Another book finished! It feels so good to have the feeling of accomplishment when the year has had a poor start in terms of reading and things going on in the world.
In the Skin of a Lion was a joy to read, I will start with that. For those who are new to following, I had done a previous review on The English Patient, also written by Ondaatje, which I also was a huge fan of and would also recommend reading.
Skin of a Lion gives us Patrick, someone who is just another cog in the wheel of Depression-era Canada when public works were set up to create jobs for those struggling. Throughout reading, you are introduced to various people that Patrick surrounds himself with, hardworking people just like him that, more so than others, feel the need to fight the great divide of the incredibly wealthy and the thriving. Realistically, so many people died in the process of all those projects, but the names are never mentioned, like they never mattered, proving how replaceable a person can be to further the success of someone higher up.
Ondaatje does not give more than what is necessary to get you into the hearts of the people in this world, with language that will make your own heart either break, or flutter. Patrick cares and goes through life doing so deeply for the women that he is with, and I love how Ondaatje differentiates that care for Clara versus Alice. Explosive passion for someone you can never have versus a devotion to be a part of their world.
The ending got me; I was not expecting it to go the way it did, but I guess that explains how things turned out. That interaction with Patrick and Harris was honorable yet sad because the world continued and nothing changed. You always hope that the noble cause always pans out, but that is not realistic.
This is a book I am putting back on the shelf in my library with the intent to read again. There were many moments that I could quote, and I actually did on Facebook yesterday.
“He lay down to sleep, until he was woken from out of a dream. He saw the lions around him glorying in life; then he took his axe in his hand, he drew his sword from his belt, and he fell upon them like an arrow from the string.”
page 242
That one is different from what I shared, but damn, that was heavy.
You can find In the Skin of a Lion here.
10/10
Chofa Times on the Chofa 