February 2011 Guest Editor Carmen Reid on Michael Ondaatje...
The English Patient is a dream of a romantic novel. It follows two love stories, one between a soldier and a nurse which unfolds as the book progresses and the other in the past, being slowly re-told. There is the handsome, mysterious foreigner, a war-torn background, the uptight English marriage about to be blown apart by a passionate affair and ensuing volcanic eruption of emotions. The wife tries to break it off, then the half-crazed husband attempts to kill three of them in a plane-crash. The hero cannot return to rescue the heroine. It might all have become completely melodramatic if it wasn’t so perfectly and beautifully well-written.
The Lovereading view...
A modern classic, this story of four damaged people is beautiful, harrowing and moving. As the lives of these people interconnect a poetically told tale unravels the stories of each individual. A haunting and satisfying read.
The Bloomsbury Modern Classic Series
Restless by William Boyd
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale
The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
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Closing date: 04/07/2026
The final curtain is closing on the Second World War, and Hana, a nurse, stays behind in an abandoned Italian villa to tend to her only remaining patient. Rescued by Bedouins from a burning plane, he is English, anonymous, damaged beyond recognition and haunted by his memories of passion and betrayal. The only clue Hana has to his past is the one thing he clung on to through the fire - a copy of The Histories by Herodotus, covered with hand-written notes describing a painful and ultimately tragic love affair.
The English Patient features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, eBooks of the Month, Historical Fiction, Romance / Relationship Stories, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
The English Patient is available in CD-Audio, Paperback, Hardback
The English Patient was written by Michael Ondaatje and published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
The English Patient has 336 pages
Yes it is part of Bloomsbury Modern Classics series
£8.09
