The English Patient

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Summary: I read this book before there was a hint of a movie.
Review: I read this book without being biased by hearing about or seeing its epynymous movie, and I thought it was one of the three best books I've ever read (the other two are The Grapes of Wrath and Huckleberry Finn). It may seem strange to write a book about World War II now after so many others have been written, but after all, that event shaped our current society like no other. And, as I see it, the second world war resulted in the usurpation of Great Britain as the dominant world power. Even so, everyone still recognizes the British accent as commanding, although the face may be disfigured. That theme, coupled with the nurse's connection by gender to the nuns - who left the monastery providentially stocked - is deftly played upon by the nurse's alternating sensual attractions to the helpless/dominant English patient and to the assertive/effeminate bomb defuser. I recommend this book to anybody with a sense of recent history, good literature, and the intricacies of attraction and love.

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Summary: The English Patient is a haunting, elliptical masterpiece
Review: Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient is easily one of the finest novels that I have ever read. As a PhD candidate in literature, I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to read and analyze many fine works of literature. I can honestly say that this book ranks among the best. He skillfully weaves the narrative with flashback, slowly, inexorably drawing us into the lives of Hannah, Carvaggio, Kip, and Hannah's dying patient. With each little bit that one is given, one only wants to learn more. As the book ends, one is left with a sort of sadness that it has come to an end, but there is also a feeling of delicious enjoyment, like we have just enjoyed a sumptuous literary feast.

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Summary: Sensual: in more ways than one
Review: The English Patient is not for everyone, only for people who want to drown themselves in an opus of words. It is a love story, but it's about the love of desert solitude, of great art and sculpture and literature, of history, of defusing bombs, of stealing artfully, of caring for the dying, of old monasteries, of peoples and tribes and cultures, of passions, and, most of all, of friendship -- and about how love is destroyed by war, nationalism, conventions, and the madness of jealousy

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Summary: Pretentious "literature"
Review: I firmly believe that the purpose in writing is to convey information to others. Mr. Ondaatje seems to have a more obscure purpose. I found this book unclear, self-consciously arty, and populated with pointlessly enigmatic characters. I might have enjoyed the annotated Herodotus, so often referred to, but never presented. The diary of a man in love with the desert would surely have been more engaging and direct than the elliptical, pointless, yet painful relationships we have been shown

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Summary: A Major Disappointment!
Review: I am a lover of books and enjoy nothing more than a "good read." I was looking forward to reading this book prior to seeing the movie, and anticipated an "all-nighter" staying up until the book was finished. It is a small book, after all. I was SO disappointed to find it a boring, ponderous artsy-fartsy book which relies on stream of consciousness and endless narrative to tell an uninteresting story. There are very few books I find unable to finish, but I have put this down three or four times to read another book instead. Although I keep coming back to it to try to press onward to see what all the fuss is about, I find myself caring less and less. The characters are shallow and pretentious, and could use more development; the plot(s) entwine and separate but never engage the reader. Thumbs down!!

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Summary: Very different focus compared to the movie
Review: I had to say the book is not what I expected, but nevertheless it is an enjoyable read. I had anticipated more coverage on Ralph Fiennes character, and the romance with Kristin Scott Thomas, which is so memserising on screen. But the book has put more emphasis on Kip and Hana's relation. Apparently, given the background of the author, this is intented to be the major storyline. I think it is a pleasant read, the narrative part is excellent, but the movie treatment slight outshined the original

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Summary: an overrated novel
Review: "The English patient" won a prize and a number of favorable reviews;it inspired a film, equally well received (it won an Oscar, if that means anything ). I think both the novel and the film grossly overrated. The story is almost incredible; the characters are phony ( an Hungarian count in the desert?, a man really named Caravaggio?, an Indian that seems to be in the story just because the author is also one); two love stories not too engaging nor as romantic as the author seems to think they are. All this is dressed up with a WWII that loose any significance whatsoever, and seems to be there for the sake of melodrama; a desert that have little to do with the story, except to put an exotic touch ( and although very well filmed is put to shame by the desert filmed by David Lean in "Lawrence of Arabia").The book suggest permanently some kind of symbolism, but it escaped me, nor I felt interested enough to look for it. Worst of all, the story is told in a relentless "poetic" style, that sounds forced and sometimes kitsch.The "tragedy" is quite banal and operatic; and don't we all know that the nurse is not going to loose the Indian sapper as she lost all her loved ones in that damn war? Are there no more realistic, psycological credible and really humane and truthful novels somewhere to win prizes

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Summary: an unusual text gently prying into deep human feelings
Review: The English Patient is different from any other book that I have ever read. My moods changed with the story. I realised the impotrance of various things from each cahrecter, things that I had taken for granted earlier. Ondaatje shifts the story line from past to present with ease, and most of the time I could follow the shifts. The story begins with Hana, the young nurse in love with the English Patient, but with the arrival of Kip she begins to fall in love with him and(I feel) becomes a little disattached form the English Patient, though she stills cares for the English Patient. Caravaggio also encourages Hana's relationship with Kip from afar; not liking her obsession with the English Patient. Caravaggio's suspicion about the English Patient leads to the patient's revealing his love from his bygone days for a woman, and this helps Caravaggio numb his suspicions and in a way heals the Patient. The fate of the war changes the fate of these four charecters in a way they never imagined. This book is definetly worth checking out, it's one of the best books of all time.

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Summary: Ponderous
Review: Our Colorado Springs book group read this. Overall, we would not recommend it to anyone as a good read. Unfortunately, it was our first selection, because it did not start us off with a bang or much enthusiasm. Two of us could not even finish it and the rest of us found it to be trite, ponderous and a chore to read. The story line did not begin to get interesting until the mid-way point of the book. We felt that was a lot of work to ask of the reader. We all wondered what the raves were all about for this book and its screen play adaptation. If it is supposed to be a great love story, then we all missed it. The story line of the English patient's desert exploration and possible war time spy connection was more interesting than his affair with Katherine. Likewise, so was Caravaggio's war time life. Hana and Kip seemed to be nothing but shadow characters which was disappointing, especially, since the story starts off with Hana and leads you to believe that her life will be the focus of the story

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Summary: This is what gets awards in Hollywood?
Review: I began this book with a very open mind thinking that since it was given such grand reviews I would like it. WRONG! I kept reading thinking it would get better. When I finished it I thought, SO? I could not see how this could be made into one of the great love stories of the century. The characters were not fully developed, but I continued to read thinking I would eventually come to the great love story and I would become excited about the plot. It never came. The narrative by the English patient did not tell me of any great love. Just a fling behind the husband's back. I was very disappointed by this book