Paperback, 224 pages
English language
Published Sept. 18, 1997 by Grove Press.
Wow, simply fantastic. It’ll be hard for another book to push it off the “Favorite of the Year” pedestal.
Some excellent passages and interesting forays into memory and perspective in this book, written as a fictional autobiographical exploration of a life well lived. Sometimes it felt underdeveloped, which was a pity as the book has great charm and the characters are well developed throughout. Enjoyable, not monumental.
I believe Michael Ondaatje stole the idea for The English Patient from this book. It is beautifully written and deals with the big themes: history, memory, love, and war, just as The English Patient does. Somehow, though, the author manages to do it in just over 200 pages and from a woman's point of view (although she does include the voices of other characters) which for me makes it a better book.
