his tragic love affair with the wife of a colleague, but the stories of Hana, a nurse who is caring for him, a crippled thief, David Caravaggio, and a Sikh, Kip, who is part of a bomb-disposal unit, drawn together in an old bombed hospital in Italy.
The story switches between these characters; we are allowed into the minds of all of them, and hear their stories. The book is written in beautiful, evocative prose, reading almost like a poem rather than a novel, but never descending into the region of overly descriptiveness and boring the reader.
As for a comparison to the film; I think it's much more interesting. For a start, there isn't so much focus on the love affair between Almasy and Katherine Clifton; we are allowed to see much deeper into the stories of the other characters.
In short, the prose is breathtakingly beautiful, and is held together by an entertaining and emotional plot. If you have not read this book already, do so.

A beautiful book, 23 Jul 2007
See the film, but do read the book, as both are just magnificent.
I especially like the character, Kip. the Indian sapper, who listens to music while defusing bombs: 'Noise did not matter. There would be no faint tickings or clickings to signal danger on this kind of bomb. The distraction of music helped him towards clear thought, to the possible forms of structure in the mine, to the personality that had laid the city of threads and then poured wet concrete over it'.

There is so much in this book: Romance; the beauty of the desert; a spy story; archaeology; and much more below the surface.

Poetry and pain., 28 Nov 2007
This is a difficult novel to classify given that it has a barely coherent plot. I'd say it was more a collection of vignettes that sometimes bounce off each other and intersect at times. If you're expecting a novel in the classic sense, then this isn't it.

If, however, you appreciate great writing, great human insight and a novel which will resonate with you, then pick it up immediately. In my opinion, the distinguishing characteristic a great novel is resonance, and this has it in spades. Unfortunately, I believe resonance is a very personal thing, and indeed, somewhat illusory. It's therefore not easy to describe why it has resonance (it just does, ok!)

I found this to be a far better novel then the sequel (The English Patient). It's almost a hymn to workers, lovers....and people. It's a simple, yet mesmerizing piece about how people live and love, with prose that is so delicate, you think that if you were to speak it out loud, it'd disappear.

All I can say is read it! I think it is the best novel I've ever read.



A very "difficult" book, 25 Apr 2005
In saying this I'm probably going to be on a few peoples hit list but I found this book on the whole a fragmented and frankly quite boring affair. The entirely narrative structure of the novel destroys any notion of story and as a writing technique is sadly very poorly executed in this particular case. That is not to say the book is totally without merit as there are flashes of brilliance but unfortunately these were merely highlights that did little to shake my apathy whilst reading what turned out to be a very "difficult" book.

Poetic ode to labour and love, 04 Mar 2005
I read 'The English Patient' some years ago and enjoyed it immensely, prompting me to buy this earlier work. Regrettably, I buy more books than I get around to reading (I can't be the only culprit...), but I am so, so pleased that I've finally got around to reading this wonderful book...

In the Skin of a Lion is set in Canada, moving between rural Ontario and Toronto, and primarily charts the life of Patrick Lewis from the turn of the twentieth century to the late 1930s. However, the novel is not as structurally straight-forward as this suggests, as some of the chapters focus heavily on two of the three other main male characters. Nonetheless, Ondaatje hints within the novel that there is a structure, and indeed there is order and interconnectedness between the stories of these three mens' lives.

Ondaatje employs strong, physical descriptive language to honour the labours, particularly of migrant groups such as Macedonians, that shaped modern Canada - logging; dynamiting; cattle-herding; bridge-building and dam construction: the realistic and evocative writing on this range of human endeavours must have required a lot of research.

The novel also includes three intriguing, strong-willed female characters: radio actress and love of Patrick's life (despite many formidable hurdles) Clara Dickens; her best friend, Alice Gull, and Alice's daughter, Hana. Beautifully-crafted, poetic language describes the relationships that evolve over the years, and both the stories and language are a genuine delight for the reader to savour.

Monumental, 13 Oct 2000
This book is an explosion of language, a clever plot and an engrossing account of the hard lives of tender people. If you love language and are invigorated by story telling of the highest order, read this as soon as you can.

