Member Reviews

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  • Rated 5 stars

  “Ondaatje's writing style has profoundly influenced my own. He's a master at his craft.”

  JackieM wrote this review Thursday, June 19 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 5 stars

  “There is no writer quite like Michael Ondaatje. He is a true poet. His use of the English language is exqusite.”

  Robert M wrote this review Friday, June 6 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “Some characters and incidents were so close to my ancestors history that it made me wonder if colonies had a singular binding influence. Goa and Ceylon, not far from each other, both costal paradises seem to have been filled with mad hatters who were tolerated by the general populace.
  But the urgency and development of this past few decades seem to have wiped them out.”

  tony rebello wrote this review Monday, February 11 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 5 stars

  “This is a combination travel book and family memoir that focuses on a hilariously dysfunctional family that lives in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It’s sort of a Ceylonese romp in the style of James Thurber. Two family characters in particular are extremely funny. Michael’s father who only gets bizarre when he’s drunk (who commandeers the train that crosses through Sri Lanka so often that eventually he’s no longer allowed to ride the train). Then there’s his grandmother who when she hits retirement age starts stealing flowers from all the nicest gardens (including the main Botanical Garden, from which she is no longer allowed to go to). Michael tells these tales in a beautiful prose that really calls to life the humidity of the tropics.”

  Paul R wrote this review Monday, January 21 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 2 stars

  “I read this book for postcolonial literature class. I didn't like (almost) any of the books, but this is a novel that is at least easy to read. There were some funny stories in it too.”

  Mystica wrote this review Wednesday, November 7 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 0 stars

  “I read somewhere that this is a fictional autobiography of Ondaatje .. if that is indeed true .. it would explain the amazing consistency with which he has kept the humour going .. if it isn't .. it must be the most colourful family ever .. I hope it is the latter ..”

  Ayesha M wrote this review Sunday, October 28 2007. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink )
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  • Rated 4 stars

  “Really hilarious. I was laughing out loud reading this book.”

  Prashanta wrote this review Monday, September 3 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 4 stars

  “It's a book that you can read for the poetry it holds within it's pages...about memory and childhood and the place you grew up in...it is strange sometimes to find someone else writing about the same place you grew up in...it as if you are looking at someone you love through another person's eyes...
  Excellent book for those who love poetry in prose!”

  Ink Beauty wrote this review Tuesday, August 28 2007. ( reply | permalink )