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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
i remember LOVING this book in 2006ish; revisiting it i am extremely aware that i will forget everything about it immediately. and so that is how i will describe it. beautiful; fleeting.
Read for Global Fictions college class. I don’t quite get this book. Not my favorite. Not completely terrible though.
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My reading experience with Anil's Ghost felt like a journey, much like the one in this novel as Anil and Sarath set out to identify the human remnants of 'Sailor'. Each chapter was a pit stop to reveal the heavy burdens imposed on Sri Lankan civilians, as illustrated in morbid detail. I would not recommend this book for the faint-hearted as Ondaatje does not hesitate to paint the landscape of a war-torn nation, and the lived experiences of citizens who are haunted by unsurpassable loss, trauma and grief. Although it is a piece of fiction, the desensitized souls depicted in each character we meet in Anil's Ghost is realized through the survivors of the civil war in Sri Lanka, present in our very own communities.
What makes Anil's Ghost such an evocative story are the idiosyncratic characters, curated by their individual relationships with the ongoing conflict. Palipana's intellectual humility in "Grove of Ascetics", and Gamini's distraught in aiding the senselessly wounded victims in "A Brother" make this haunting read worthwhile.
What makes Anil's Ghost such an evocative story are the idiosyncratic characters, curated by their individual relationships with the ongoing conflict. Palipana's intellectual humility in "Grove of Ascetics", and Gamini's distraught in aiding the senselessly wounded victims in "A Brother" make this haunting read worthwhile.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
This is my first book of Michael Ondaatje - have heard a lot of good things about him, never knew he was born in Sri Lanka. Michael looks at the ongoing effects of the brutal war that had erupted in Sri Lanka in the late-1980s, how it has affected and numbed the general populace. Michael brings in an outsiders gaze, albeit not a complete outsider as Anil (the protagonist) had been a Sri Lankan native until she left for the US, into the happenings of this war torn small Island.
Anil lands at Sri Lanka on behalf of the Human Rights group of the United Nations to investigate the brutal repressions to which even the government is believed to be complacent. She befriends Sarath (an archaeologist) and along with him goes on investigating buried human remains. One such skeleton obtained amidst other ruins appears to be of recent origin and they set about to find further truth about it. The different people they meet in their journey to discover the truth and how they are followed by the system is what the rest of the book is about. This is a grim book, ruminating on the war effects, and how it alters the people amidst its wake, while also revealing the helplessness of the good people who are trapped within the system.
Anil lands at Sri Lanka on behalf of the Human Rights group of the United Nations to investigate the brutal repressions to which even the government is believed to be complacent. She befriends Sarath (an archaeologist) and along with him goes on investigating buried human remains. One such skeleton obtained amidst other ruins appears to be of recent origin and they set about to find further truth about it. The different people they meet in their journey to discover the truth and how they are followed by the system is what the rest of the book is about. This is a grim book, ruminating on the war effects, and how it alters the people amidst its wake, while also revealing the helplessness of the good people who are trapped within the system.
challenging
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No