The best book ever written?, 05 Mar 2000
Michael Ondaatje (best known for The English Patient) writes a faultless novel looking at ordinary people in a most extraordinary way. The myriad of characters in this novel bring together many aspects of human nature and in doing so show one shared characteristic, survival. They all all survive in one way or another, whether it be because of the birth of a child or because they are caught whilst falling from a bridge the (ordinary?) humans in this book survive. It is a book about learning, about dreaming and ultimately about life. Ondaatje brings all these aspects of human nature together bound in exquisite language and genuine feeling. Is this the best book ever written? I believe so.

Past never leaves the present., 11 Nov 2008
An amazing book, thought-provoking, emotional and an insight into the problems in Sri Lanka.

A forensic scientist returns to her native country after a long time as part of an international human rights organisation. Anil is a strong woman trying to put a name to "sailor", a "fresh" body found in an old grave. Not only do we follow her story, but also see glimpses into the stories of other people, minor characters.

A most beautiful book, 02 Jan 2007
I have read Anil's Ghost twice and am looking forward to reading it again, as it is one of my favourite books of all time. The prose is beautiful and elegant, the characters intriguing and fascinating, and the insight into that troubled land of Sri Lanka and its complex history is so well done. I simply cannot understand those reviewers who did not like the book. It reads like poetry, and at the same time the story develops and grips you, to its tragic conclusion. The passage where the eyes of the statue of the Buddha are being painted is lyrical, and so visual one can see it all. A wonderful book.

An amazing book, 03 May 2004
This book is so powerful and yet so subtle in its power. The power , the passion and the sights and smells this book evokes are clear and sharp and strong . If you like to read books that mean something and make you feel and think and contemplate , this one is definitely worth reading

a frustrating disappointment, 17 Dec 2002
After watching the involving and original English Patient several years ago, I promised myself I would pick up one of Michael Ondaatje's novels and give them the service of reading rather than watching a screen adaptation. I was therefore greatly looking forward to the media-neglected subject matter of Anil's Ghost, concerning the decades of trouble experienced by the fearful and frustrated people of Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately, I found Ondaatje's prose arrogant, adjectively indulgent and disinvolving. The characters were mere shadows that were difficult to conceptualise let alone relate to, and by the end of the book, I could neither care less for their present situation or future fate. Vague literary meanderings and a schoolboy penchant for poor imagery were further irritating threads that ran through the novel. The history of Sri Lanka was briefly touched upon, and the merest educational glimpse of the horrors of Civil War gives the review an extra star.

A real disappointment and a wasted opportunity.

One of the Best I've ever read!, 27 Jun 2002
This book really makes you think about and describes vividly the situation as it was in Sri Lanka less than 10 years ago. A complex yet incredibly readable storyline grabs hold of your imagination and honestly made me look forward to picking it up again.
With fantastic discriptive throughout the book, I'd say its a must for anyone who is interested in the East or in the history and culture of Sri Lanka.

Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as the second world war ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of sheet lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

A book that binds readers of great literature, The English Patient secured the Booker Prize for author Ondaatje. The poet and novelist has also written In the Skin of a Lion, Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid; two collections of poems, The Cinnamon Peeler and There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do; and a memoir, Running in the Family.

Divided we fail, 04 Nov 2008
This is one of the worst books I have read in many a long year. It is not a novel at all but a collection of four or five short stories thinly connected by spurious and superficial links. There is no structure to the book whatsoever. It rambles from period to period without explanation. The characters have no substance. we know no more about them at the end of the book than at the beginning. The farm scene was interesting; so was the gambling but so what - it took us nowhere. Almost half of the book was about a late 19th early 20th century writer but why? Nothing is explained except the loose connection between him and a researcher. But how did Anne become a literary researcher? She ran away from home at sixteen with no money or graduation qualifications. How did she get into University at all, let alone becoming a researcher - no explanation is given. For that matter why did Lucien become a writer? No clue is provided in this short and underwritten book. Words are strung together interminably, many of them highly pretentious. I can only presume that this was written as a contractual obligation. It has no literary merit. For a writer with serious pretensions it is a disgrace

Great Literature but not a Great Read, 11 Oct 2008
When I first started reading I thought, Yowzer! This is really great stuff. Brilliant, but not intrusive, writing combined with intriguing characters, moody setting and a plot line full of possibilities. The first few chapters are late-night page turning fodder. However sadly, by the end of the book, I was left wondering what it was all about; as the plot and characters dissolved into four separate stories all left hanging in the air.

