“She stands up in the garden where she has been working and looks into the distance. She has sensed a shift in the weather. There is another gust of wind, a buckle of noise in the air, and the tall cypresses sway.” Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
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Be patient. I’m sure you suffered through the movie. But the movie is not the book. There are whole plot lines missing in the movie. I think this book is about communication, storytelling, cultures, love and lies. I suppose most of the books I put in the Canada Day quiz are about lies of some form. Not sure what that says about the books I like, but ignoring that, the truth is The English Patient is a fine novel.
In case you missed the movie hype, the characters are a Canadian nurse and a Sikh bomb-disposal expert (who have a love affair), a thief turned spy, a man burnt beyond recognition, and the characters in the burnt man’s mind, in particular his love Katharine.
There are fantastic stories within the story, and lots of great quotes. Like “there are betrayals in war that are childlike compared with our human betrayals during peace.” I know out of context it drips melodrama, but I still like it.
I’m going to have to read this one again.