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Michael Ondaatje
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Running in the Family Paperback – International Edition, November 30, 1993

by Michael Ondaatje (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 789 ratings
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In the late 1970s Ondaatje returned to his native island of Sri Lanka. As he records his journey through the drug-like heat and intoxicating fragrances of that "pendant off the ear of India, " Ondaatje simultaneously retraces the baroque mythology of his Dutch-Ceylonese family. An inspired travel narrative and family memoir by an exceptional writer.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Vintage
  4. Publication date
    November 30, 1993
  5. Dimensions
    5.1 x 0.48 x 7.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0679746692
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0679746690
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Best known for his novel The English Patient , Ondaatje wrote this 1982 memoir after returning to his native Ceylon. His experiences led to a "you can go home again" reflection on his family and country. "For the outsider, this memoir offers a poignant vision exotic in cultural particulars, familiar in intimate human feelings" ( LJ 11/15/82).
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Brightly coloured, sweet and painful, bloody-minded and otherworldly, [this book] achieves the status of legend.”
—Margaret Atwood

“Eloquent, oblique, witty, full of light and feeling. . . . Ondaatje’s knowledge of the fragility and luck of life is very clear. So, too, is the grace and originality of his prose.”
—The New Yorker

“Ondaatje has produced a remarkable book. . . . Shimmering through the haze of heat and memory is an impressionistic, sometimes surreal portrait of an exotic time and place now gone, a colonial paradise that had its own rhythms and imperatives.”
—Globe and Mail

“A beautiful, luscious book. Michael Ondaatje has depicted his extraordinary family, who delighted in masks and costumes and love affairs that ‘rainbowed over marriages’ in the kind of language that makes glory of their lives. He has gone on a poet’s journey to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and the reader who travels with him enters a truly magical world.”
—Maxine Hong Kingston

“It sparkles with the intensity and vividness of its multifaceted tales of romance and intrigue.”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“A brilliant, charming, poetic, hyperbolic holiday of a book. . . . . Ondaatje walks the line between fact and fiction with a delicately rendered delight.”
—Vancouver Province

“. . . the brilliant and moving book he has written is original in every way that matters.”
—W. S. Merwin

“A beautiful, luscious book of discovery and remembrance.”
—Hamilton Spectator

“With a prose style equal to the voluptuousness of [Ondaatje’s] subject and a sense of humor never too far away, Running in the Family is sheer reading pleasure.”
—Washington Post

“It dazzles with its range of imagination, richness of language and the consistently involving changes of mood and tempo.”
—Toronto Star

“This is an intriguing, funny, dream-like book, impossible to put down.”
—Winnipeg Free Press

“Brief, vivid scenes, moments revived out of remote memories, pictures of the intensities lived by his passionate parents… amid the lush flora, the predatory fauna, and the old-fashioned life of the British colonies. This is great story-telling."
—Leon Edel

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (November 30, 1993)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679746692
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679746690
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.48 x 7.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 789 ratings

About the author

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Michael Ondaatje

Michael Ondaatje

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Michael Ondaatje is the author of several novels, as well as a memoir, a nonfiction book on film, and several books of poetry. Among his many Canadian and international recognitions, his novel The English Patient won the 1992 Man Booker Prize, was adapted into a multi-award winning Oscar movie, and was awarded the Golden Man Booker Prize in 2018; Anil’s Ghost won the Giller Prize, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, and the Prix Médicis; and Warlight was longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize. Born in Sri Lanka, Michael Ondaatje lives in Toronto.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
789 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mothram
5.0 out of 5 stars SO MANY GHOSTS HERE
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014
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Years after immigrating to Canada, Michael Ondaatje is awakened by a wild, intense dream of Asia. The dream inspires him to return to the childhood home he left at age 11 to fill in the gaps of what he remembered as a wonderful, mystical place. He and present family members make two return journeys to Sri Lanka in l978 and 1980, interviewing, questioning, and wading through long lists of genealogies.

