Customer Reviews

Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This short book is an excellent overview for people reading or studying The English Patient. I got it to help with an English/linguistics course with the novel as key text, and it has been very helpful to me. I found though that it was an interesting read in itself and in some cases gave me new insight into others of Ondaatje's books which I have read for pleasure rather than studying.
The first chapters are invaluable for providing a background to Ondaatje's work through his personal and academic history, as well as charting the development of the Canadian post-modern movement which provides much of the impetus behind Ondaatje's work. There are numerous and detailed references to his other works as well, which help in showing the development of the concerns and themes prevalent in The English Patient.
The section dealing with the narrative and thematic structure of the novel was exceptional - I make particular note of the section on intertextuality, where clear points and inferences are made about the relation between the novel and key intertexts such as Kim.
The section on the movie didn't seem to live up the promise - it would have been good to have seen more detail on the similarities and differences between the two texts, and the implications of some of the decisions Minghella made about changing the script.
All in all a good resource, but the detail on theory (e.g. post-modernism) may be irrelevant to high school students. There is also a comprehensive list of articles and websites for further reading.

This is not a sereis of books that I have seen before, so I don't know if any of the others are good, but this particular volume was very helpful. Short enough to get through in one sitting, it helped me get my thoughts together about The English Patient. I hadn't been sure how to approach it beforehand. I'll admit that once or twice the author lost me - it's a complex novel and his analysis of it is, at times, equally complicated. Ultimately it works, though. You get the impression that John Bolland would be a good teacher. Recommended, if you need help with this novel.

Of the three volumes I've looked at in this series, this is the only one I've found worth keeping. A major disappointment of these brief discussions is the failure to include a timeline summary--of either the narrative or the actions it contains. As a consequence, the usefulness of the commentary is limited to readers who are fresh from reading the novel.

All the same, Bolland brings lots of welcome information, helpful clarification, and fresh critical perspective to Ondaatje's major achievement. Moreover, his frequent reference to postcolonial theory and Foucault post-structuralism proves to enhance rather than obfuscate his discussion of the novel. Somewhat disappointing, however, is the author's decision to afford no more than 4 pages to the film, especially given its critical reputation and Ondaatje's keen interest in the project.