In the Skin of a Lion

by Michael Ondaatje

Paperback, 2003

Description

Bristling with intelligence and shimmering with romance, this novel tests the boundary between history and myth. Patrick Lewis arrives in Toronto in the 1920s and earns his living searching for a vanished millionaire and tunneling beneath Lake Ontario. In the course of his adventures, Patrick's life intersects with those of characters who reappear in Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning The English Patient.

Genres

General Fiction

Collection

Fiction

Publication

Picador (2003), Edition: Reprints, 272 pages

Media reviews

Lost Angeles Times

"In the Skin of a Lion stands alone, lovely and strange ... the book's special strength and delight is the exuberant but wonderfully controlled poetry of Ondaatje's workers."

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Province (Vancouver)

"It's an exotic blend of fact and fiction, bringing together real people and events and a cast of colourful fictional characters.... There is romance, lust and mystery."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Nearly every page reveals another example of Ondaatje's precise, beautiful and startlingly original language."

Washington Post Book World

"In the Skin of a Lion has the scope and wealth of incident of a popular novel and the destiny and texture of a prose poem."

Sunday Times

"Intoxicatingly immediate."

Malahat Review

What is most moving is the human connectedness of this book... so densely erotic, so subtly sensual, so intensely responsive.

Toronto Star

Splendidly evocative and entertaining.

The Times Literary Supplement

A triumph—a powerful and relevatory accomplishment.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Cait86

In the Skin of a Lion is, in my world, pretty much the definition of a perfect book.

It is the story of Patrick Lewis, a young man working in Toronto in the 20s and 30s. It is also the story of Toronto itself - the growth of the city, the immigrants who built it, and the business men who took the

credit. It is a story of love, loss, and love again, and of revenge. Most of all, it is a story about life, and what it is that makes life worth living.

I read Ondaatje's The English Patient last summer, and loved every second of it. It is definitely Ondaatje's most well-received book, and the one that is most widely read. This, in my humble opinion, is unfortunate. Yes, I love The English Patient, but In the Skin of a Lion is better.

Ondaatje's style is definitely non-linear. Here is a book that jumps through time, and slowly unveils several storylines. The result is a complete picture, but it is told through fragments. The work falls squarely on the shoulders of the reader. It is our job to piece the puzzle together, and to make what we can. Ondaatje's work reminds me of an Impressionist painting - up close, we see what looks like random brush-strokes; step back, and the picture is clear. An individual chapter or instance in this book won't give us the answers, won't make everything clear; in the end, however, the entirity of this story just might shed some light on the confusion.

Practically speaking, if you enjoyed The English Patient, you will probably enjoy In the Skin of a Lion - and enjoy learning more about certain characters who inhabit both books. If you didn't love The English Patient, I would urge you to try In the Skin of a Lion. It is a beautiful book, one that goes straight to the top of my memorable reads for the year. Ondaatje deserves more recognition then he gets - he is, in my mind, nothing short of a brilliant author - one of Canada's best.

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LibraryThing member Paulagraph

Read first, I believe, in 1996 when I was working on an author project in an English Dept. Graduate Methods class. I may have read it earlier, as I did The English Patient & perhaps others of Ondaatje's prose books. If read earlier, I imagine I read it again in '96. I came away with the opinion

that it is my favorite among his novels. Now, rereading, I realize that I remembered almost nothing about it, except that it takes place in Toronto at the time of the building of a signature bridge & then a viaduct to a reimagined waterworks. I also remembered that Caravaggio & Hana from The English Patient appear in it as characters. But, I encountered Patrick Lewis, Clara, Alice Gull, Commissioner Harris, & Nicolas Temelcoff as if "new." Ondaatje leaves gaps in his stories. He doesn't explain everything, even when he makes a move that apparently fills the reader in on what has happened. For example, the incident that killed Alice Gull. I like this, but am now a bit less patient with Ondaatje's lyrical prose. (The poetic quality of his prose was the most frequent criticism of Ondaatje's writing that I encountered when surveying the critical literature in '96. I didn't agree at the time, but have moved closer to that camp, 15 years later.) In the end, the prose largely seduced me once again, however. And seductive is how I've always considered the experience of reading Ondaatje's novels. Seductive, not just because of the language (I love the anecdote that I once came upon in an interview of the author, where he admitted to taking commas in and out obsessively, until a novel has to be wrenched from his hands to be sent off to the publisher. As a poet myself, I very much relate to this mania) but because of his male characters. He writes men that women can fall for, whether these are the "perfect" men for them or not. As for his female characters, although they become more & more real to me from one novel to the next (Hana is a precursor), they don't exert the same power over me. I can leave their presence, whereas, for example, I might really like to stick around Patrick, Caravaggio & Nicolas, for the sheer bad-boy sensuality of it all.

