Rating: 
Summary: Ondaatje's best work yet !
Review: The beauty of this book far surpasses that of The English Patient and The Skin Of A Lion. Michael Ondaatje captures the mysteries of the human experience in relation to the earth, the culture, and the soul, like few people can.
Rating: 
Summary: More gimmicky than powerful
Review: Here's a novel that starts off powerful and ends up trite. Mr. Ondaajte had the opportunity to write a novel about the important issues of his home country and instead chose to use it as a showcase for his typical prose in place of a actually using it to create a powerful story. The character of Anil was the most developed character that you wanted to hear more about. Instead, the author bogged down the story with show offy non-sequential characters that just watered down the story. Not a total failure but I expected better.
Rating:
Summary: The first classic of the 21st century?
Review: Thankfully, after the success of The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje did not feel the pressure to 'sell-out' or 'dumb-down' and spent 7 years carefully (and I mean CAREFULLY) crafting a very Ondaatje book - a poetic and gentle journey through the human experience. Under the shell of a dramatic story of war-crimes and governement cover-ups, Ondaatje tells us far more about human relationships and feelings of alienation. The book is full of metaphor and symbols but it is Ondaatje's slight of hand which allows it to sink in without being obvious. And all along there are the wonderfully imaginative and original scenes that few writers are able to come up with, cinematic-like moments that are never forgotten. Ondaatje has a truly original and distinctive voice and like seeing an old friend after a long absence the publication of Anil's Ghost is a wonderful reward for the long wait. A truly great and timeless book which will forever be considered one of the great modern novels.
Rating:
Summary: More of the Same
Review: What can be said about Ondaatje's prose? Here it is again, the disjointed storyline following disjointed characters. To say he is not able to weave such a difficult literary device undermines his craftsmanship and beauty. In the vein of "The English Patient" and "God Of Small Things" this is Ondaatje as a he always is; the consummate poet sewing his novel with a landscape as beautiful as his prose...but then again, he's done it better before.
Rating: 
Summary: ANIL'S GHOST
Review: AWESOME. Cleverly written to make the reader unable to put down the book. The story sticks with you in the beginning thru the end. This writer really knows how to write a book and I'm looking forward to pursuing other works.
Rating:
Summary: I Wish I Liked It More
Review: I'm not sure what to say about this book. I thought that the basic idea of it was very good. That's what pulled me in. But then...I don't know what happened. After the basic premise of the plot was introduced, it seemed like the author got tired of it. So he began another plot, and another. Most of these had something to do with the main story, but some of them I couldn't understand. And then at the end, all the loose ends were tied up, all the plots had climaxed, except for the main story with which the book had started in the first place. I wish I would have liked this book more, but it jumped around from plot to plot a lot and seemingly at random. I thought that the main plot-a forensic anthropoligist sent to her homeland to try to help solve a string of possible government murders-was excellent, and I loved Michael Ondaatje's poetic style. But that didn't seem to help the fact that I didn't understand what was going on half of the time. Maybe I just don't have enough background.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Although I was blown away by "The English Patient," I feel that "Anil's Ghost" is more cohesive and works better as a novel. Still, "Anil's Ghost" is not a straightforward and linear book, so it probably won't appeal to readers who like simpler, plot-oriented fare. Ondaatje is also a poet and has an amazing facility with language and emotional nuance. The book's structure is often associative rather than plot-driven, so it's as if the book was written as it was remembered or dreamed. Rather than any particular facts or events, his focus is on how those facts and events are remembered and perceived. I couldn't put this book down. Great work.
Rating:
Summary: Heartachingly Human
Review: Not sure which aspect to address about the book first: the inner landscapes of the characters, the anguish of the events described, or Ondaatje's uncanny skill in weaving words into beauty.
Each of Ondaatje's works explores an intuitive protagonist of great integrity who is placed in challenging circumstance. Perhaps it is the classic hero's journey. Perhaps these are characters who've reached the end of the journey and go beyond.
The setting for, _Anil's Ghost_ is civil war torn Sri Lanka. Anil, the protagonist, is sent in, as a forensic anthropologist for a human rights organization, to try and find some answers. Anil was born and raised in Sri Lanka, so this is also a return for her after many years away.
The book explores the insides of the characters, the way they interact with each other, and how they face the challenges of the unspeakably painful environment of domestic terrorism.
I sincerely recommend, _Anil's Ghost_ and any other book by stellar author Michael Ondaatje.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts strong and falls apart
Review: Anil is an interesting woman, and for the majority of the book, we follow her journey back to a Sri Lankan home that's recognizable, yet in some ways shockingly alien. Anil is intropective, but surprisingly numb. She seems disassociated from herself and her feelings.
Suddenly, the book turns into a heavy handed political statement. Anil is lost as the author takes a cheap and route to make a rather banal point, which just kills any legitimate emotional involvement. It's as if the first part of the book is something literary and interesting, while the ending goes for the simple sell.
Do not waste your time reading this dissappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Great background on Sri Lanka, poorly developed characters
Review: The story of a Western educated Sri-Lankan women who returns to her native land as a forensic anthropologist investigating murders of the skeletons she finds. I found it hard to truly relate to or care about the characters in this book. But it's an easy to read story and gave me some insight into the human rights abuses in Sri Lanka as well as descriptions of the landscape.
| 
