Scan barcode
loosegeese's review against another edition
4.0
The novel is set in the early 1900s in and around Toronto, the homeland of Ondaatje. Essentially, the work is a love poem to the manual labourers of America, who silently power the country and are constantly changed by their work - dyers shed the skins they stain, limbs and lives are lost, scars embedded in flesh. Language is a constant barrier and bridge, and the labourers of the country are often only linked by their work. The work is sprawling, with threads of lives knotted through one another, and treats both violence and love with the same tenderness. Only the wealthy are handled unkindly, understood to be inherently different from others. This was a prettily done novel, and I look forward to reading more Ondaatje.
_rusalka's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the fist Ondaatje book I read years ago, so was looking forward jumping into this one.
This book spans over three decades of characters in and around Toronto, and enjoyably for someone like me who isn't a fan of short story books full of disjointed stories and completely different settings and characters, the characters weave in and out of each others' lives as they would living in a certain part of a smaller city.
Even though his first book, he still has a beautiful way of writing that pulls you along with the story. Which was needed in half this book. Half was captivating and you wanted to know what happened to the characters. The other half or so I wasn't really fussed. SO half the stars.
This book spans over three decades of characters in and around Toronto, and enjoyably for someone like me who isn't a fan of short story books full of disjointed stories and completely different settings and characters, the characters weave in and out of each others' lives as they would living in a certain part of a smaller city.
Even though his first book, he still has a beautiful way of writing that pulls you along with the story. Which was needed in half this book. Half was captivating and you wanted to know what happened to the characters. The other half or so I wasn't really fussed. SO half the stars.
ru_ro's review against another edition
3.0
A story about the forgotten contributions of immigrants in the development of Canada. Michael Ondaatje's novel follows the lives of fictional immigrants and the part they played in building the city of Toronto. It's a beautifully written novel, but the plot is a bit hard to follow at times. Seems like the author is sometimes intentionally vague in order to make the story work. A quick, easy read, In The Skin of a Lion isn't a bad book, but unless you're interested in the forgotten history of Canadian cities I wouldn't really recommend it.
bluecorico's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
marie_gg's review against another edition
2.0
In the middle of this novel, Ondaatje writes:
"The first sentence of every novel should be: "Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.'"
And this seems to be Ondaatje's philosophy about his novels.
I read this book because we are headed to Toronto at the end of August, and this was described to me as the "quintessential Toronto novel." However, I found myself scanning pages and anxiously hoping that I would get to the end. Not signs of a good novel for me!
Some passages I found intriguing--notably the ones about the workers building the viaduct, tunneling under Lake Ontario, and laboring in the tannery--Ondaatje has a knack for describing the dirtiest and most dangerous sorts of work and helping the reader understand what it is like. Ondaatje is a poet, and some of his writing I found beautiful.
He had a few strong female characters in the story too.
I have a certain amount of tolerance for novelists flitting from one character's perspective to another, or one point of time to another. But this book made me dizzy. I was hoping that I would have a better understanding at the end of how it all fit together.
Many goodreads reviewers describe this book as one of their favorites. It's very arty and avant garde: not really my cup of tea, I suppose.
"The first sentence of every novel should be: "Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.'"
And this seems to be Ondaatje's philosophy about his novels.
I read this book because we are headed to Toronto at the end of August, and this was described to me as the "quintessential Toronto novel." However, I found myself scanning pages and anxiously hoping that I would get to the end. Not signs of a good novel for me!
Some passages I found intriguing--notably the ones about the workers building the viaduct, tunneling under Lake Ontario, and laboring in the tannery--Ondaatje has a knack for describing the dirtiest and most dangerous sorts of work and helping the reader understand what it is like. Ondaatje is a poet, and some of his writing I found beautiful.
He had a few strong female characters in the story too.
I have a certain amount of tolerance for novelists flitting from one character's perspective to another, or one point of time to another. But this book made me dizzy. I was hoping that I would have a better understanding at the end of how it all fit together.
Many goodreads reviewers describe this book as one of their favorites. It's very arty and avant garde: not really my cup of tea, I suppose.
jennahazzard's review against another edition
2.0
I think it's clear that Ondaatje is a talented writer and has a way with language. There were many beautiful passages and important perspectives. However, I am rating this book based on my enjoyment of it, not its overall literary merit. There were sections that I enjoyed, such as the scenes when the workers are building the city's infrastructure, especially the one of the bridge. However there were large sections where I was confused and bored. This could be because I wasn't doing a close enough reading, which means that this book would likely improve with a reread, but I doubt I will ever get around to that. I much preferred his other book, Running in the Family.
lshatilla's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not gonna lie, this book was rough for me. If it weren't <300 pages I wouldn't have finished. The plot was extremely confusing. I cannot explain how confused I was for the majority of the first 150 pages. I understood what was happening in each chapter, but I didn't know how it all fit together. I have now finished the book and I still don't understand what the overarching plot was. I liked parts of it, it had some good things to say about capitalism, and power but the story just didn't make sense to me. In a weird way it felt like a collection of short stories. If the entire book had been about the reality of early 20th century Toronto construction, I would have liked it. But is wasn't, so I did not like this book.
allisonpw's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
For Torontonians, this book has lots of local reference points, serving as an interesting starting point for a deeper look into the city's historical landmarks and the people who made them. I might be less interested in this book if I didn't have that additional local context. I wasn't particularly invested in any of the characters, but the book kept my interest well enough.
shaunnow38's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75