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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I gave it 3 stars because of the writer...... But honestly, I wouldn't recommend it. I had to read it for a bookclub. If not for the bookclub I would of stopped reading once I reach my cut off page of 100.
This novel started out as a detective story - who's skeleton did we find in the cave? Then mid-way through the novel it changed to a diorama of life as a doctor in civil war Sri Lanka. And then: Oh yeah, by the way, while you were busy reading about that guy in the hospital, we solved the mystery of the skeleton. The end.
Beautiful book. As one reviewer mentioned, it has a time and a place to be read. I'd opened it years ago and put it back on the "to-read" stack. This time I couldn't keep myself from it. A sad story, but beautiful. Anil is a forensic anthropologist who returns to her war-torn country of Sri Lanka. She returns to a land where the battle lines are non-existent and everyone lives within the war as the war destroys everyone. Written by the author of the English Patient, I may have to pick that one up eventually.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Heart-wrenching and beautiful - I will absolutely be reading this book again. I found myself pushing through for the subtle suspense of the story but rereading entire passages and pages due to the beauty of the prose. For that reason, I will be reading the book again to let the beauty of the writing truly sink in. There are excerpts from it that will last with me forever. Without exaggeration, I read the following passage at least 10 times and had to stop reading the book for the evening before I could continue on. When you see man-made tragedies on the news, especially those involving war-torn children, does this not echo and put into words what you are thinking and feeling?
"This was when he stopped believing in man’s rule on earth. He turned away from any person who stood up for a war. Or the principle of one’s land, or pride of ownership, or even personal rights. All those motives somehow ended up in the hands of careless power. One was no worse and no better than the enemy. He believed only in the mothers sleeping against their children, the great sexuality of spirit in them, the sexuality of care, so the children would be confident and safe during the night." - Anil's Ghost, Michael Ondaatje
This book is always unfavorably and, I think, unfairly compared to The English Patient. The latter is considered more poetic, more beautiful. I disagree completely. I thought Anil's Ghost was a gorgeous book. I read it right after The God of Small Things (another perfect work), and I felt that they spoke to each other.
Aside from the stunning imagery and tight prose, this is a great lesson on Sri Lanka.
Aside from the stunning imagery and tight prose, this is a great lesson on Sri Lanka.
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Beautiful book that has you floating through the story -sometimes dreamlike and at times nightmarish. Stunning writing.