The first of these concerns three children, Anne, Claire and Coop growing up in a one parent family on a Californian ranch. The family is ripped apart by violence and story one ends. The second story concerns grown-up Coop's life as a professional poker player where he meets up with Claire but loses his memory. The third story concerns Anne undertaking research in France on an author called Lucien Segura and her fling with the village gypsy boy; the fourth is the life of Segura himself.

They are all well told stories and tremendously atmospheric and inventive (perhaps the gypsy boy idea is a bit naff) but they don't form a continuous narrative or fit together in plot terms except very slightly. As a result you are either left thinking this is a sublime work of a master with a sinuous substructure that shapes the meaning of the work or, like me, you are baffled. Because I've been told on the back cover that the writer is a genius I found myself with an emperor's new clothes kind of feeling, but I'm not quite brave enough to be the little boy who says this work is naked. Nonetheless I will go as far as the book ends up being Literature rather than a great read.

Everything is collage, 21 Jul 2008
Michael Ondaatje writes in his new novel, "[T]here is the hidden presence of others in us, even those we have known briefly. We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border that we cross." At one level "Divisadero" is such a collage, spreading scenarios across more than one hundred years and several continents. Initially seemingly disconnected events and individual stories are nevertheless intertwined in some way. They converge around Anna, the anchor in the narrative who brings the different segments together. At another level, Ondaatje's exquisitely written novel is about recurring themes of identity, love, loss and pain, and the potentially healing power of passing time and remembrance. Completely absorbing, I found it deeply moving and enriching. A book to be read more than once to be fully appreciated in composition and content.

A certain mystique surrounds the title; its varied possible interpretations find their echo in the structure of the novel and the personal histories of the protagonists. According to Anna "divisadero" means "to divide" and also "to gaze at from afar". A pivotal experience at some point in each protagonist's life has broken its continuity, resulting in a major change or split in their life from then on. Some inner consolidation may be achieved as time allows for re-examination of the past and discovering of similarities in others. Ondaatje uses different voices and perspectives to bring to the reader more than one linear narrative. The novel's structure also reminded me of a musical composition: across the distinct 'movements' themes are nonetheless recurring, and innocuous motifs, such as the shards of glass, can take on symbolic character in their repetition; parallels in the protagonists' lives are slowly revealed and linkages established. With each reiteration, new aspects of the story are introduced for the reader to explore.

The actual plot can be summarized very quickly. It is evidently not Ondaatje's primary motivation for writing "Divisadero". His interest clearly lies in exploring the essence of his characters, their feelings and sensuality, their interaction with others and their physical environments and finally, their ability to recover (or not) from deep trauma. A widower raises his daughter, Anna, and adopts an orphan girl, Claire, born on the same day, as a pseudo twin sister for her. Coop, son of a local farm hand, also an orphan, is added to the small family. When the girls are sixteen, a devastating event abruptly ends the until then mostly idyllic life in rural northern California. They break apart, each coping in a different way with what they experienced. "The raw truth of an incident never ends" Anna reflects later on. Claire's and Coop's stories are interleafed with Anna's. Coop's character, in particular, is expertly drawn, as he lives out the challenges of his youth.

