THE ENGLISH PATIENT

'The English Patient' not only won the Booker Prize in 1992 but also the 2018 Golden Booker Award so springtime feels like the perfect time to read or revisit this wonderful classic. A caveat however is that if you have seen the iconic Oscar winning film, it takes a while to push these images out of your head.

The story is set in San Girolamo Villa which had been used as a military hospital during WWII. Located 20 miles outside Florence in Italy, the war has just come to an end. Hana, a Canadian nurse has refused to return with her colleagues and opted to look after a severely burnt and nameless “Englishman” in this rundown villa. She is joined by Kip, a Sikh sapper working for the British army and Caravaggio, a thief and friend of Hana’s father who also works for the intelligence service. Through this unlikely union of characters the back story develops.

Everyone in the Den was mesmerised by this book. It is a beautiful and sensual novel, which skilfully transports you into the intriguing and different lives of these 4 individuals. They all share a sense of sadness and loneliness in the world, but are drawn to each other by the random circumstances of war. As the story develops we learn about the deep love story between this injured English Patient and Katherine, a wife of one his friends during their time working in the desert in Egypt. He falls in love with her after hearing her recite poetry “That night I fell in love with a voice.” Alongside this is Kit, who forged out his path as a gifted bomb disposal expert.

There are some magical scenes between all of them and just when you think they are beginning to understand each other, move forward from previous mistrust and all be on the same page, Kit hears some news which forces him to leave suddenly and crush these special relationships.

This is an iconic novel, which any book club should read. The pace of the novel is exquisite and the images linger long in the memory.