The English Patient: A Review

i was at a second hand book shop and was browsing through the literature section when i came across this book. yes, the title is familiar, and it's written by Michael Ondaatje, whose novel Coming Through Slaughter we studied for 20th century literature class. well the price was good, so without anymore thoughts i bought the book. only when i was in the staffroom did i realised that the cover of the book might be a tad intimate. i asked my friend "is this provocative for our school?" she nodded vehemently with a grin "yes it is provocative". so i covered the book, which reminds of the days when i was in seri puteri (my students would roll their eyes and groan if they read this recollection of the days in seri puteri), when we used to cover our romance novels (banned in school) with white paper.

okay, back to the book. yes, it has an english patient. but the english patient, as immobile intelligent and cultured man as he is, is not the protagonist. in fact, the protagonists are his nurse, and the Sikh sapper who only makes his appearance in the book after a few pages. thus, he decentralises the role of protagonist from the assumption reader will deduce when reading the title.

ondaatje uses the technique of flashback skillfully, which gives a reader an intimate look into their lives. this is a sensual book, of how love is expressed not sexually, but through intimacy, and is understood and accepted unselfishly.

1 plus point, i like ondaatje's painting of words which he has done beautifully. there are beautiful phrases in the book, which i should mention later on (should i remember). this book won the man booker prize of 1992.