The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (Hardcover)

“The English Patient” is a novel by Michael Ondaatje, first published in 1992. The book won the Booker Prize and was later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film.

Set during World War II, the story revolves around four main characters: a critically burned and unidentified patient who is being cared for by a Canadian nurse named Hana, a Sikh British Army sapper named Kip, and a Hungarian-Canadian thief and adventurer named Caravaggio.

As the patient slowly recovers, his memories of his past life in the deserts of North Africa begin to surface. Through his recollections, the reader learns about his identity as a Hungarian cartographer named Almásy and his ill-fated love affair with a married British woman named Katherine.

As the characters’ stories unfold, the novel explores themes of identity, love, war, and memory. Ondaatje’s lyrical prose, nonlinear narrative structure, and vivid descriptions of the desert landscape create a haunting and poetic atmosphere throughout the book.

“The English Patient” is a powerful and moving work of fiction that captures the human experience of war and its aftermath. The novel’s exploration of identity and memory has made it a classic of contemporary literature, and it remains a widely acclaimed and beloved book to this day.