We meet "Anna" again, living in Southern France, as a biographer, researching the life of Lucien Seguro, a little known author who lived there nearly a century ago. She has since shed her name and former identity. Her life becomes indirectly linked to the writer she studies, in part through Rafael, who was connected to Lucien in a similar vein that Coop was connected to Anna's family. While the narrative switches to Seguro's life, his coming of age and the people surrounding him, we are led to make connections, see parallels. Ondaatje's sensitive exploration of the growing fondness between Lucien and his young neighbour, Marie-Neige, is one of the most touching and haunting love stories one can imagine. Comparisons are invited between Anna's life and Lucien's. At every stage, though, Ondaatje leaves us guessing who the narrator is. Is everything written by Anna? Nietzsche's "We have art, so that we shall not be destroyed by the truth", is initially introduced by Anna on page one of the novel, and later repeated. While we are receiving signals that Anna's recollections may not be necessarily the only version of the truth, Ondaatje leaves the question open to interpretation. In a wider sense, encompassing the whole novel, there are hints of an "invented life" - to make it less painful and to come to terms with her abandonment of her sister and Coop in a time of crisis. The beginning is in the end completing the collage created. [Friederike Knabe]

Under-rated genius, 16 Jul 2008
No-one weaves together disparate lives like Ondaatje. He is as assured exploring the world of disaffected America, as he is writing of French poets. His exploration of creativity, family and self-destruction is compelling. I have been surprised by the lack of acclaim for this novel - although its themes are challenging, it is a gripping read.


Dissapointing , 17 Mar 2008
Having greatly enjoyed Anil's Ghost and The English Patient the prospect of settling down for the afternnoon with Ondaatje's latest offering was an exciting one. Unfortunately this sense of excitement quickly dissipated as I was struck by the diminishment of talent on display in his latest novel.

Strip away the polish of his prose, and the foundations of the plot have all the originality of a Mills and Boon classic: forbidden romance between a farm hand and a delicate french speaking foundling , coitus interruptus by a freak ice storm, rounded off by a violent Oedipal struggle. Then enter our new love interest: the guitar playing Provencal gypsy son of a thief and a tarot card reader. Oh and just in case he wasn't already enough of a housewife's favourite lets not forget to mention the fact that he's a surprisingly gentle lover who can whip up a mean beef stew with the wild herbs he keeps handy in his top pocket..... It was at this point in the book that I began to wonder who Ondaatje had in mind to play Rafael in the movie...

Even the most cliched plot structure can of course be rendered original if viewed through a fresh philosphical or thematic lens. Divisadero certainly has pretensions of being a philosophical novel. Regrettably, however, pretension is the novel's only significant organisational system. The references to Collette, Nabokov et al are heavy handed and do nothing to deepen our understanding of either life or Ondaatje's book.

There are those who have criticised Divisadero's "lopsided arrangement". Aside from the occasional failings in logic mentioned in one or two of the reviews above, the novels' fragmented structure is in fact one of its more compelling features. Life is afer all often lopsided: and in reflecting this Divisadero does begin to take aim at realism. The biggest flaw in Ondaatje's attempt to make a profound statement about the human condition is his unrelenting humourlessness. Even in its bleakest moments, life will often proffer us the succour of laughter. Colette knew this; Nabokov knew this; who knows, perhaps even 'Lucien Segura' knew this. but what is clear is that Ondaatje does not. The only time Ondaatje managed to raise so much as a chuckle from this reader was when his self indulgence finally spiralled out of control, as he (and his seriously remiss editor) see fit to compare life's repetitions to a villanelle.








Utterly absorbing., 12 Jul 2008
This is a beautifully written book with timeless appeal and I can't recommend it highly enough. The English Patient draws the reader into a world that after a while appears to consist of only four people as they learn to love and live with each other. Each character adds another dimension to the microcosm created in a secluded Italian villa, but set against the vividly described past lives of the patient himself and his new companions. Having watched the film many years ago I was intrigued to see how the book differed. Ondaatje's rich and poetic language was thoroughly absorbing and now I find the film doesn't really do it justice. If you have seen the film and weren't impressed, please don't be put off as this book is one of the best I've read in a long time.

Poetry as prose, 28 May 2008
This is one of the most beautiful books ever written. I dipped into it recently (having read it twice on the past several years) and the quality and beauty of the prose left me staggered at what can be done with the English language. The descriptions put you right into the location with the characters, from Kip in a crater defusing a bomb, to the eponymous patient in the desert.

One of the cleverest things about it is the way that we become acquainted with the characters as they would have got to know one another: in fits and starts, without chronology. They are built up layer by layer, incident by incident. They become visible in the mind's eye. Not only that, but we see the world through their eyes: the image of Kip lighting flares and swinging in space to look at the paintings inside the domes of churches is magical - and I'm not sure Ondaatje could have written it had he not come at Western culture from the East, born as he was into the Ceylon Burgher community.

