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Michael Ondaatje Quotes

Novelist

Michael Ondaatje, born on September 12, 1943, is a renowned Canadian novelist. His works are known for their unique narrative style and profound emotional expression, with notable titles including 'In the Skin of a Lion' and 'The English Patient'.

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Famous Michael Ondaatje Quotes

“He wants the minute and secret reflection between them, the depth of field minimal, their foreignness intimate like two pages of a closed book.”

Love Desire

Book:The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

“But nothing is said of the closeness between two people: how they grew in the shade of each other's presence. No one speaks of that exchange of gift and character --- the way a person took on and recognized in himself the smile of a lover. Individuals are seen only in the context of these swirling social tides.”

Love Life Change

Book:Running in the Family

Source: Running in the Family

“-I think you are inhuman. If I leave you, who will you go to? Would you find another lover? I said nothing. -Deny it,damn you!”

Love Romance Novel Desert Michael Ondaatje The English Patient

Book:The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

“I shall have to learn how to miss you.”

Love Learning Missing

Book:The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

“I went mad before he did, you killed everything in me. Kiss me,will you. Stop defending yourself.”

Love Romance Novel Michael Ondaatje The English Patient Almasy Katharine

Book:The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

“My darling, I'm waiting for you — how long is a day in the dark, or a week? The fire is gone now, and I'm horribly cold. I really ought to drag myself outside but then there would be the sun. . . I'm afraid I waste the light on the paintings and on writing these words. We die, we die rich with lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have entered and swum up like rivers, fears we have hidden in, like this wretched cave. We are the real countries, not the boundaries drawn on maps with the names of powerful men. I know you will come and carry me out into the palace of winds. That's all I've wanted — to walk in such a place with you, with friends, on earth without maps...”

Love Life Death Friendship

Book:The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

“This history of mine,' Herodotus says, 'has from the beginning sought out the supplementary to the main argument.' What you find in him are cul-de-sacs within the sweep of history—how people betray each other for the sake of nations, how people fall in love....”

Love War History Betrayal Herodotus

Book:The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

“...the heart is an organ of fire.”

Love Heart Fire Organs

Book:The English Patient

Source: The English Patient

“We all have an old knot in the heart we wish to untie.”

Love Heart Wish Loss Knots

Author:Michael Ondaatje

About the Author

Born: September 12, 1943
Known for: Novelist
Quotes: 200

Books & Sources

The English PatientRelated source material

DivisaderoRelated source material

In the Skin of a LionRelated source material

The Cat's TableRelated source material

Running in the FamilyRelated source material

Coming Through SlaughterRelated source material

The English Patient: A NovelRelated source material

The English Patient: Special EditionRelated source material

WarlightRelated source material

Anil's GhostRelated source material

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