Tuesday 12 February 2013
The English Patient: Thought 3
I believe it would be just to characterize this book at this point .... unique... I suppose. The book is certainly not like any book I have read before; it doesn't follow the anticipated path of plot line or story progression. Rather there are constant turn of events that not only shift the interest points of the story but also shock the reader. For example Caravaggio's entrance into the plot not only provides background to the time period but also sheds light on the horrid situation of the war. At this point in the story, the war has scarred the three characters of the story, fully demonstrating that people not directly associated with the war can also be traumatized. Hana, a nurse, who becomes shell shocked as a result of her father's death. Caravaggio, a intelligence collector, became a man in silence after his thumb had been cut off. And the English Patient, a surveyor of geography, was somehow also affected. The war is all-reaching. No one can escape its influence, whether they are at home, or in the battlefields fighting for their lives.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You definitely have some cool thoughts. Remember that Caravaggio is also a part of Hana's past. How do you think Caravaggio will affect Hana?
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad truth that no one can escape the war that their country is fighting. People will be affected by the war significantly in one way or the other.
ReplyDeleteYour novel sounds strickingly similar to our novel, Three Day Road. Not only is the events in our book not in chronological order, but simiilar to your novel, our novel also provides information on Aboriginal people along with events from the war.
ReplyDeleteOh really? I thought only our book would have eschewed order, but maybe that's a new style of writing that is trending right now :O.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on the notion that the war is drastic in the way that it can damage not only the soldiers, but also those who are not fighting in the battlefields. Mental destructions on those who are overwhelmed by the grief, uncertainty, and insecurity of war are even more devastating and permanent than physical damages. Moreover, broken bodies are never as hard to cure as broken hearts or broken minds.
ReplyDelete