Michael Ondaatje

I finished Michael Ondaatje's "The Cat's Table" today. Gorgeous. He's an absolute master of prose, imo. Though he writes that the book is fiction, it reads almost as a mix of an autobiographical remembrance of a series of events (centered around a ship voyage from Ceylon to Britain when the protagonist is 11yo) & musings on how seemingly small events, chance encounters, & memories can alter the path of one's life. Part seems so real, so grounded in reality, yet much of the writing has the show more dreamy, hazy quality of memories from a long time ago, where you might wonder if you're remembering something as it happened or as you think or wanted it to happen. Some scathingly funny sections had me chuckling, while other sections were more somber & serious & had me musing....

Also, all through reading it, I kept thinking that if I could have someone who would write my diaries for me, capture a myriad of fleeting moments, I'd want Michael Ondaatje to be the one writing mine. (It doesn't matter that I don't keep a diary or a journal, or that it would be strange to have someone else putting my memories on paper through a mind meld or something; I would just want him writing, burnishing, perfecting these little life mosaics of mine.)

I will make note that I read his book "The English Patient" many years ago. While I adored his prose in that book, I didn't care for the story itself (at all). I'm so glad I gave him another try because I was just transported & blown away by "The Cat's Table". Loved it.

Gorgeous, luscious, & highly recommended. show less

I am rather late coming to this one. I have never seen the film adaptation so I was able to approach this book "sight unseen". A wonderful story and yet, so difficult to review. As with most character-driven stories, the pacing here is languid. Everything seems to happen at half speed, as if moving through liquid. The story is not designed to be rushed through. It is to be slowly savored. Ondaatje's prose is lush and sensual. Our four characters are windows into damaged souls of war-ravaged show more individuals, with each one seeking, in their own way, release/redemption and the courage to try and pick up the war shattered pieces of their lives.

Overall, a beautiful, haunting story set at the tail end of World War II. show less

In the last days of World War II, four broken people come together in the ruins of an Italian villa that recently served as both a German stronghold and an Allied hospital. One man, burned beyond recognition in the Egyptian desert, is being cared for by a young nurse who carries emotional scars of her own. A disfigured thief who was a friend of the nurse’s father and a British army sapper who remains obsessed with defusing unexploded bombs as he runs from his youth complete the unlikely show more quartet of protagonists. With lyrical prose and evocative images, The English Patient develops the tale of the moment in time between separate pasts and divergent futures when their lives come together for a while.

This is not linear story-telling, nor is it a book that should be read quickly. Rather, the novel shifts perspectives and time frames over a 15 year period to reveal its secrets in a gradual, languorous manner. Although other reviewers have criticized it as disjointed and confusing, I found the author’s writing style to be pitch-perfect; the characters have all suffered profound losses and traumas and their memories come to them when and how their cathartic healing processes allow. Indeed, Ondaatje has created an atmospheric, fully imagined world, artfully blending historical fact with his fiction.

I write this review after reading The English Patient for a second time, about 20 years after its publication. Of course, there is always a danger when you re-read a book you loved at an earlier stage of your life; the words on the page may not change, but the reader certainly does. In this case, though, I found even more to admire about the novel. Perhaps because I already knew the story this time—I have seen the movie now as well—it was easier for me to appreciate the subtle and graceful way that the author developed the main themes of enduring love, returning to life after tragedy, and the healing power of memory. I also saw that this was a poignant, bittersweet coming-of-age story for two of the characters, something I missed altogether before.

Overall, I found this to be an extraordinary novel, full of passages and imagery that were simply beautiful, sometimes heart-achingly so. The book swept me away to another time and place when I read it the first time and it did the same thing again two decades later. It so richly deserves all of the acclaim it has received over the years. show less

This is a hypnotizing book written in prose that alternately sounds like poetry and feels like a soft blues song. It is dirty, sweet, heartbreaking, and candid all at once. Ondaatje has masterfully woven a reality of his own around the few bare facts known about the jazz player Buddy Bolden, creating fiction that feels like nonfiction that reads like fiction. In the end, this a book about life and about art, and what both can mean separately or taken together. It's not a traditional novel, show more and it's got more than its share of darkness, so it isn't for everyone, but if you're looking for a book that brings on a New Orleans atmosphere and explores the world of an unknown artist who lives with each moment, this is a phenomenal read that effectively takes you back in time with graceful playful language. Truly, this is also by far the most sensuous novel I've ever read---Ondaatje is here aware of all five senses on every page, and he commits to writing each of them, subtly, so that this is sure to reach any reader with its language if not with its character. I recommend this work whole-heartedly. show less