The plot is complex, the characters are complex, the prose is amongst the best you will ever read. Now and then the switches of time and location will leave you gasping, as you turn the page expecting to read more about one of the characters, only to find yourself dropped into another part of the story.

The only thing that puzzled me was the persistent survival of the patient: that anyone so badly burned could survive so long seems illogical. Aside from that, I thought it was a perfect book about loss and longing, and written with almost implausible talent and skill. Ondaatje is a poet as well as a novelist, and that is very obvious in the pages of this story.

not bad, nothing like the film though., 18 Apr 2008
I watched the film and thought it was brilliant so I read the book and was disappointed. It is written beautifully but it was just so different to what I expected.

SPOILERS

The main story is all about Kip, then Hana and then their relationship, the actual English patient features very little throughout the book to the point that I was wondering why the book is called The English Patient. His relationship with Katherine only takes up a few pages.

It is a good book and I liked the story but if you've seen the film first, don't expect much of it to be in this book. I actually prefered the film.

Sublime., 13 Apr 2008
I picked this book up after watching the film on television, and read it in a day.
The English Patient is not only the story of the burned "English Patient" and his tragic love affair with the wife of a colleague, but the stories of Hana, a nurse who is caring for him, a crippled thief, David Caravaggio, and a Sikh, Kip, who is part of a bomb-disposal unit, drawn together in an old bombed hospital in Italy.
The story switches between these characters; we are allowed into the minds of all of them, and hear their stories. The book is written in beautiful, evocative prose, reading almost like a poem rather than a novel, but never descending into the region of overly descriptiveness and boring the reader.
As for a comparison to the film; I think it's much more interesting. For a start, there isn't so much focus on the love affair between Almasy and Katherine Clifton; we are allowed to see much deeper into the stories of the other characters.
In short, the prose is breathtakingly beautiful, and is held together by an entertaining and emotional plot. If you have not read this book already, do so.

A beautiful book, 23 Jul 2007
See the film, but do read the book, as both are just magnificent.
I especially like the character, Kip. the Indian sapper, who listens to music while defusing bombs: 'Noise did not matter. There would be no faint tickings or clickings to signal danger on this kind of bomb. The distraction of music helped him towards clear thought, to the possible forms of structure in the mine, to the personality that had laid the city of threads and then poured wet concrete over it'.

There is so much in this book: Romance; the beauty of the desert; a spy story; archaeology; and much more below the surface.

Poetry and pain., 28 Nov 2007
This is a difficult novel to classify given that it has a barely coherent plot. I'd say it was more a collection of vignettes that sometimes bounce off each other and intersect at times. If you're expecting a novel in the classic sense, then this isn't it.

If, however, you appreciate great writing, great human insight and a novel which will resonate with you, then pick it up immediately. In my opinion, the distinguishing characteristic a great novel is resonance, and this has it in spades. Unfortunately, I believe resonance is a very personal thing, and indeed, somewhat illusory. It's therefore not easy to describe why it has resonance (it just does, ok!)

I found this to be a far better novel then the sequel (The English Patient). It's almost a hymn to workers, lovers....and people. It's a simple, yet mesmerizing piece about how people live and love, with prose that is so delicate, you think that if you were to speak it out loud, it'd disappear.

All I can say is read it! I think it is the best novel I've ever read.



A very "difficult" book, 25 Apr 2005
In saying this I'm probably going to be on a few peoples hit list but I found this book on the whole a fragmented and frankly quite boring affair. The entirely narrative structure of the novel destroys any notion of story and as a writing technique is sadly very poorly executed in this particular case. That is not to say the book is totally without merit as there are flashes of brilliance but unfortunately these were merely highlights that did little to shake my apathy whilst reading what turned out to be a very "difficult" book.

Poetic ode to labour and love, 04 Mar 2005
I read 'The English Patient' some years ago and enjoyed it immensely, prompting me to buy this earlier work. Regrettably, I buy more books than I get around to reading (I can't be the only culprit...), but I am so, so pleased that I've finally got around to reading this wonderful book...

