[books] Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient (1992)

Every once in a while, I read something that is NOT cyberpunk. This has been one of those times. The English Patient, which is now a major motion picture, is an evocative story about four lives intersecting in post-World War II Italy. The tale revolves around a young Canadian nurse named Hana, who has eschewed the retreat of her medical unit in order to care for a horribly burned soldier, the identity of whom is one of the central mysteries of the novel. She is joined eventually by a friend of the family and professional thief named Caravaggio, and a young Indian explosives expert named Kip.

While Hana is certainly the central character in terms of a reference point for the telling of the story, the English Patient is the source of the dramatic conflict throughout the book. As the four lives interact, his identity begins to unfold as he regains more of his memory. His tale provides a story within a story, which then goes on to affect each of the other three and how they relate to each other.

What struck me the most about Ondaatje's writing is his beautiful use of language. He paints vivid images of the central characters' lives in Italy, as well as the recollections of the English Patient's time in Northern Africa, and Kip's bomb disposal training in England. He takes a deceptively static situation, and injects it with a fire of interpersonal dynamics to create a masterful piece of work. If I had to compare the style to anyone, it would be Anne Rice, merely in terms of the strong imagery and effective use of retrospectives. The subject matter and the effect is entirely different, though, and entirely engaging. This was a very enjoyable book to read, and Ondaatje has certainly earned the accolades he has received, including the Booker Prize for this novel. If all books drew pictures as well as this one does, we wouldn't need movies, although I've heard that the movie version of The English Patient was also very well done.