Anil's Ghost: Summary and book reviews of Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje, plus links to an excerpt from Anil's Ghost and a biography of Michael Ondaatje.

With his first novel since the internationally acclaimed The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje gives us a work displaying all the richness of imagery and language and the piercing emotional truth that we have come to know as the hallmarks of his writing. The time is our own time. The place is Sri Lanka, the island nation formerly known as Ceylon, off the southern tip of India, a country steeped in centuries of cultural achievement and tradition--and forced into the late twentieth century by the ravages of civil war and the consequences of a country divided against itself. Into this maelstrom steps a young woman, Anil Tissera, born in Sri Lanka, educated in England and America, a forensic anthropologist sent by an international human rights group to work with local officials to discover the source of the organized campaigns of murder engulfing the island. Bodies are discovered. Skeletons. And particularly one, nicknamed 'Sailor.' What follows is a story about love, about family, about identity, about the unknown enemy, about the quest to unlock the hidden past--all propelled by a riveting mystery. Unfolding against the deeply evocative background of Sri Lanka's landscape and ancient civilization, Anil's Ghost is a literary spellbinder--the most powerful novel we have yet had from Michael Ondaatje.

Media Reviews

Salon - Gary Kamiya Anil's Ghost ... is the most restrained and plot-driven of his books. This description is relative, of course Even a subdued Ondaatje is more of a shape shifter and trickster than 99 percent of his peers. The polyphonic elements -- the use of multiple stories of equal or almost equal weight -- that are an Ondaatje trademark are still here, as are the majestic set passages, but for the first time in his career a single story forms the skeleton of the book.   USA Today - Robert Allen Papinchak Anil's Ghost is virtually flawless, with impeccable regional details, startlingly original characters and a compelling literary plot that borders on the thriller.   Time Out New York - Anderson Tepper As in The English Patient, Ondaatje seamlessly melds historical esoterica with flashing insights into the emotional worlds of his characters, setting all this against a backdrop of trauma and triage, both personal and social.   Publishers Weekly [O]ndaatje's novel satisfies one of the most exalted purposes of fiction to illuminate the human condition through pity and terror. It may well be the capstone of his career.   Wall Street Journal - Elizabeth Bukowski Anil's Ghost has a collage-like structure that hops among scenes from the past and present of different characters' lives. The fragmented narrative heightens the sense that these characters only halfway inhabit their lives

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by literate-world
Entralling, yet difficult read
This is one of my favorite books. I have to admit it is not a vacation book from either a writing viewpoint or from a subject matter. The atmosphere of Sri Lanka during that time is hauntingly brought alive in Ondaatje's prose.

Rated of 5 by Judith
Anil's Ghost
I chose this book for our book club, based on Ondaatje's successful novel The English Patient. All the members are struggling with the book. It is hard to get pulled in, yet one is aware that beautiful poetry and clever narration are going hand...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Betty
I do not recommend
I did not like the book at all. And no, I didn't understand most of it. Most of the time, I thought it was boring. I have no idea what the chapter on her friend in Arizona had to do with the main story but I liked that chapter better than most...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Henriette
Anil's ghost
I really liked this book, it is not an easy book to read but I found it very moving. Its prose is clipped, clear and poetic at the same time with a great depth of feeling. It did bring tears to my eyes and should be read a second time to bring out...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Jennifer
My First Ondaatje Book...
Each writer has a different style, and some I really love, and some take awhile to learn to love (like Charles Dickens). I think that Ondaatje will be one that takes me awhile to learn to love, as it is NOT a simple and direct telling of a story. I...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Holly Wrightson
Anil's Ghost
Anil’s Ghost, in short, is an enthralling read. It is a novel that should be read – not least because it deals with the weighty issue of war in a way that is realistic, sensitive and enlightening, but also because it so skilfully blends in other...   Read More

...11 More Reader Reviews

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