The English Patient

Book Description

Critics

• Ways of being a man

  Can a penis sleep like a sea horse? The question arrests us on the first page of The English Patient: You are not logged in If you have already registered please login here If you are a subscriber using the site for the first time please register her ... (read full critics)

  lrb published on Mon, 6 Sep 2010

• Wraith’s Progress

  “The first sentence of every novel should be: ‘Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.’ Meander if you want to get to town.” This is Michael Ondaatje, adverting to his own craft in his novel In the Skin of a Lio ... (read full critics)

  nybooks published on Thu, 26 Aug 2010

7 Reviews

• 6 people find this helpful

  

  p.168
  'I just want you to know. I don't miss you yet.'
  His face awful to her, trying to smile. Her head sweeps away from him and hits the side of the gatepost. He sees it hurt her, notices the wince. But they have separated already into themselves now, they wall up at her insistence. Her jerk ... (continue)

  p.168
  'I just want you to know. I don't miss you yet.'
  His face awful to her, trying to smile. Her head sweeps away from him and hits the side of the gatepost. He sees it hurt her, notices the wince. But they have separated already into themselves now, they wall up at her insistence. Her jerk, her pain, is accidental, is intentional. Her hand is near her temple.
  'You will,' she says.

  p.172
  'Madox, what is the name of that hollow at the base of a woman's neck? At the front. Here. What is it, does it have an official name? That hollow about the size of an impress of you thumb?'
  Madox watches me for a moment through the noon glare.
  'Pull yourself together,' he mutters.

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  Artemisia said on Jun 6, 2010 | Add your feedback

• 2 people find this helpful

  

  "We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves."

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  garcia said on May 4, 2008 | Add your feedback

• 1 person find this helpful

  

  We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves.

  Con la calma, un po' per volta, a volte dimenticandolo, a volte senza ... (continue)

  We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves.

  Con la calma, un po' per volta, a volte dimenticandolo, a volte senza riuscire a staccarmene, a tratti leggendo di me stessa, a tratti leggendo di qualcuno che non capirò mai, l'ho finito.
  (Sempre un pensiero per Chiara, però).

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  Rosalie said on Oct 25, 2010 | 1 feedback

• 

  One of the best books I've ever read!

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  Elena Martin said on Nov 19, 2010 | Add your feedback

• 

  Amazon.co.uk Review
  Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as the second world war ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each i ... (continue)

  Amazon.co.uk Review
  Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as the second world war ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of sheet lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

  A challenging read as sometimes the storyline was difficult to follow but I perservered. Worth doing so because I loved the author's portrayal of the main characters.

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  Lindyloumac said on Sep 27, 2009 | Add your feedback

• 

  I heart English Patient

  I don't read a lot of fictions as I find people's real life and stories can be lot more interesting at times. But I just love English Patient to pieces. I think I saw the movie first and then I picked up the book and read it in one sitting or something crazy like that.

  I cried watching the mo ... (continue)

  I don't read a lot of fictions as I find people's real life and stories can be lot more interesting at times. But I just love English Patient to pieces. I think I saw the movie first and then I picked up the book and read it in one sitting or something crazy like that.

  I cried watching the movie and I cried reading the book. OK, so I cry easily. (smile)

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  Kempton said on Jun 20, 2007 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

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Book Details

• Rating:
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• English Books
• Paperback 305 Pages
• Edition: 1
• ISBN-10: 0679745203
• ISBN-13: 9780679745204
• Publisher: Vintage
• Pub date: Nov 30, 1993
• Dimensions: 1290 mm x 839 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Hardcover, Audio CD, Audio Cassette, Library Binding, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages 繁體書, Livres Français, Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Libri Italiani

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Groups with this in collection

• The Teacup Library (343)
• NY Times Notable Book Club (475)

Prices Change currency & sellers

ISBN	Edition	List	Sale	Seller
9780679745204	Paperback	$15.95	$11.48	bn.com
		--	$11.99	ebooks.com
		$15.95	$10.49	The Book Depository
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