The English Patient

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Summary: Absolutely the best
Review: Yesterday I finished "The English Patient" crying. Each page contains a gift like finding a $20 in your jacket pocket or a winning lottery ticket in a parking lot. Each page is an invitation to take a trip, write a letter, make a wish. I dreamed every night of sand, making love near an ocean, trapped in the airplane under the sand, cold, heat. I breathe sand at night, wake up feeling gritty. I started noticing the colors of people--at work, on the street. Pale men, dark men, dark women, smooth and rough and covered in sand. I eat olives, peel plums, lay in the dark on my back in the library and weep. And then I read "Coming Through Slaughter" and lost my mind further to the beauty of Ondaatje's voice

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Summary: A stunning work of literary fiction; extremely well-crafted
Review: This is one of the best literary fictions I've read in a long time; Ondaatje's work is illuminating, emotional, and touching. "The English Patient" is without a doubt virtuoso work--its depth of true character is second only to its masterful commentary on the postcolonial issues surrounding World War II. But don't be mislead--while the novel is partially concerned with war, it isn't strictly about war-- it's a book about people. I'm afraid to see the movie, as for me there is a law that the book is always better, though I'm sure the movie will be good. Suffice to say: read this book. Ondaatje will capture you.

Rating:
Summary: Poetically written. Stimulates the senses and emotions.
Review: This is the most poetically written book I've read in years. His writing stimulates the imagination and senses, taking you on the journey with him. You can feel the breezes, smell the smoke, taste the blood and tears. Highly stimulating and thought provoking. From the bombed out ruins of Europe to the tragedy and desperation of the desert, you encounter the emotions of the Englishman's existence. A must read for late nights.

Rating:
Summary: Deliciously complicated.A superb literary achievement.
Review: Michael Ondaatjee's "The English Patient" is a stunner. This writer is a master story teller. Be patient and pay attention to detail as the carefully woven plot is revealed. His is a style that is totally authentic, free of artifice and of any straining for effect.One of the most competent of contemporary Canadian authors.

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Summary: A quick, captivating read.
Review: I was originally drawn to this book, The English Patient, by a trailer I saw of the recent film adaptation. I thought the epheremal quality of the scenes, not to mention the actors and actresses, were good omens. I have found many films to be weaker than the books upon which they are based. So I bought the book. I read it in one night. The book was mesmerizing. The interweaving of character, milieu, and history was captivating and moving. I just saw the film yesterday. Although I admire all parties involved in its creation, it was not the same. The ending and plot were different and thus lent a completely different spin on the motivation of the characters. In addition, the ending is different and I believe not as potent. Ondaatje is a consummate storyteller. Although, sometimes I found his writing annoying. However, he captures the post-war feeling of emptiness with understated grace. I was nonetheless happy after finishing the novel. His characters grew. Betrayal and injury left scars, no doubt. But those same deceptions and traumas provided a common ground for growing. The end is therefore that much more disturbing. I recommend The English Patient. The language is not too difficult and the characters accessible. At least read Ondaatje's novel before you see Hollywood's view of a story about people after a war as an "eternal love story"

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Summary: Heart-Breaking, Unforgettable, Mesmerizing Love story
Review: I haven't finished the book yet..but I'm almost toward the end and I don't want to put down the book. It's very good and gets very interesting. I can't wait to see the movie yet. The authur tends to shift chronological orders from past to present to past and some times it's very hard to focus. But if you read this book with little patience, it's worth it.

