From Our Editors
In the days of colonial rule, Sri Lanka was an exotic place of
privilege for the expatriates whose main occupations were drinking,
gambling and romancing. This is the world that Michael
Ondaatje's parents and grandparents led, and he goes on a
search for the remnants of that lifestyle in Running in
the Family. He compares and contrasts his present
explorations and experiences with those of his youth spent in Sri
Lanka, resulting in a unique portrayal of family history as it
mirrors the waning days of empire.
From the Publisher
In Michael Ondaatje's beloved family memoir, fact and fiction blur
to create a dazzlingly original portrait of a lost time and place.
Ondaatje left Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) at the age of eleven. Almost
twenty-five years later, he returned to sort out the recollected
fragments of experience, legend, and family scandal, and to
reconstruct the carefree, doomed life his parents and grandparents
had led in a place where couples danced the tango in the moonlight,
where drink, gambling, and romance were the main occupations of the
upper class. Rich with eccentric characters and captivating
stories, and set against the exotic landscape of a colonial empire
in decline, Running in the Family is Ondaatje's
unforgettable journey through memory and imagination to reclaim his
past.
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Michael Ondaatje is the author of the
internationally celebrated novels In the Skin of a Lion,
The English Patient, and, most recently, Anil's
Ghost. His other books include Running in the Family,
Coming Through Slaughter, The Cinnamon Peeler,
and Handwriting. Ondaatje was born in Sri Lanka, and came
to Canada in 1962.
He lives in Toronto.
Format: Mass Market Paperbound
Published: November 1, 1993
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Language: English
The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
ISBN - 10: 0771098952
ISBN - 13: 9780771098956
