My first book by Michael Ondaatje was a pleasant surprise - despite the darkness! There’s something about a Booker winner that just intimidates me as a reader, which I know is silly, but it is what it is. Which was why I was happy when I realised his writing is not at all impenetrable, but beautiful, rhythmic and evocative.
.
Anil’s Ghost is set in Sri Lanka in the late 20th century with the civil war raging. Ondaatje captures the fear, uncertainty and chaos which reigned over the country as three opposing sides waged war throughout. It often flits away from Anil’s story, focusing on characters whose lives have been irrevocably altered by the war, either disappearing, losing someone, or being forcibly assigned a role within it they can’t escape.
.
Anil is a returnee, having lived abroad for years before coming back to Sri Lanka as part of an international human rights group to investigate organised murder campaigns. She’s paired with Sarath, an archaeologist she doesn’t know if she can trust. There’s more to the (loose) plot but I think this is one of those books where it’s best to just crack it open and let yourself be carried away by the prose and the story.
.
It’s a bleak book for sure, as to be expected in a book about a civil war and mass murder. But it’s gorgeously written and filled with characters that will move you. Very glad I finally conquered my fear and picked it up!