CANADA READS - in the skin of a lion

[Booty Bits]

i have no idea if this is a duplicate thread or not, so sorry if it is.

for all y'all who don't listen to CBC Radio 1, they recently held a competition of sorts in which a panel chose one book for all Canadians to read at the same time.

the book they chose was In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje.

so who else out there in tribe land picked up the book?
i did and i am already loving it. more because its very different than the books i usually choose to read.

the whole point of Canada Reads is to get all sorts of canadians from all walks of life, ages, income levels, provinces etc to get out there and read a fantastic canadian novel and talk to each other about it.
and i wanna talk!!

so whos with me?

*crickets*

 

[JayIsBored]

i will read it for you....not canada

awww

hi liz!

 

[janiecakes]

one of my favourite books ever.

 

[Bumbaclat]

A friend of mine left a copy here last night. Maybe I won't return it to her.

Bumbaclat

 

[MoFo]

I think he's a horrible writer. But I am a big fan of Coupland and Findley. So reading this guy's stuff makes me wanna wretch.

Oh, and I can't STAND his poetry.

 

[janiecakes]

no don't return it, read it. you'll like it.

 

[janiecakes]

Originally posted by MoFo
Oh, and I can't STAND his poetry.

are you kidding me? i love his poetry.

 

[Deus]

What is this book about?

 

[Bumbaclat]

Originally posted by janiecakes
no don't return it, read it. you'll like it.

I just finished a book so I'll give it a go.

Bumbaclat

 

[Michkey]

Ondaatje rocks. In the Skin of a Lion is considered one of his best, but my personal fave has always been The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (written in his 20's I believe).

 

[MoFo]

Originally posted by janiecakes


are you kidding me? i love his poetry.

Eek. The ones he had in the subway were horrendous. It made me cringe almost as much as those Mountain Dew ads with the red thong.

 

[MoFo]

Definitely Sinclair Ross. Old romanticized shorts about the dust bowls and the corn fields is my kind of thing!

 

[rudebwoy]

Originally posted by janiecakes


are you kidding me? i love his poetry.

janie, micheal ondaatje is doing a reading of his poetry and speaking in hamilton mid-may...thought you'd like to know...

i read in the skin of a lion for 1st year english, and have read it bags of times since...tis my favorite MO book...last years anil's ghost was good too...

c.

 

[KickIT]

Originally posted by rudebwoy


janie, micheal ondaatje is doing a reading of his poetry and speaking in hamilton mid-may...thought you'd like to know...

i read in the skin of a lion for 1st year english, and have read it bags of times since...tis my favorite MO book...last years anil's ghost was good too...

c.

You read? I'm shocked!!

*chuckles*

 

[rudebwoy]

all the big words are spelt out PHO-NET-I-CAL-Y...

(that means that they're spelt like they sound chuck)

c.

 

[KickIT]

Originally posted by rudebwoy
all the big words are spelt out PHO-NET-I-CAL-Y...

(that means that they're spelt like they sound chuck)

c.

You should work on your pho-ne-tics

*c*

 

[Booty Bits]

tsk tsk rudebwoy,

its FO-net-i-kly

 

[sugar]

I really enjoyed In the Skin of a Lion when I read it, and have recommended it to several others.

Deus, the book is about Toronto in the early 20th century. The building of the Bloor Viaduct and the RC Harris Filtration Plant are used as backdrops to the characters' stories.

 

[Dam That SnarkEE Kid]

We had to read In the Skin of a Lion for high school, as well as A Prayer for Owen Meany because they both contained some Toronto-specific content.

It's neat. And they are also great books.

I'd read for Canada. Even if it weren't a book I loved, I think it's a cute idea....Dare I even say a "novel idea!"

.StEEvEEdEE.
-My jokes aren't funny, they're punny -

 

[aether]

I finally read 'in the skin of a lion' about a year ago. I read 'coming through slaughter' too, which I also liked, although not quite as much. I was going on this kick reading all the books everyone else seemed to have read during high-school. The other Canadian book I read at the time that stood out was Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (surprise).

 

[Dam That SnarkEE Kid]

I've read the Marget Atwood's The Stone Angel three times since OAC. It's such "English Class" reading...but it's also a good read.

.StEEvEEdEE.

 

[el presidente Highsteppa]

Originally posted by Michkey
Ondaatje rocks. In the Skin of a Lion is considered one of his best, but my personal fave has always been The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (written in his 20's I believe).

Although I'm not the biggest fan of Ondaatje, I totally agree with the statement about The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. Great work. In the Skin of a Lion was also a very good peice of work.

From the Ministry of The English Patient

Prime Minister Highsteppa

 

[Jazz]

I also read 'in the skin of a lion' in highschool, grade 12 english I think... really enjoyed it, one of the few Ondaatje books I really enjoyed... but I have yet to read 'The Collected Works of Billy the Kid', definitely going to put that on my list of books to read...

 

[Booty Bits]

huh.

i'm surprised that In the Skin of a Lion would be highschool reading...

but then again, its probably at the same level as Stone Angel, so i guess it makes sense.

the best book i read in high school was Obasan by Joy Kogawa. it was my first experience with reading a novel that infused so much poetry (in the sense of meter and flow) into the prose.

and that could be said for In the Skin of a Lion too.

 

[Stormshadow]

Originally posted by Booty Bits
Stone Angel

The most boring book I have ever read.