Ondaatje, Michael "The English Patient" - 1992
I have read "Anil's Ghost" and "Warlight" by Michael Ondaatje both of which I really liked. I had been looking forward to reading this one for ages, so when I came across the book lately, I decided it was finally time to read it.
There might have been a reason why I didn't tackle it before. I was not as happy with it as I had been with the others. Maybe I should have stayed away from it because it received the Booker Prize, I rarely like those, and I have no idea why.
It was quite confusing at times. Who is the author talking about? At what time is he talking? Before the war? During the war? After the war? Are they in Italy or in Egypt, in Canada or India? And why is that English couple in the story? I know, I know, they met the English patient before but it still is weird, somehow it doesn't fit.
I saw a review where someone said the people in the book were not speaking like people in the 1940s. That might be one of the reasons, as well.
But what really bothered me was that you didn't really get to know the people very well, they remain shallow, trivial, superficial.
I might have enjoyed this more, had I not read and loved his other books and therefore expected a brilliant novel. This is an okay novel but that's all. So, I might wait a while until I read the next book by this author.
From the back cover:
"With unsettling beauty and intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an abandoned Italian villa at the end of World War II. The nurse Hana, exhausted by death, obsessively tends to her last surviving patient. Caravaggio, the thief, tries to reimagine who he is, now that his hands are hopelessly maimed. The Indian sapper Kip searches for hidden bombs in a landscape where nothing is safe but himself. And at the center of his labyrinth lies the English patient, nameless and hideously burned, a man who is both a riddle and a provocation to his companions - and whose memories of suffering, rescue, and betrayal illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightning."
I loved the film. Sometimes, I do find that the films are much clearer on the story than the book is. This seems to be one such case. While Martin lived in Italy, we visited the monastery in Tuscany where the they filmed the sequence of the patient. It is a magical place, and added something extra to the film.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the movie, but my grandmother did not. She lived through the war and thought the movie was too "clean." I read the book, but that was 30 years ago and I have to admit, I don't remember if I liked it or not.
Delete@Lisbeth. Thanks. I have only felt once that the movie was better than the book (Chocolat) but you might be right. Still, I'm not too much inclined to watch it.
Delete@Eva. A lot of people who lived during the war do not like to watch movies or read books about it. I can understand that. But I still believe films should be made and books be written on the topic because we can only learn from history if we know about it.
And if you don't remember the book, it must not have made too much of an impression on you, right?
My grandmother did read books about it, but she thought that the actors in the movie did not look like they were experiencing a war. I guess that is true -- I know I did not dislike the book and I know I read poems by Ondaatje and also attended a lecture by him, but again, nothing left a very deep impression. But maybe I was too young!
DeleteI'm sure she is right there, Eva. Even though they are great actors. I just checked because I wasn't sure, they received twelve Oscar nominations and were awarded nine. The Oscar people must have a very different opinion from us and your grandmother.
DeleteAs to your last comment, I don't think it has to do so much with age. I liked his other books, just not this one. And I'm not really into poetry.
DeleteMaybe a European experiences the movie differently than an American? I like some poetry, but not all.
DeleteProbably, or most certainly. But both the director and most of the actors are European, so ...
DeleteThere are some nice poems but, in general, I don't really enjoy reading a whole book with lots of them.
Oh, I agree: You cannot read poetry like you read a novel. One or two poems a day is enough.
DeleteMore than enough. ;)
DeleteI have 'The English Patient' & 'Warlight' in the Book Pile. I'll get around to them (probably) one day!
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Kitten. Little advice, start with "Warlight", it's definitely the better of the two.
DeleteI hated the movie they made of this book which is probably why I've never wanted to read it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the movie, Lark, but I'm not really surprised to hear from others that they didn't like either the movie or the book. Definitely not a book I am going to read again.
DeleteI started reading this one years ago and just couldn't get into it. I DNF'd it pretty soon after starting it if I remember right. Sorry it was such a disappointing read for you, especially when you liked other books by the author. Bummer!
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised, Susan. If you read the above comments, you will see that we are not the only ones who disliked it. And it happens from time to time. I am just happy this was not the first one by that author I read, I doubt I would have tried a second one.
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