Rating: 
Summary: Well Written!
Review: This novel, written in extremely beautiful prose, is one of the most fascinating that I have ever read. It can only be described as dreamlike. It certainly deserved the Booker Prize.
Rating:
Summary: read the book first!
Review: The English Patient is my all time favorite movie, which people say is strange considering I'm only 14. Unfortunatly, I saw the movie before I read the book, which sort of spoiled the novel for me. If you are going to experience both, then I would definatly read the book first. Otherwise you will be dissapointed with the difference between the book and movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretentious and Contrived
Review: The book was contrived, contrived, contrived. I would never assume that one's personality could show itself so clearly in fiction. "Just read Ondaatje's notes in the back", I tell people. He constructs the novel from a bit of research and some letters. He already has the story in mind, he just needs to prop it up with historical background and a bit of authenticity. The story could have happened anywhere, really. Then he took it and tore it into pieces, mixed it up, so that the reading would not be so linear. This is a nice trick that makes story telling more compelling to the reader. And of course, a little bit of poetry at the top of each chapter is a nice touch. We don't know what it means, but make it vague so it seems deep and interesting. No wonder the characters are bereft of any life. I try to tell this to other readers, but it frustrates me all the more when they say it is a "beautiful" book. Given such a subjective response, how can one argue? Perhaps they mean beautiful imagery; I too can conjure up beautiful cliches. It doesn't help that a movie was made. I suspect that this is where most people's appreciation of the novel comes from. Nevertheless I liked the movie much better, for there was less to present that one could find fault in. And for all the terrible movies that do come out, The English Patient was sure to outshine them. As a footnote, I also suspect the historical "facts" that support the story. Without researching the facts myself, I could tell the story was slapped together on top of a few scant personal letters and what seem like references from a Time Magazine book on WWII. I don't like to be so critical, but when an author goes out of his way to insult the intelligence of the reader, I must respond. Ahh Ondaatje, you show yourself to be a true charlatan!
Rating:
Summary: A dreamscape.
Review: This book feels much like a dream, with bits and pieces of its various storylines falling into place over the length of the novel. The language is lovely, though frequently pretentious. It is full of contemplative observations and philosophical meanderings, along with the bits and pieces of the several plots. This is sometimes overdone. But the book nonetheless sets a beautifully dreamy atmosphere for the reader. I was not surprised to see criticism on the factual aspects of the book; the youth of the nurse, and several other bits and pieces of the novel struck me as rather "off". However, the human drama of the stories still holds merit.
Rating:
Summary: Factual errors abound, which rather spoils the story
Review: Mr Ondatje should have at least consulted the available WWII material about both the Canadian Army, and about the Italian Campaign. No basket case patient would have ever been sent from Egypt to the "front line" in Italy to be taken care of. He says the English Patient was transported by train from Cairo to Tunis, which couldn't even happen today, much less back then. His nurse turns 21 in 1945, after serving with the RCAMC since 1943, when she would have already graduated as a Nurse. That means she started nurse training at 14. The RCAMC did not even accept nurses until they were 21! His nurse simply refuses to leave when ordered to, as though that could happen in the military world. She finds an english language version of a J.F Cooper novel in the library of the Italian convent -not very likely. The sapper is shown to be about 300 km. north of the Allied battle line when he is on the beach of Mare Gabicce in May, 1944 (the allies were still trying to punch through the Gothic line in the Liri Valley). Even a high school essayist would be failed by his teacher for such blatant errors. What a co-incidence that the nurse should read Cooper to the patient. What a pity the author never read Mark Twain's celebrated essay on Cooper's rather similar stupidities of fact. What a pity the Governor-General's Award judges don't even bother to learn about the facts. They are NOT that hard to find! I think one star is generosity personified! Space permitting I could go on for pages about dim-witted errors of fact.
Rating:
Summary: rich imagery, but disappointing ending
Review: Ondaatje's style is flawless & poetic, but it would've been more interesting if he focused more on Katherine & Almasy rather than Kip & Hanna. Also, the ending was a bit weak.
Rating: 
Summary: A novel that is pure poetry
Review: What can i say? This book is like reading the most beautiful poem you can imagine. The English Patient transports you into different worlds- let's you experience feelings and sensations that would be impossible to find on your own. You will never look at things the same after you read this. It's plot is one of mystery, passion and life.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best-ever
Review: This is an incredible book. I won't describe the storyline because you'll hear that a million times in other reviews. What I will say however is that this is one incredible book, so full of beauty and foreboding that it will crumple the strongest of hearts. Somewhat overpowering imagery coincides with subtle, yet passionate character development to create a book extremely worthy of the booker prize and any other awards there are. A classic of literature, to be savored again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Be seduced by the craft.
Review: A strong and personal voice is all that can be asked of an author but it is rarely delivered. Ondaatje suceeds by weaving a lyrical novel in the traditions of Homer that merges modernism with classicism. One can only hope that those readers who read this book only because they enjoyed the movie (or were impressed by the number of awards it received) and were disappointed will be pleasantly suprised by the resonance of Ondaatje's images and prose that may come to haunt them when they return to more mainstream stylists. This is a book for readers who acknowledge the words they read but also a book that will seduce many who usually forge through sentences looking for the plot.
Rating:
Summary: Why else?
Review: For those of you who wonder why it is called The English Patient, I am wondering if you have ever taken the time to think about the novel. For example, perhaps it is thus called because Almasy is what links all three characters. Without him, or his past, Hana, Kip and Carvaggio would have no reason to be in that place together, and some of the central themes would be irrelevant. This is a beautifully woven book, and requires more than a simple read through, but even a simple read through is probably rewarding.
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