The English Patient

Poetic and beautifully written, but I didn't like the ending. Currently having a debate with the hubby as to why it was done that way. Needless to say, I disagree with him.

Ondaatje is just a great writer. Totally different storyline than the movie.

I disliked the movie intensely enough to stop me from reading this book. I only picked it up because I'm on a quest to read all the Booker Prize winners, and I'm really glad that I did. It's a delicious read, with gorgeous prose, and everything set in the desert is fascinating, as is the convergence of cultures in the Italian villa, but there is a little too much convenience in the...more

I disliked the movie intensely enough to stop me from reading this book. I only picked it up because I'm on a quest to read all the Booker Prize winners, and I'm really glad that I did. It's a delicious read, with gorgeous prose, and everything set in the desert is fascinating, as is the convergence of cultures in the Italian villa, but there is a little too much convenience in the coincidences of the plot/set up, which continues to itch while reading, and one character, Caravaggio, seems entirely unnecessary. There is also the problem of the moral slipperiness of the novel; Almasy is a Nazi collaborator, even if it's for romantic reasons, and the argument that he's a man without borders (as are many of the desert explorers) seems facile. As an argument against imperialism, the book is more successful, but the English being worse than the Germans makes NO sense, as WW2 was all about Germany acting as an imperial force and setting the world on fire. I guess there was a parallel being made about England ravaging the rest of the world, and the West all being complicit, and it coming back on them when Germany was invading, but if that is the point, I'd like to see a deeper take on it - it seems mighty shallow in light of the threads of the novel and the lovely prose. Having said all that, I wish the novel was longer; I was thoroughly enthralled.   hide

If you like sweeping sagas, a doomed love, and exotic locations, this is your book.