In the Skin of a Lion is set in Canada, moving between rural Ontario and Toronto, and primarily charts the life of Patrick Lewis from the turn of the twentieth century to the late 1930s. However, the novel is not as structurally straight-forward as this suggests, as some of the chapters focus heavily on two of the three other main male characters. Nonetheless, Ondaatje hints within the novel that there is a structure, and indeed there is order and interconnectedness between the stories of these three mens' lives.

Ondaatje employs strong, physical descriptive language to honour the labours, particularly of migrant groups such as Macedonians, that shaped modern Canada - logging; dynamiting; cattle-herding; bridge-building and dam construction: the realistic and evocative writing on this range of human endeavours must have required a lot of research.

The novel also includes three intriguing, strong-willed female characters: radio actress and love of Patrick's life (despite many formidable hurdles) Clara Dickens; her best friend, Alice Gull, and Alice's daughter, Hana. Beautifully-crafted, poetic language describes the relationships that evolve over the years, and both the stories and language are a genuine delight for the reader to savour.

Monumental, 13 Oct 2000
This book is an explosion of language, a clever plot and an engrossing account of the hard lives of tender people. If you love language and are invigorated by story telling of the highest order, read this as soon as you can.

The best book ever written?, 05 Mar 2000
Michael Ondaatje (best known for The English Patient) writes a faultless novel looking at ordinary people in a most extraordinary way. The myriad of characters in this novel bring together many aspects of human nature and in doing so show one shared characteristic, survival. They all all survive in one way or another, whether it be because of the birth of a child or because they are caught whilst falling from a bridge the (ordinary?) humans in this book survive. It is a book about learning, about dreaming and ultimately about life. Ondaatje brings all these aspects of human nature together bound in exquisite language and genuine feeling. Is this the best book ever written? I believe so.

Past never leaves the present., 11 Nov 2008
An amazing book, thought-provoking, emotional and an insight into the problems in Sri Lanka.

A forensic scientist returns to her native country after a long time as part of an international human rights organisation. Anil is a strong woman trying to put a name to "sailor", a "fresh" body found in an old grave. Not only do we follow her story, but also see glimpses into the stories of other people, minor characters.

A most beautiful book, 02 Jan 2007
I have read Anil's Ghost twice and am looking forward to reading it again, as it is one of my favourite books of all time. The prose is beautiful and elegant, the characters intriguing and fascinating, and the insight into that troubled land of Sri Lanka and its complex history is so well done. I simply cannot understand those reviewers who did not like the book. It reads like poetry, and at the same time the story develops and grips you, to its tragic conclusion. The passage where the eyes of the statue of the Buddha are being painted is lyrical, and so visual one can see it all. A wonderful book.

An amazing book, 03 May 2004
This book is so powerful and yet so subtle in its power. The power , the passion and the sights and smells this book evokes are clear and sharp and strong . If you like to read books that mean something and make you feel and think and contemplate , this one is definitely worth reading

a frustrating disappointment, 17 Dec 2002
After watching the involving and original English Patient several years ago, I promised myself I would pick up one of Michael Ondaatje's novels and give them the service of reading rather than watching a screen adaptation. I was therefore greatly looking forward to the media-neglected subject matter of Anil's Ghost, concerning the decades of trouble experienced by the fearful and frustrated people of Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately, I found Ondaatje's prose arrogant, adjectively indulgent and disinvolving. The characters were mere shadows that were difficult to conceptualise let alone relate to, and by the end of the book, I could neither care less for their present situation or future fate. Vague literary meanderings and a schoolboy penchant for poor imagery were further irritating threads that ran through the novel. The history of Sri Lanka was briefly touched upon, and the merest educational glimpse of the horrors of Civil War gives the review an extra star.

A real disappointment and a wasted opportunity.

One of the Best I've ever read!, 27 Jun 2002
This book really makes you think about and describes vividly the situation as it was in Sri Lanka less than 10 years ago. A complex yet incredibly readable storyline grabs hold of your imagination and honestly made me look forward to picking it up again.
With fantastic discriptive throughout the book, I'd say its a must for anyone who is interested in the East or in the history and culture of Sri Lanka.

