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Paperback The English Patient Book

ISBN: 0679745203

ISBN13: 9780679745204

The English Patient

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Format: Paperback

Condition: Very Good

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Book Overview

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER - NATIONAL BESTSELLER - The bestselling author of Warlight traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an abandoned Italian villa at the end of World War II. "A rare spellbinding web of dreams." --Time

The nurse Hana, exhausted by death, obsessively tends to her last surviving patient. Caravaggio, the thief, tries to reimagine who he is, now that his hands are hopelessly maimed. The Indian sapper Kip searches for hidden bombs in a landscape where nothing is safe but himself. And at the center of his labyrinth lies the English patient, nameless and hideously burned, a man who is both a riddle and a provocation to his companions--and whose memories of suffering, rescue, and betrayal illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightning.
More by Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje is the author of three previous novels, a memoir and eleven books of poetry. His novel The English Patient won the Booker Prize. Born in Sri Lanka, he moved to Canada in 1962 and now lives in Toronto.

Customer Reviews

8 customer ratings | 5 reviews

Rated 5 stars
Old School Passion & Filmmaking

I'm one of the people who was completely taken with THE ENGLISH PATIENT when I saw it in theatres, but was also amused when Elaine Benis on "Seinfeld" goofed on it later. Or, should I say, goofed on everyone who loved it. The non-linear story structure, the superb acting, the gorgeous photography, the unfolding mystery of what happened to the doomed couple--all of it hit me just right. While other people complained at the...

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Rated 5 stars
A poetic tale of four haunted lives

Set at the end of World War II in an Italian villa, The English Patient brings together four unlikely characters: Hana, an emotionally-wounded army nurse who refuses to leave her last patient even when ordered to evacuate; Caravaggio, a friend of Hana's father, thief and spy, a man who is drawn to Hana in ways he cannot articulate; Kip, an Indian sapper loyal to the British military who disarms bombs by day, loves Hana by...

1Report

Rated 5 stars
Beautiful, Absolutely Beautiful

I'm not really sure why this movie's being panned as severely as it is. Maybe the dense plot put off those looking for an action epic. Maybe the passionate but ultimately destructive relationship put off those looking for a formulaic happy-ending fluff romance. Maybe these people just don't like thinking during movies, because this movie doesn't lay everything out for you and you have to work to figure out character motivations,...

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Rated 5 stars
Heartbreakingly Gorgeous

"The English Patient" is, without a doubt, one of my very favorite books. It is lush, beautiful and gorgeous. And the glory of it is that it got that way with fine, first-rate writing. You won't find any gimmicks or ... tricks here.Unlike the movie, the book begins in war-torn Italy (1944) where we encounter Hana, a Canadian nurse and a horribly burned man known only as, "the English patient." Alone in an isolated, abandoned...

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Rated 4 stars
Poetico y sensual!

Si vio la pelicula El Paciente Ingles encontrara que el libro es diferente a su adaptacion cinematografica. Poetico y sensual, el libro profundiza mas sobre los personajes de Hana y Kip, definitivamente mas interesantes que la relacion de Katharine y Lazlo Almasy que explota la pelicula. Los personajes se conectan a travez de sus tristezas y pasiones, las historias no contadas, los secretos que los unen.

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The English Patient Mentions in Our Blog

The English Patient in How Many Best Pictures Were Based on a Book?
How Many Best Pictures Were Based on a Book?
Published by Amanda Cleveland • March 21, 2024
With Oppenheimer's recent Oscars win, we had a question: How many Best Picture winners were based on a book? Countless classic films are adaptations, as if a great story tends to start in literature. Let's look at the numbers and the amazing books that have lead to great films.
The English Patient in Your 2023 Oscars Reading List
Your 2023 Oscars Reading List
Published by Ashly Moore Sheldon • February 09, 2023

Are you excited for the Oscars next month? If so, you might want to catch up on the literature that served as inspiration for some of the nominated movies. Plus, check out a few of our favorite book-to-screen best picture winners from the last quarter century.

The English Patient in An Especially Bookish Oscars
An Especially Bookish Oscars
Published by Ashly Moore Sheldon • March 24, 2022

Watching the Oscars this weekend? If so, you’ll want to catch up on the literature that served as inspiration for some of the nominated movies. Plus, we share some of our favorite book-to-screen best picture winners from the last quarter century.

The English Patient in And the Oscar Goes To...
And the Oscar Goes To...
Published by Ashly Moore Sheldon • April 30, 2021

Did you watch the Oscars last weekend? If so, maybe you're intrigued to catch up on the plays, books, and movies that served as inspiration for some of the nominated (and winning) movies. Plus we share some of our favorite book-to-screen Best Picture winners from the last quarter century.

The English Patient in 9 Books About Nurses
9 Books About Nurses
Published by Ashly Moore Sheldon • May 15, 2020
Amid the pandemic, we are tremendously grateful for the work of nurses (and all medical professionals), who serve on the front lines of the crisis. From historical fiction to gripping memoirs to thrilling mysteries, here are nine books featuring nurse protagonists.
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