Best piece of fiction I've read this (crappy?) year (2020). The primary feeling this novel inspires is: Love isn't the most important thing in the world. The complexities of LIFE are more profound, sad, and... satisfying. This may be a revolutionary statement, a great hypothesis, and the novel is magic. As a parent with two sons who loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (i.e. Michelangelo, Rafael, Donatello and Leonardo) when they were children in the 1990s, I was delighted to discover that the fifth turtle Caravaggio was a character of “In the Skin of a Lion”. In most cases, however, the surprises in this novel dismayed me. This novel is categorized thematically as post-colonial, as it is largely concerned with the native cultures and languages of immigrants in Canada. [2] Additionally, the structure of the novel may be described as postmodern in that Ondaatje uses the integration of different voices, images, and re-organization of time to tell these stories. The City of Toronto Archives prepared a special tour of its collection of historic photos, taken by Arthur Goss, tailored for students reading In the Skin of a Lion, as Ondaatje's research for the novel was influenced by studying the photos. [9] [10] Devi draws on Ondaatje's use of converging narratives to uncover the vastly different experiences of immigrants in Canada, and symbolize the overarching issue of how their unofficial history is erased from the official histories. [2] Themes and motifs [ edit ]

In the Skin of a Lion". City of Toronto Archives . Retrieved 2013-01-26. On a visit to the City of Toronto Archives, students will see archival photographs recording the construction of the Bloor Street Viaduct and the R. C. Harris filtration plant, the two major settings in In the Skin of a Lion. The English Patient came out before In the Skin of a Lion. The latter may be considered a prequel to the former. I would recommend reading In the Skin of a Lion first. In it we learn about the two characters Hana and Caravaggio. Both turn up again in The English Patient. I think I would have found them more interesting had I known of their earlier experiences. However, the characters felt less like full characters and more like holders of a point to make. And the plot unevenly held my interest.

The novel lets us see the birth of Toronto through the eyes of the immigrant construction workers that built it. It depicts the bloody history behind the construction of the Bloor Street Viaduct (that you use every day when the Subway passes from Braodview and Castle Frank Station) as well as the R.C. Harris Water Plant Treatment Centre that sits on Queen St. East. It sheds light on the exploitation of immigrants, the godly powers of city officials, and how expensive civilian unrest can be. Although the lives of the workers have been fictionalized, a number of events in the novel are historically accurate. A nun did fall from the Viaduct before its completion, multi-theatre owner, Ambrose Small, did disappear, and the murder of two labour union organizers at the time was an unfortunate reality. The plot is infused with desire, parties, and lust for life. It features first-time robbers and part-time assassins. The workers lead colourful lives. And… well, they’re human. That’s kind of the point, right?

The novel's title is taken from a line in The Epic of Gilgamesh, following the death of Enkidu. It is located in the epigraph as "I will let my hair grow long for your sake, I will wander through the wilderness in the skin of a lion," echoing the theme of converging voices re-telling history. a b c Devi, S. Poorna Mala. "Immigrants' experience in Michael Ondaatje's novels in the skin of a lion and the English patient." Language In India, January 2015, 547+. Literature Resource Center (accessed December 1, 2016). http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GLS&sw=w&u=ocul_carleton&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA404830601&asid=61174144a6b42fbc8556f9c27c32c1c3 Water. Water is everywhere. Revolutions ebb and flow in its tides. People die in waters, committed crimes with its help, escaped prisons by painting themselves a fresh hue of blue. Water is power. Perhaps even a character in and of itself. Cutting off its supply “brings a city to its knees.” (214). Ask the Romans. They would know. urn:lcp:inskinoflionnove0000onda:epub:3b24ee7b-9bb4-416b-a4cb-357581b345ee Foldoutcount 0 Identifier inskinoflionnove0000onda Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t3qw4qw8t Invoice 1652 Isbn 0679772669 Lccn 97111370 Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-alpha-20201231-10-g1236 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9275 Ocr_module_version 0.0.13 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-2000256 Openlibrary_edition This is a book of historical fiction, its purpose being to draw attention to immigrant labor in the Americas, a group of people whose work should be applauded and given the recognition they merit. Without them our cities would not be what they are today. History often fails to give immigrants the merit they are due. The novel looks at Toronto in the beginning of the 20th century--the building of the Prince Edward Viaduct and the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant by immigrant labor with poor pay and working conditions. Little or no concern is taken in regards to their living quarters. The Prince Edward Viaduct is also known as the Bloor Viaduct. Who were these men and women who built our cities? What were their lives like? It is this that is the central theme of the book.I am dissatisfied not with the book but with me. In my review of Napier’s Bones I talk about letting a book down, and now that sentiment has returned. It’s not a case of a book failing to live up to its hype; rather, I feel unable to judge effectively whether it did or didn’t do that. When I dislike a book, I want to be able to present cogent reasons why. I hate feeling like one of those people who just completely missed the point of the exercise. Yet the prospect of re-reading this book when my mind is less taxed does not particularly excite me.