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LibraryThing member whitewavedarling

A collage of fascinating characters and beautiful language, this book is one of those that you'll wonder at as you read, and look forward to rereading. What seems in the beginning simply a collection of characters and situations comes together quickly into a surprising and beautiful story of loves,

regrets, and slanted idealism. Ondaatje's prose is magnificent and poetic, and I can't recommend it highly enough. This is a book to read alone when you have the time to appreciate it, and a book that will suck you in and become your world for some hours if you allow it to take you away. Halfway through this book, I knew I'd be rereading it, and that hasn't changed. This is a wonder of a book: graceful, solid, heartening. Recommended.

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LibraryThing member laweiman

A compelling story that had me hooked, but I was frustrated by Ondaatje’s writing style, which is often more poetry than prose. In some instances, this is beautiful from a pure literary sense, but it did nothing to help me with the urgency of wanting to have the story unfold. I also found the

jumping around in time and from character to character jarring in an unpleasant way. I understand this is Onjdaatje’s style, but it is not one of my personal favorites. Five stars for the storyline and character development, but 2 stars (or less) for the ordering of the tale and the ghost-like quality of the language.

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LibraryThing member onthequest

This is one of my favourite books. This turns out to be odd, as it was the very first book I managed to complete that had a non-linear narrative. It works exactly like being told a story... when your teller stops in the middle and says, "Oh, wait. Before I can tell you this part you need to

know..." and goes down a path that is essential to the story, but not part of it.

When I finished this book (several years ago, now), I leaned back in my chair, sighed contentedly, and returned to the first page to start it again. I have re-read it again more than once.

Dare I compare it to dark chocolate?

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LibraryThing member MarysGirl

It took me a few pages to get into this book, but it was well worth the effort. Ondaatje is a consummate word smith and story teller.

LibraryThing member mjharris

I read this after Anil's ghost and English patient, both great books too. I like this one best, perhaps because I lived for two years in Toronto and the dreamlike quality in the writing mingled with my nostalgia for the city.

LibraryThing member PaulaCheg

Great book, like this author

LibraryThing member clmueller

Wonderful. Paralleled to the Epic of Gilgamesh (the oldest written story) this is historical fiction, legend, epic, postmodern, with a dash of magic realism. The references to Gilgamesh are infinite, but the novel tells a lot more about Toronto in the early 20th century, working class immigrants,

minority voices, and the fight for and rise of worker unions.

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LibraryThing member jharlton

I think the general consensus is that this book deserves a number of reads. I usually like to rate books after I read them, but I can't with this one. There is much going on beneath the surface and Ondaatje's image patterns require much thought to sort out. A bit frustrating at times, to be

honest.The story is really interesting and the book is good from start to finish, surface to depth. One thing about Ondaatje's writing is that it is bursting with life at every word. The story feels almost too short for all the liveliness. But, that is part of the magic suggestiveness. The book also quotes Conrad, so I have an affection for it.

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LibraryThing member MarkMeg

Too many books. Will get back to it if time.

LibraryThing member jonathon.hodge

one of the best from a fine fine writer - set in Toronto 100 years ago (or so); many of the landmarks still stand

LibraryThing member Davida.Chazan

A radiant work that shimmers with every page.

LibraryThing member fieldnotes

"In the Skin of a Lion" is thick with memorable scenes. The plot advances from one evocative boiling point or epiphany to the next, threading together a small crew of intense and sympathetic individuals. The stoic, unschooled and hard-working protagonists allow a fresh perspective on early 20th

century industrialization, which Ondaatje manages without ever becoming preachy or obsessed.The life circumstances that Ondaatje includes impart an almost mythic quality to the beginnings and endings of various romances . . . the intensity and strangeness of the relationships reminded me at times of Djuna Barnes' "Nightwood," while the earthiness and sensibility of the prose in general was more reminiscent of Steinbeck or Anderson.

There are times when the poetic quality of the narrative spills over into the dialogue, creating utterances that seem rather unlikely to have been as spur of the moment as the context suggests: "Remorse: A strange word. It suggests a turning around on yourself" or "I feel she's loaned to me. We're veiled in flesh." But there are wonderfully light details thrown into the movement of things that more than compensate for a few awkward moments: "How can she who had torn his heart open at the waterworks with her art lie now like a human in his arms? Or stand catatonic in front of bananas on Eastern Avenue deciding which bunch to buy?" or "In each set of trees was a live monkey, never able to reach the diners because of a frail chain. The animals had to dodge the champagne corks aimed at them--if you hit a monkey you were brought a free bottle. Sales of champagne soared and only now and then was there a shriek followed by a cheer."

I will reread this book and I will now have to read some of this man's other books--meaning that my aversion to reading anything by a man that I associated with the Academy Awards and Ralph Fiennes has been completely undone by "In the Skin of a Lion."

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LibraryThing member ElizabethPisani

Say Ondaatje and everyone thinks of The English Patient. This predates it, though some of the characters are the same. An extraordinarily well-crafted tale of survival and adaptation in a very strange land (Canada). Scenes written to be engraved on a reader's memory. Stealing warmth from a cow's

gums, for instance.

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LibraryThing member Terosauras

I love this book! I hope the ladies in my book club do too because it's what I picked for the summer read!