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Summary: Brilliant throughout, but the ending seems contrived.
Review: Open the book and you are plunged into another world, peopled by shattered humans who will rouse you from the complacent present, and draw you inexorably to their world of suffering and (sometimes) redemption. Filled with incredible details, written with grace and knowledge, you cannot help but be caught up in the lives of these mysterious survivors. There is much to learn in these pages, and Ondaatje is a marvelous teacher. The story flows seamlessly along until the last few pages. There it unaccountably falls off track, into an incongruous jeremiad against racism, which contains a vital message, but seems artless and contrived. The ending in no way detracts from the grand achievement of the book, which will linger in your heart for years

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Summary: A novelist to remember; even if you can't pronounce it...
Review: I once worked in a thriving bookstore whose primary source of sales came from romance novels. I mean cheap, tawdry, breath- less stuff with Fabio on the cover; I couldn't bring myself to read more than two pages without laughing. It was a shame, too, because I'm as romantic as the next person. SO imagine my shock of delight when I ran across a REAL romance, with images that resonate as deep as an ocean, written in English that best represents the state of modern literature. Canadian Michael Ondaatje's lyrical and disturbing tale of four wounded lives at the close of World War II and the memories of loss and hope that flicker across the pages is a book to be read out loud, a book that inspires through its sheer force of poetry. It has all of the intrigue and wonder of a romance, but without the guilt; this is a tale of love for adults. Forget those nice little novellas about geriatric passion and read passages that can illuminate corners of your mind, those opinions that scoff at such silly matters as those of the heart. Ondaatje won England's Booker Prize (equivalent to our National Award or Pulitzer) for his work, and it was well-deserved. He doesn't condescend or cheapen emotions to snare an audience, instead he lets the story unfold in layers until we've come to learn more about these people: a nurse, a thief, a soldier, and a terribly disfigured English patient; as if we've lived along with them. A stunning, welcome example of the very best moder fiction has to offer. And... there's no bare-chested male models gracing the cover! "The English Patient," by Michael Ondaatje. Makes a great Xmas gift for the hopeless romantic in your life. (I hear it's being made into an epic film at the end of 1996, so you can be among the elect who can say how great the book was.)

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Summary: A Canadian nurse, an Italian thief, an Indian sapper, and a
Review: This was a Booker Prize winner (1992?). I was prepared to dislike it--seemed a little too introspective for my tastes (not to mention I usually avoid WWII stories). What a pleasant, if unsettling, surprise; this book is marvelous. The writing is sensuous, the characters dramatic, and the setting surreal. The book opens with Hana, the war-fatigued nurse, left behind (by her choice) after the evacuation of the Allies from Italy. She has seen so much death and so much devastation that she cannot move on with her fellow nurses. She throws away her uniform and cuts off her hair and settles in to finish the war in her own way. Hana is caring for a man she presumes is English, but who is so badly burned that he has no identifying features. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge of Bedouins and the desert; he quotes from Herodotus frequently, and he has thorough understanding political forces behind the war. He cannot move but is dependent on Hana to relieve his pain, feed him, and read endlessly to him. The Italian thief Carravaggio hears tell of the young nurse who refused to leave with the evacuees and realizes she is the daughter of a former friend; he joins her and the patient in the villa, initially out of concern for Hana's well being, and later stays out of compulsion to discover the identity of the patient (which he does). Incidentally, Carravaggio has had his thumbs cut off for theft and is a morphine addict. Kip, a Sikh sapper from Lahore, arrives to do his job--finding and defusing Nazi mines and bombs. He and Hana become romantically involved, but this touchingly described part of the book truly is an incidental part. Kip is so far from home, so young, and so confused about life that he immerses himself into his treacherous work. He compares much of his life to his job--what harm can lightening be, when he runs the risk of being blown up several times a day? He keeps himself isolated from the others as much as he can, to the point of sleeping in a tent outside, but like the other characters, he is dependent on the others to find himself. The story of each character is lovingly told; even the most gruesome vignettes are told with words to wrap yourself in and just roll around. And although nothing in this book could be classified as too pleasant, the book is immensely satisfying. I finished it with a modest "Oh, my!"

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting reading.
Review: I would advise people who want to read this book to take it slowly. Michael Ondaatje's unusual style of prose can make it very difficult reading. But once you get through it you are definitley home free. I really enjoyed it and advise people to open it up and enjoy.