This is the second Ondaatje book I've read (Anil's Ghost was the other), and while I'm not quite slamming the door yet, the odds seem good that Mr. Ondaatje is never going to be an author I reach for with any eagerness. All those sentence fragments!

I sort of liked the rather circular method of telling the story, gradually revealing more of who/what/why. But I didn't care much for any of the characters, so it was hard to push myself to keep reading. The one exception was the section of Kirpal learning to take bombs apart while finally finding a 'family' with Lord Suffolk and Miss Morden. The technical element was interesting, and I felt happy the one character was behaving in a way I understood.

I haven't seen the film, but to have won nine Oscars it had to have a lot going for it. Here's the link to IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116209/

But that's just one person's opinion. Future readers, what do YOU think of this book?