Their first stop is an aunt's 1700's residence nestled within an 18th century Dutch fortress in Northern Ceylon. This is just the beginning of the wonders he and family members encounter as they continue to visit old places and family members, amplified by the fantastical escapades of his ancestors that their childhood eyes and ears hadn't known. Given the dense, sensitive prose of Michael Ondaatje, this book is a wonder of both the personal and historical.
4 people found this helpful
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Laura A. RIchardson
4.0 out of 5 stars A solid memoir, if slightly confusing at times
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2015
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For one thing, it should be noted that this memoir is not strictly nonfiction, as Ondaatje himself acknowledges near the end of the book. If you're looking for a book to read of pure nonfiction, I would not recommend this one. That being said, I thought this book was excellent, so I would most definitely recommend it to anyone that just wants a good read regardless of whether it's all nonfiction or not. Michael Ondaatje' s writing style, whether he's writing prose or poetry or something else entirely, is winning. He allows an intimate view of his relationship with his family as a whole, particularly with his father, Mervyn (though that's less about their relationship and more about the lack thereof.) My only real criticism is that, at times, it is hard to tell what Michael actually witnessed and what he is embellishing on or making up. The fact that the chapters are out of chronological order at least somewhat does not help.
Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read.
One person found this helpful
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nat power
5.0 out of 5 stars thank you!
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2024
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fast shipping, book in excellent condition, great service
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greenpueo
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2014
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Not as good as most of the author's books. Too biographical. The language is still Ondaaje beautiful.
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Happy artist
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2022
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Michael Ondaatje is one of my very favorite writers!
I watch him on YouTube to hear his voice reading his gorgeous poems and excerpts from his books. Running in the Family is so entertaining and a delight to read over and over!
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Janelle W.
4.0 out of 5 stars Lush, evocative, and poetic!
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2000
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"Running in the Family" is an impressionistically written and reflective memoir of Michael Ondaatje's eccentric Ceylonese family.
The book begins with a series of disjointed stories about Ondaatje's parents and grandparents. I found this part somewhat hard to get through as Ondaatje drops into the stories without providing the reader with the necessary information to understand who the players are and why they are important. However, since the book is highly impressionistic in style, perhaps this approach works. After all, most of us learn about our family history in bits and pieces; we don't pick up yarns and memory bites in chronological order.
The third section, "Don't Talk to Me about Matisse" is a literary treasure! Ondaatje weaves a travel journal with childhood memories. Ondaatje's journey through Sri Lanka and memory land is depicted with great passion and reflection: "I witnessed everything. One morning I would wake and just smell things for the whole day, it was so rich I had to select senses. And still everything moved slowly with the assured fateful speed of a coconut falling on someone's head, like the Jaffna train, like the fan at low speed, like the necessary sleep in the afternoon with dreams blinded by toddy."
Ondaatje generously included several of his poems in the middle of the book. "The Cinnamon Peeler", with its strong sensuality, serves as a fitting metaphor for the stories about romantic interludes in the author's family. "The Cinnamon Peeler" is so beautiful, I plan to commit it to memory.
Ondaatje dwells on the salient qualities of his relatives and homeland. If this book were a painting, it would be a mostly green wash of color with bright, blood red splashes. The red splashes could represent the tragedy so inherent in Ondaatje's family history. Alcoholism and mental illness rule the house in this family. There are many humorous moments, however, and Ondaatje delivers them with great bravado: "Lalla's great claim to fame was that she was the first woman in Ceylon to have a mastectomy. ... She kept losing the contraption to servants who were mystified by it as well as to the dog, Chindit, who would be found gnawing at the foam as if it were tender chicken." These hilarious memories give the reader a reprieve from the underlying tragedy like a much-needed downpour during a drought.
In the final sections, Ondaatje slowly reveals the many layers of his father's sad, but remarkable life. One chapter, called "Dialogues" merely consists of bits and pieces of conversations about his father. Whether Ondaatje imagined these conversations or actually heard them retold is not important. They give homage to his father in a unique and poignant way.
If you're looking for a travel journal on Sri Lanka, don't look here. But, if you want unforgettable impressions of an exotic land and a remarkable family, if you yearn for a memoir rendered with the finest of literary care, "Running in the Family" will surely please.
66 people found this helpful
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Delmore
5.0 out of 5 stars A memoir where the author is a minor character.
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2019
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A memoir where the author is a minor character. It presented an interesting picture of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in post-colonial times with the remnants of its colonial past still visible here and there. The book is full of eccentric characters and funny stories. I would recommend it.
4 people found this helpful
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Owen Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read!
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2013
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Ondaatje is a talented author and poet, this book was written perhaps over 25 years ago and so reflects today's Sri Lanka about as well as Oklahoma! mirrors that great state, but the book is well put together. We read of what might be termed a "burgher" family and friends prior to independence - a society that no longer exists, one with eccentricities and interests that seem impossible today. What unites then and now is the heat, humidity and the arrack, but what drives us to read Running in the Family is Ondaatje's word and story sense, which are considerable.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Book Queen
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2020
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Most of the focus is on the father Mervyn Ondaatje and his drunken antics. Laila Michaels grandmother is also explored in detail.

Fictionalised memoir involving aspects of magic realism. It is about the main characters return to Sri Lanka.

Stories, rumours poems rumours philosophy, memories, records - this makes for a varied read.

Reads at times like a tragi comedy.

Themes inc..

Living in extreme luxury against a backdrop of poverty and servitude.
-The sometimes entertaining but ultimately destructive nature of dipsomanía ( an old medical term for craving alcohol).
-Memory (its reliability and importance)
-Society's expectations
The importance of family

I enjoyed the fact that lines are blurred between fiction and history. A great read.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Unique narrative of a biography
Reviewed in India on November 13, 2018
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Runs like a river.
I would suggest this book to any level of readers who are into the enchantment of weaving stories. It’s a lot to know about Sri Lanka and loved the reading experience.
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Running inthe family
Reviewed in Italy on August 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
Sono stato soddisfatto perché era la versione che mi interessava e utile agli studi di mia figlia che frequenta la scuola in India.
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lfive
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you
Reviewed in Australia on January 27, 2020
Verified Purchase
I’m travelling to Sri Lanka later this year and thank you for sharing your family with me. You gave me such a chance to learn about the country and your family and all I want to do is be there. Descriptively I’m so excited by the food, scenery, people, history.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written.
Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2016
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It is very well written - a masterpiece in description - and has humour as well. I had a bit of trouble keeping the family members in their right places and later referred to the Internet for further understanding.
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