Title: In the Skin of the Lion
Author: Michael Ondaatje


ISBN: 0394281829
Page #s: 244

Began Reading:
April 1, 2007

Finished Reading:
April 2, 2007

"So what do you think?"

"Well, N," M said. She sighed holding the binder that held my (humble) 'first' book which only to date has been in print via my laser jet. I had a feeling this was going to be bad. "Your writing... it needs work. I mean there was not a single word in there that I stumbled over. ..." And on & on.

Its not that I can't take criticism (I think... I hope...) but what I hate most of all - and what I told M - is that everyone and anyone can say 'this is good'/'this is bad' . But constructive crit - oh yeah that word!- is more about guiding someone is a general new direction rather then a rant and rave. Much to my benefit she kinda took my advice when she showed up at the cafe a few days later and dropped this book right in front of me. "I think this is how you should write it. His style, the way he describes the things around him..."

Who said friendship - even a somewhat one - isn't about give or take? Retard.
Plot: Ummm. Ummmmmm... that's one of the things with this book. I don't think there is much of a plot. Yes, there's a bridge being built in Toronto and tons of immigrants slaving away constructing this new city. Some guy into placing bombs, wants to get back at those who exploit the toil of foreigners in Canada... there's a nun who gets pregnant after flying off the bridge and a tunnel digger who falls in love with an actress. Truly, there is little character and definitely barely any plot.

So Why Bother? Sometimes, while reading this I did ask myself this question. I wanted to hold onto something and carry it with me when not reading a book and this one left me little to no room to do that. However, it was beautifully written. Not that it read like a poem or lyrics but because there is this inherent illogic to the dialogue and prose which mirror that of the everyday.
"You don't want power. You were born to be a younger brother." page 124

"His breath is now almost whisper, almost language." page 205

Pretty incredible, aye?

Best Part: The way Alice dies. Amazing. Oh, and Caravaggio. Just because of his name, of course.

Worst Part: Blah, the disappointment. My expectations were high considering that M actually handed it over for study. It does need a second read just to further examine technique and his use of analogy but it won't be like reading Gatsby for the second time - not by a long shot.

Recommend To: Well, this is great Canadian lit in the sense that one can see the birth of the city if not the country in the modern era. And the multi-cultural aspects of Canada - how we are praised for being so excepting. Books like this and Obasan are necessary to show that its not about the place but the who. Canada has skeletons in its closet like any other country (though don't get me wrong. This IS, in comparison, the best country to live in today). This is one of Ondaatje favored books so I think that maybe I am being a little harsh - it could have not been the right time perhaps (that happens sometimes. Like the first time I read Hume... definitely not the right time). It has been given the CBC Radio Canada Reads 2002 Winner among others and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize which he lost to A Dream Like Mine by M. T. Kelly.

Factoid: Its the prequal to The English Patient.
The title, you discover as you read, comes from a line in The Epic of Gilgamesh.

I have 6 other books that I have read after this to write reviews on. Yes, it was a semi-productive month. Right now I am reading The Darkness that Came Before for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. Its great so far... promise longer and more reviews to come.

Ghostrider

Title: Anil's Ghost
Author: Micheal Ondaatje

ISBN: 0676973612
Published: 2000, Vintage Canada
# of Pages: 307

Began Reading:
March 7th, 2007

Finished Reading:
March 10th, 2007

Challenge:
TBR Challenge 3/12
March Read


My 19th birthday was a pretty crazy affair. Meaning that it may not have been the drunkin' bash of my 18th bday, but hell it had its high points. My older sibling, knowing that I detest the impersonal gifts of gift certificate, gave me just that. And though it was from Indigo and for $50, as always, I went well above that amount and was forced to dish out more cash from my pocket. Oh the perils of gift certificates!

Anil's Ghost was a cover that I loved though. So beautiful and promising, I desided to buy it then and there before I would forget. (Back then I didn't have my little green book with me, where I record all the books I need to purchase) 5 years this book has sat on my self, untouched.

Now do you understand why I would choose it for a TBR Challenge Read?!

The Plot: Anil left Sri Lanka over 15 years ago for England and USA. Never feeling at home yet never wanting to return, she finally does when she is hired by the UN to investigate as a forensic anthropologist on skeletons found which may lead to better understanding on the Civil War. The goverment is fighting both the insurgents and the seperatists which lead to people, especially young, male youths, simply disappearing. When Anil and her co-worker, Sarath, discover this prototype skeleton - deemed Sailor - in a historic burial ground, they begin an investigation that may be the first to bring the governments crimes to the international public's eye. As we follow the team in their 'journey of discovery', Ondaatje gives glimpes of their history, relationships, and dreams they once had which were shattered once reality kicked in. All this packaged in this author's outstandingly unique writing style.

Best Part: The character Gamini, who is a doctor and brother to Sarath. The piece-meal information that the author gives us makes us fall in love with how real he is. Drug addict, divorcee, gentel but harsh when it comes to anything outside of the hospital grounds, the sections on this character you will breeze through.

Worst Part: The adventure of Sailor and chasing the clues on who this person was not as exciting as had hoped Ondaatje would make it. There could have been a little more sence of adventure, of danger. The supposed 'threat' of the government concerning their studies just didn't penetrate outside the page.

Read this When: Historically, this is a great introduction to a violent historical event that has been given little to no news on. Using this as a stepping stone or complement to a class lesson may be ideal. There are other works by Ondaatje that still have his incredible writing style, this one had some Faulkner influence though much more comprehensible. Like Faulkner, Ondaatje is focused more on the human aspect of things then on plot. Hence, my recommendation for a group enviroment that will do some extra reading on the times and place we find Anil and Sarath.

Awards: Anil's Ghost won both the Giller Prize and Govenor General Award in 2000.

Now am reading Steven Erickson's Garden of Moons for the chunkster challenge! Am doing pretty well with these. Coming up will be my non-fiction list.