The English Patient

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic adventure into the mind and spirit.
Review: This book reads like fine poetry. Yet, it still retains the necessary form that stiches together the memories of a dying man into the tragic story of forbidden love and the triumph of the spirit over a withering body. The story lazily follows the stories of several remarkable people before, during, and after World War II. Hanna is a young nurse who is embittered by a terrible war and finds sanctuary in the care of a mysterious war victim, who by a random occurance gains the title of the English Patient. By his side are Kip, an Indian bomb dismantler, and Caravaggio, a Canadian thief, both suffering from wounds on the exterior and interior. In the midst of their temporary home in an Italian villa floats their stories, each marked by extraordinary traits. As the English Patient drifts between their world and his own, each tendril of story slowly completes the complicated weave that Ondaatje has created. This book is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. I most strongly recommend it to anyone who wishes to experience, instead of read, a book.

Rating:
Summary: Mildly dissappointing
Review: I think a better title for the book should have been "Kip-the wary sapper." Ondaatje only devotes, at most, three chapters to the English Patient. The rest of the book is devoted to Kip, the bomb sapper. I honestly thought that the book would be about the title, but I was wrong. Although the book was written well, I was disappointed in it. I wanted to know more about the English Patient and his journey's through the desert. I would only recommed this book to others after informing them that it is about mainly about Kip.

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Summary: beauty, poetic and poignant
Review: drawn into the souls of the four discarded victims of war, my heart ached for every one. the author is a master of his craft. looking forward to reading more of his work.

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Summary: my favorite book
Review: the english patient is my favorite book for a million reasons. the writing is amazing. if you're looking to read quality writing, this is it. the book is so original in its style that it had me mesmerized. the third person narrative voice does justice to all the characters and the narrative voice of almasy creates haunting beauty on the page. this is a book with a complex story, incredible, three dimensional characters, and writing that is the best that i have ever read. the spiritual nuances are phenomenal. this is a book i have read time and time again and it touches me on a mental, emotional, and spiritual level. there are a few books that help complete a person. this is definitely one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Read it slowly
Review: Savor every single phrase. If you haven't read it yet, trust me and take as long as you can to finish it. Take your time, 'cause when it's over, you'll ache to have the experience of reading it back, to feel again. An indescribable wonder.

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Summary: I will try to watch the movie
Review: I am one of the few who have not seen the 'highly acclaimed' movie, but I must rent it soon in hopes of it explaining what the hell is going on in this book. This is the most boring book I have ever read and I am an avid reader. I have previously read "Coming through Slaughter", by Mr. Ondaatje and did not enjoy it either. Think of the book as a piece of jazz music. It goes all over the place and you either like that kind of thing or you just don't.

Rating:
Summary: There are not enough stars!
Review: Well, there would be more stars but they are all hidden by the sand!!! Read the book, comma, thought it was good, comma, then watched the film, comma, thought that was excellent, comma, brought the screenplay, comma, found that to be of a happy medium! then came to this page, full stop. Sometimes there just aren't enough stars . . . .

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Summary: Apparently not for everyone ...
Review: The numerous comments I've read on this page along the lines of "this book didn't make sense" and "where was the plot?" remind me of the time someone I knew finally got the chance to see "Cats" and was disappointed because there was no plot. Now, I am NOT a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, nor would I dare to insult Michael Ondaatje by comparing him with such a person (although I am a fan of T.S. Eliot). My point is that if you read novels only "for the story" you (a) are missing several whole other worlds that can be opened by really intelligent fiction, and (b) you should NOT try to read Michael Ondaatje. If, on the other hand, you are a lover of words, a reader (preferably à haute voix) of poetry, a dreamer; if your imagination runs away with you; if you have loved someone, not necessarily "romantically", but passionately at least once in your life; if you are not always in a hurry to get to the point; if you often talk to your best friends for hours about life, the universe, and everything ... then you will love this book. The love story, I can't say this enough times, is not the point (which is why I refuse to dignify the movie version, although it's not a bad movie, by comparing it to the novel); it's the convenient peg on which the whole beautiful web of mystery hangs. One of the things I love about Ondaatje's work is that he refuses to be confined to a single genre, and such is the case here: there are love story, a mystery or so, some war history, a lot of truly poetic word-painting, and a great deal of insight into the human condition, all woven seamlessly together in language that I always feel I should be reading aloud so as to slow myself down and savour its beauty. Oh, and read In the Skin of a Lion too, especially if you live in Toronto -- you'll get a whole new perspective on both The English Patient and the Bloor Viaduct, and I will say no more.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: Being of Sri Lankan origins, I chose South-Asian-Canadian Literature for my English seminar. I have not regreted my decision. I decided to read a novel by Michael Ondaatje, if I may add, a genius. I read the book in four days. It was a beautiful book that captivated me in thinking why we fight wars. The movie, which I saw immediately after, was much different and to tell the truth, I enjoyed the book more since there is a difference between what your imagination thinks and what Hollywood makes it to be. It is no wonder Ondaatje won the Booker prize and the movie won so many awards. From a teenage point of view, it is a magnificent book to read and romantic if you wish to watch it on the tube.

Rating:
Summary: Ondaatje's moment of brilliancy
Review: Ondaatje's works are too oblique and difficult to follow; only in The English Patient has he managed to insert enough understandable, sympathetic details to create a worthwhile novel. It transforms your view of the world, turning it into a glorious, magical place... but the story itself doesn't merit much.