Reading list: The English Patient

OK. First thing is, all I knew about this story was the Seinfeld episode in which Elaine hates the movie and ends up seeing it second time with Mr. Peterman. Now, I'm not saying I follow all the diktats of Seinfeld, but it did make an impression. I never saw the 1996 movie.
The novel, by Michael Ondaatje, is set in Italy in the final days of World War II. Flashbacks take us to the north African desert, England, Toronto and India. The English patient fell from the sky in flames, was rescued and nursed by Bedouins. He then finds himself in an Italian villa, turned into a field hospital. He has no ID and no knowledge of who he is. Hana, a young nurse from Canada, vows to care for him to the end (which could be health or death). Caravaggio, a family friend and war-time spy, learns where Hana is and moves in. Soon they are joined by Kip, a "sapper" from the Allies' unexploded bomb unit.

Their stories unfold. The English patient's story involves descriptions of desert life and survival, which I found fascinating. The nomads know where the underground wells are and how to navigate in sandstorms.

Hana and Kip begin a romance, and Caravaggio, a morphine addict, eventually figures out who the Englishman is. Kip's story of dismantling UXBs, or unexploded bombs, has some parallels to today's war in Iraq and Afghanistan, with their improvised explosive devices. When the Germans fled Naples, they had booby-trapped the entire city (or so they led the Allies to believe). The sappers became so wary of anything out of order that they developed the habit of leaving an item (a fountain pen on a table, say) in the four o'clock position to signal that a room was clear.

I liked this story. Ondaatje developed all four main characters fully. It's a novel of love and loving. The four are thrown together by chance, all away from their homes and families, and for a temporary duration. They all need something, whether it is love, caring, truth, morphine or respect. Last summer I read (and loved) The Great Fire, which also follows characters after WWII (but in Asia). Both novels bring the war experience to the individual level.

I don't know what Elaine's problem was. I guess I'll have to watch the movie.