About Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje, born September 12, 1943, in Colombo, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), is a Canadian novelist and poet. His novel The English Patient, a worldwide best-selling novel, has been translated into forty languages ??and was adapted for film under the title The English Patient.In 1954, he left Ceylon to settle in England. In his autobiographical work, The Table of Others, published in 2011, he recounts this journey, which he made at the age of eleven. A few years later, in 1962, he left England for Canada, where he became a citizen in 1965.
He began his writing career with the publication of poetry collections, including The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems (1970), which earned him the Governor General's Award in 1971. Michael Ondaatje's works often blend real events with imaginary anecdotes. When he turned to fiction, with his 1976 work Coming Through Slaughter, the plot was loosely based on the life of jazz musician Buddy Bolden. Themes of multiculturalism, violence, and oddity are also recurring themes in his writing. His writing style is known for being cinematic and dramatic, meaning he has a knack for conveying images of great emotion to his readers, especially when he portrays real-life figures like the outlaw Billy the Kid or the musician Buddy Bolden.
In 1992, he published his most famous novel, The English Patient, a love story set at the end of the Second World War. The English Patient won him the Booker Prize, making him the first Canadian to win the award. The novel was later adapted for film by Anthony Minghella under the title The English Patient. The adaptation won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Picture and earned French actress Juliette Binoche the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2000, the publication of the novel Anil's Ghost won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and a second Governor General's Award in Canada, and the Prix Médicis étranger in France. In 1988, Michael Ondaatje was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC).
He also actively participates in the public debate on ways to overcome the climate crisis.
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