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pearloz's review against another edition
4.0
Fun evocative stories collected from Ondaatje's early life in Sri Lanka. Less a memoir than an anthropological/genealogical study of his family, his hardass grandmother, and his drunkass dad in particular. Reading it, it often feels like a blithely rollicking careless Tenenbaums-type life. But there is a quote from one of his brothers near the end of the book that sort of shattered that illusion:
"I showed what you had written to someone and they laughed and said what a wonderful childhood we must have had, and I said, 'It was a nightmare.'"
I think that disconnect is a credit to the writing. But I think it also hints at how terrible, even traumatic events, can morph or be forced to evolve into more palatable anecdotes as a means of surpassing them.
"I showed what you had written to someone and they laughed and said what a wonderful childhood we must have had, and I said, 'It was a nightmare.'"
I think that disconnect is a credit to the writing. But I think it also hints at how terrible, even traumatic events, can morph or be forced to evolve into more palatable anecdotes as a means of surpassing them.
mizpurplest's review against another edition
5.0
Still love it. A quirky little memoir about family with some awesome stories told so casually you just believe them, even when he tells you they might not be true.
zacktheguy's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book for my english class in school, and man was I surprised! I really did love this memoir. Its combination of non fiction and rumor lead to a wonderful product that is exciting and interesting to read! However, before one reads this I would highly encourage the reader to look into Sri Lanka's colonial history, the reason for this being that there is a lot of post colonialism in this work!
luisvilla's review against another edition
5.0
A haunting book and an easy read - a rare, pleasant combination. Ondaatje uses his fragments to really evoke a different time and place in a way that feels very real even while being obviously literary and fragmentary. Would recommend for just about anyone who loves the language.
chaoticmissadventures's review
4.0
"Both my grandmothers lived cautiously, at least until their husbands died. Then they blossomed, especially Lalla who managed to persuade all those she met into chaos. It was Lalla who told us that the twenties were 'so whimsical, so busy - that we were always tired.'"
I really loved this! I picked it up on a whim in a used bookstore in Canada because Ondaatje is Canadian, it turns out he is also half Sri Lankan - most of his family is from and still lives there. Focused on the history of his family, it is everything you could ask for about a 1920-40s eccentric family the stories are amazingly outlandish and pure fun. You can tell there is a cover of nostalgia running thoughout, but the writing is delicious enough to forgive it.
I really loved this! I picked it up on a whim in a used bookstore in Canada because Ondaatje is Canadian, it turns out he is also half Sri Lankan - most of his family is from and still lives there. Focused on the history of his family, it is everything you could ask for about a 1920-40s eccentric family the stories are amazingly outlandish and pure fun. You can tell there is a cover of nostalgia running thoughout, but the writing is delicious enough to forgive it.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)
Michael Ondaatje is one of my favourite writers, even though my rating on his books may not reflect that. He is also an author I don't often recommend to other readers, especially non, new or BOTM (Book of the Month) readers. Ondaatje is a poet in all his writing. I have read his poems, novels and now nonfiction and all of them are so beautifully written. However, he is not always easy to comprehend. He shows instead of tells, and uses imagery that leaves you thinking about a sentence for days. Every sentence I read I want to own it. It takes me a while to read his books as I not only have to play with the words, I need to decipher all that he is trying to convey. If you want to know about Michael Ondaatje read wikipedia, but if you want to know Ondaatje through Ondaatje lens this is the book for you. This is fact mixed with a bit of fiction. Fiction as in imagery. This is one I will be picking up a few times to really understand it all. There may be updates to this review at a later date.
(Review Not on Blog)
Michael Ondaatje is one of my favourite writers, even though my rating on his books may not reflect that. He is also an author I don't often recommend to other readers, especially non, new or BOTM (Book of the Month) readers. Ondaatje is a poet in all his writing. I have read his poems, novels and now nonfiction and all of them are so beautifully written. However, he is not always easy to comprehend. He shows instead of tells, and uses imagery that leaves you thinking about a sentence for days. Every sentence I read I want to own it. It takes me a while to read his books as I not only have to play with the words, I need to decipher all that he is trying to convey. If you want to know about Michael Ondaatje read wikipedia, but if you want to know Ondaatje through Ondaatje lens this is the book for you. This is fact mixed with a bit of fiction. Fiction as in imagery. This is one I will be picking up a few times to really understand it all. There may be updates to this review at a later date.
kezharri's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.75