Point Books In Favor Of In the Skin of a Lion
Original Title: | In the Skin of a Lion |
ISBN: | 0679772669 (ISBN13: 9780679772668) |
Edition Language: | |
Setting: | Toronto, Ontario(Canada) Ontario(Canada) |
Literary Awards: | Trillium Book Award (1988), CBC Canada Reads (2002) |
Michael Ondaatje
Paperback | Pages: 256 pages Rating: 3.87 | 15273 Users | 968 Reviews
Mention Based On Books In the Skin of a Lion
Title | : | In the Skin of a Lion |
Author | : | Michael Ondaatje |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 256 pages |
Published | : | January 14th 1997 by Vintage (first published 1987) |
Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Canada. Historical. Historical Fiction. Literature. Canadian Literature |
Commentary As Books In the Skin of a Lion
Bristling with intelligence and shimmering with romance, this novel tests the boundary between history and myth. Patrick Lewis arrives in Toronto in the 1920s and earns his living searching for a vanished millionaire and tunneling beneath Lake Ontario. In the course of his adventures, Patrick's life intersects with those of characters who reappear in Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning The English Patient. 256 pp.Rating Based On Books In the Skin of a Lion
Ratings: 3.87 From 15273 Users | 968 ReviewsEvaluate Based On Books In the Skin of a Lion
I got through the first fifty or so pages solely because of the poetic language of this book. Otherwise I would have meandered my way, got lost somewhere, looked around for help, and finding none, tossed the book away. I am not a big fan of so many characters, so many voices, and so much happening in a book. But with this one I remained patient. And lord I'm I not grateful. It seems that I have been richly rewarded.This is book is set in Toronto in the '30s. And except for Patrick, the mainOndaatje is so talented. This is a slow, stunning read. I was lucky to read a good Turkish translation but would very much love to read the original again.
Its never a good sign when the first thing you do after finishing a book is to go to its Wikipedia page and scrutinize the plot summary for some hint of what happened.For some reason, I always choose to read a complex or very literary type of novel on what turn out to be my busiest weeks. When I started In the Skin of a Lion, I was neck-deep in my unit planning for my English instruction course. (I developed a unit for Grade 9s studying A Wizard of Earthsea.) Even my impressive ability to find
In the middle of this novel, Ondaatje writes:"The first sentence of every novel should be: "Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.'"And this seems to be Ondaatje's philosophy about his novels. I read this book because we are headed to Toronto at the end of August, and this was described to me as the "quintessential Toronto novel." However, I found myself scanning pages and anxiously hoping that I would get to the end. Not signs of a good novel for me!Some
An exalted language rendered simply. Ondaatje lays down on a wood grained table, an axe, fallen trees, a log jamb, explosives, the building of a bridge and a waterworks. The concrete tools of realism. As he speaks in his mesmerizing words his agile hands tent and curl, through the fingers arise images of a hallucinogenic prose. In short declarative sentences he calls forth the onset of a first LSD trip; the shock of boundaries melting away, the particles of the world slowed and oozing with
Its never a good sign when the first thing you do after finishing a book is to go to its Wikipedia page and scrutinize the plot summary for some hint of what happened.For some reason, I always choose to read a complex or very literary type of novel on what turn out to be my busiest weeks. When I started In the Skin of a Lion, I was neck-deep in my unit planning for my English instruction course. (I developed a unit for Grade 9s studying A Wizard of Earthsea.) Even my impressive ability to find
There were lots of levels of experiencing this novel. It was a hypnotic and powerful read by a wonderfully talented writer. That felt like 4 stars. While it never ever feels like youre reading description, at every moment you are not just immersed in but almost physically in a vigorous sensory experience of immediate place and physical experience. However, the characters felt less like full characters and more like holders of a point to make. And the plot unevenly held my interest. None of it
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