Patrick accompanies his father on his dynamiting expeditions, helping him by diving into the freezing river to set dynamite onto jammed logs. At the time, I thought he was a romantic figure; now I think of this revenant as some version of myself that I tried to kill, but could not, in the spring of 1987. Ondaatje illuminates the investment of these settlers in Canada, through their labour, while they remain outsiders to mainstream society. After Hazen experiments with dynamite, he becomes part of the logging process himself, working as a dynamiter for companies in charge of taking logs down the river. In craft, the novel is like something out of PUIG (yes, Ill even mention the exact novel: Heartbreak Tango) in that it contains the poet's roving eye which captures a very democratic world for the protagonists (almost always a man and two women who inherently captivate him) in that the moment in history is finite, and so all people are worthy of having their stories told.

The narrative then shifts briefly to Caravaggio’s story, describing him as an adventurous, charismatic thief specialized in stealing paintings. Ondaatje does things with language that should be almost illegal, giving us scenes that can be at the same time lush and heartbreakingly stark, weaving in and out of different timeframes and contexts with the fluidity and free association of memory. And I never quite understood Patrick’s motivation—why was he so interested in digging into everyone’s past? In the beginning of the book Michael Ondaatje creates a stunning sense of place in the once wildness of Canada.Moved by the concern and friendliness around him, Patrick realizes that he misses having social relationships in his life.

It is a book with many pleasures, romantic and poetic in part, and greatly rewarding for anyone who wishes to read some thought provoking stuff.The other slight issue here is that the story of Patrick's evolution into an anarchist just isn't as interesting as the story of 'The English Patient'. His father is a quiet man, and Patrick lives an isolated life alone on the farm, becoming an astute observer of insects and small life around him. Her friend Alice is the former lover of Cato, a labour agitator, who is murdered at Onion Lake, near Thunder Bay.