Reviews

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

thebookishelfgirl's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

shadylane_00's review

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

amallard's review

reflective sad

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

"They are not beholden to each other" is such a sad and beautiful line about love. I can quote you nothing else from this book. It read like a dream and I'll remember it hazily. But somehow that one sentence has endured years, and this great hole opens up in me when I think about it. You could not doom two people more.

xkrille's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I read this for university. In my opinion, it should get 1 star, but at the same time, it does not deserve it. I just did not connect with the writing at all, which prevented me from connecting with the characters and the story. I also found the story boring at times, which was really unfortunate. At times, I actually found the relationships between the characters in the villa fascinating, but then there were several chapters in a row with mostly flashbacks, and I lost interest again. In the end, I just wanted to finish the book as fast as possible, and I had honestly given up on the book and the story.

If you like the poetic prose, then this is a book for you. It was not my taste at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicide, Miscarriage, and Excrement

three_seagrass's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

abkeirle's review against another edition

Too slow, the main character isn't someone I can vouch for and I'm not interested in her story. Language is quite old-fashioned and, because I want enjoying the  book, it took me a long time to get my head around the style and it became a bit of a distraction.

kaushalaperera's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

mariiem's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

tyller97's review

slow-paced

4.0

book_concierge's review

2.0

My book club chose this book at the time the movie was coming out and there was a lot of hype about the film. We were very disappointed. It was a drudge to get through, and if it hadn't been a book club selection I would not have finished it.
I found it a very hard book to read ... full of allegory and ancient literary references. I don't mind a challenge but I felt the author was just going nowhere. I struggled and by the time book club met I was barely at the midpoint, but after the discussion I did persevere and enjoyed the second half of the book more. Still, I don't recommend it.