LibraryThing member Vivl

This will be a bit of a confused and perhaps unhelpful review. Sorry about that. I'm tired and flat in body and mind, recovering from a "holiday" that was more like an enforced labour camp. I'll do my best, however, to jot down a few impressions.

Being a prequel of sorts to The English Patient, I

can't help comparing the two novels. I really, really liked this, but it didn't quite evoke the utterly rapturous response I had to its better-known sequel. The story is more linear (and so easier to follow), but also slightly less gorgeous. Nonetheless, it will live on my "keep" shelf and I look forward to revisiting it one day. In the short term I'm planning to reread The English Patient, to make the connections between the characters that appear in both novels.

A couple of my favourite passages:

"Official histories, news stories surround us daily, but the events of art reach us too late, travel languorously like messages in a bottle."

"They would sit side by side in a Chinese restaurant, empty but for the two of them. Wanting to face each other but wanting to hold each other and having to decide on one pleasure. The intricate choices of desire."

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LibraryThing member Kavinay

An incredibly self-indulgent and tedious novel. No amount of poetic license can paper over Ondaatje's frequent descents into navel-gazing and self-mastubatory prose.

LibraryThing member hemlokgang

Michael Ondaatje creates the most powerful images with words! He is so gifted! This story follows, in a somewhat convoluted manner, the path of Patrick Lewis, from the deep woods in Ontario, Canada to Toronto. Patrick loves two women, holds two jobs, and makes some rather dramatic choices,

involving explosives! Along the way the reader learns some of the history of Toronto's infrastructure and the people who built it. The plot flows like a lazy, beautiful river, taking unexpected turns all along the way. It is a dreamy ride, sometimes confusing, but well worth it in the end. Lovely writing!

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LibraryThing member charlie68

I didn't take to this book. While it has great writing, the plot has no sympathetic characters, and metaphors and similes get tiring after awhile. A Canadian classic for some, for me it was a colossal bore.

LibraryThing member fiverivers

There is no disputing the literary skill of Michael Ondaatje. His works have been captivating readers for decades. However, it would be unreasonable for anyone to expect every work any artist creates to be extraordinary. And such is the case, in my opinion, with In the Skin of a Lion.

It is an

ambitious novel which encompasses the lives of several immigrant workers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the early 20th century, in particular those involved in the construction of the Bloor Street Viaduct, and the Harris Water Treatment plant. From a purely historical perspective it is fascinating, because Ondaatje reveals a few of the true stories from the era, such as a disappearance of Ambrose Small, a nun falling from a bridge, the murder of labour union organizers, and other such events of the era.

From a literary perspective, the novel doesn't hold up against much of Ondaatje's other work. Because of the scope of the subject matter, stories are somehow incomplete, leaping from one to the next without any comfortable connection or segue. The prose remains gorgeous, drawing in the reader so that events lift off the page. But there is a sense of disconnect and disorientation as Ondaatje abruptly moves from one character's life to another.

My comments, however, pale in the face of the fact the novel was shortlisted for the 1987 Governor General's Award.

Is the novel worth reading? Absolutely, if for no other reason than to explore some of Toronto's history.

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LibraryThing member jslantz1948

I gave it 4 stars and then thought I should give it 3, and, at times while reading it, I wanted to give it 1...I loved it, liked it and just tolerated it...It is an experience I am glad I gave myself. Not a book I would "recommend" but definitely a book I would encourage others to experience...

LibraryThing member jslantz1948

LibraryThing member Ken-Me-Old-Mate

In The Skin Of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje I am flying above Eastern Europe over a land of endless brutal wars. The hostess asks me what I would like to drink. I ask for red wine and water. She fills the plastic glass to the brim. A heady brew indeed. I drink heartily. I am reading In The Skin Of A

Lion by Michael Ondaatje.

Half way through my glass of wine the man next to me, a Turk, hands me another glass of wine and explains that the hostess had made a mistake and could I please accept a second glass? I accept the second glass gratefully. I know this will make me tipsy but I don't care. I have never written a review of a book before I have finished it. But I am going to now.

Michael Ondaatje writes dreams. You know what it is like with dreams you wake up and you can feel the dream fading even as the feelings still fill you up. Within minutes you can remember nothing of the details of the dream but the feeling still holds you in its grip. This is Michael Ondaatje. The man must write in his sleep.

In The Skin Of A Lion. It is dream, sex, want, need, fate and the inevitable stamp of history, all in one. I have no idea where the story is going but I want to be there more than anything.

I have often thought of writing a book but reading this makes me only too aware that my hands are made of clay and my thoughts are 1000 decibels in a land of whispers.

Michael Ondaatje weaves a bridge between this land of wakefulness and the land where our lives are half thought, where our vague patterns cast poetic shadows over the workaday reality of our lives.

These are the lives we would live if only we could wake up.

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LibraryThing member boredgames

Masterful, beautiful writing. So much to be admired. Poetic and moving [and hard to follow in bits but I went with it]

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