Somewhere in war-torn Italy

Hi again readers and welcome back. I want to say thank you again for following this blog, I've appreciated your comments and I'm finding this assignment to be very enjoyable.  In this reading, I read the chapters "Katharine," "A Buried Plane," and "In Situ." "This post will be somewhat of a continuation of my last post in the sense that it focuses on both character developments and Ondaatje's stylistic choices. "Katharine" In this chapter, we learn of The English Patient's love for a woman named Katharine who he met during his time exploring the Libyan desert and in Cairo. Katharine and The English Patient's relationship is not typical; she's married to one of the other explorers in their party. Despite the fact their relationship is atypical, it is intensely passionate.  "A postcard. Neat handwriting fills the rectangle. Half my days I cannot bear not to touch you.   The rest of the time I feel it does...

Hello again readers and welcome back to my blog. This week I read the next two chapters of The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje: "Sometime a fire" and "South Cairo 1930-1938."  In this section, we learn of the character Kip. As Kip is a major presence in this reading, I wanted to do his character justice by exploring it in this post, however, I will also be delving into some of the stylistic elements Ondaatje employs. Kip Kip first arrives at the villa while Hana is serenading the bomb-laden hills from the library piano. Kip is a sapper: one who locates and disables enemy explosives. His occupation plays a role from the moment we meet him; Kip's initial reaction to Hana's playing is one of panic. Ondaatje writes: "He followed the noise of the piano, rushing up the hill with Hardy, climbed over the stone wall and entered the villa. As long as there was no pause it meant the player would not lean forward and pull out the thin metal band to se...

Hello Readers! First off, I would like to thank you for taking the time to explore my blog. This year, I'm reading The English Patient , by Michael Ondaatje, and I'm very excited to share the story with you. The novel is set in northern Italy in a villa that overlooks a small town just north of Florence. The novel takes place primarily toward the end of World War II, in 1945, but there are layered narratives of the past that permeate the text.  The villa itself is a structure marked by war; destruction at the hands of both the Germans and the Allies has turned the villa into a decrepit husk of its former beauty. The villa was once a nunnery, but it became a German stronghold and was later turned into a hospital by the Allies during the war. The novel revolves around the intersection of characters transformed by the war at the villa. Here is an overview of the characters we learn of in the first two chapters: "The Villa" and "In Near Ruins." ...