Utterly absorbing., 12 Jul 2008
This is a beautifully written book with timeless appeal and I can't recommend it highly enough. The English Patient draws the reader into a world that after a while appears to consist of only four people as they learn to love and live with each other. Each character adds another dimension to the microcosm created in a secluded Italian villa, but set against the vividly described past lives of the patient himself and his new companions. Having watched the film many years ago I was intrigued to see how the book differed. Ondaatje's rich and poetic language was thoroughly absorbing and now I find the film doesn't really do it justice. If you have seen the film and weren't impressed, please don't be put off as this book is one of the best I've read in a long time.

Poetry as prose, 28 May 2008
This is one of the most beautiful books ever written. I dipped into it recently (having read it twice on the past several years) and the quality and beauty of the prose left me staggered at what can be done with the English language. The descriptions put you right into the location with the characters, from Kip in a crater defusing a bomb, to the eponymous patient in the desert.

One of the cleverest things about it is the way that we become acquainted with the characters as they would have got to know one another: in fits and starts, without chronology. They are built up layer by layer, incident by incident. They become visible in the mind's eye. Not only that, but we see the world through their eyes: the image of Kip lighting flares and swinging in space to look at the paintings inside the domes of churches is magical - and I'm not sure Ondaatje could have written it had he not come at Western culture from the East, born as he was into the Ceylon Burgher community.

The plot is complex, the characters are complex, the prose is amongst the best you will ever read. Now and then the switches of time and location will leave you gasping, as you turn the page expecting to read more about one of the characters, only to find yourself dropped into another part of the story.

The only thing that puzzled me was the persistent survival of the patient: that anyone so badly burned could survive so long seems illogical. Aside from that, I thought it was a perfect book about loss and longing, and written with almost implausible talent and skill. Ondaatje is a poet as well as a novelist, and that is very obvious in the pages of this story.

not bad, nothing like the film though., 18 Apr 2008
I watched the film and thought it was brilliant so I read the book and was disappointed. It is written beautifully but it was just so different to what I expected.

SPOILERS

The main story is all about Kip, then Hana and then their relationship, the actual English patient features very little throughout the book to the point that I was wondering why the book is called The English Patient. His relationship with Katherine only takes up a few pages.

It is a good book and I liked the story but if you've seen the film first, don't expect much of it to be in this book. I actually prefered the film.

Sublime., 13 Apr 2008
I picked this book up after watching the film on television, and read it in a day.
The English Patient is not only the story of the burned "English Patient" and his tragic love affair with the wife of a colleague, but the stories of Hana, a nurse who is caring for him, a crippled thief, David Caravaggio, and a Sikh, Kip, who is part of a bomb-disposal unit, drawn together in an old bombed hospital in Italy.
The story switches between these characters; we are allowed into the minds of all of them, and hear their stories. The book is written in beautiful, evocative prose, reading almost like a poem rather than a novel, but never descending into the region of overly descriptiveness and boring the reader.
As for a comparison to the film; I think it's much more interesting. For a start, there isn't so much focus on the love affair between Almasy and Katherine Clifton; we are allowed to see much deeper into the stories of the other characters.
In short, the prose is breathtakingly beautiful, and is held together by an entertaining and emotional plot. If you have not read this book already, do so.

A beautiful book, 23 Jul 2007
See the film, but do read the book, as both are just magnificent.
I especially like the character, Kip. the Indian sapper, who listens to music while defusing bombs: 'Noise did not matter. There would be no faint tickings or clickings to signal danger on this kind of bomb. The distraction of music helped him towards clear thought, to the possible forms of structure in the mine, to the personality that had laid the city of threads and then poured wet concrete over it'.

There is so much in this book: Romance; the beauty of the desert; a spy story; archaeology; and much more below the surface.

Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as the second world war ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of sheet lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

A book that binds readers of great literature, The English Patient secured the Booker Prize for author Ondaatje. The poet and novelist has also written In the Skin of a Lion, Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid; two collections of poems, The Cinnamon Peeler and There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do; and a memoir, Running in the Family.