Welcome to our collection of insightful and inspiring quotes by the renowned Canadian-Sri Lankan author, Michael Ondaatje. Throughout his illustrious literary career, Ondaatje has captivated readers with his profound observations on life, love, identity, and the human experience. Best known for his award-winning novel The English Patient, Ondaatje’s writing is celebrated for its lyrical prose, rich imagery, and deep exploration of complex themes.
With a unique blend of cultural influences stemming from his upbringing in Sri Lanka and his later years spent in Canada, Ondaatje brings a distinctive perspective to his work, offering readers a window into diverse worlds and perspectives. His prose often carries a sense of nostalgia, mingling memory with imagination to craft stories that resonate on both personal and universal levels. As readers delve into Ondaatje’s quotes, they will discover pearls of wisdom that provoke thought, stir emotions, and inspire reflection. Whether contemplating the intricacies of human relationships or the mysteries of existence, Ondaatje’s words have the power to evoke empathy, curiosity, and a deeper understanding of the human condition.
It’s a responsibility of the writer to get the reader out of the story somehow. Michael Ondaatje
When you’re writing, it’s as if you’re within a kind of closed world. Michael Ondaatje
You don’t want to write your own opinion, you don’t want to just represent yourself, but represent yourself through someone else. Michael Ondaatje
I’m a Canadian citizen. But I always want to feel at home in Sri Lanka. I’m a member of both countries. Michael Ondaatje
As a writer, one is busy with archaeology. Michael Ondaatje
I tend not to know what the plot is or the story is or even the theme. Those things come later, for me. Michael Ondaatje
The past is still, for us, a place that is not safely settled. Michael Ondaatje
It’s a discovery of a story when I write a book, a case of inching ahead on each page and discovering what’s beyond in the darkness, beyond where you’re writing. Michael Ondaatje
I don’t have a plan for a story when I sit down to write. I would get quite bored carrying it out. Michael Ondaatje
You want to suggest something new, but at the same time, resolve the drama of the action in the novel. Michael Ondaatje
I don’t see novels ending with any real sense of closure. Michael Ondaatje
The last three books are much more a case of a moment of history, what happened almost by accident or coincidence, like being in the same elevator or lifeboat. Michael Ondaatje
Research can be a big clunker. It’s difficult to know how you can make the historical light. Michael Ondaatje
Right now, I have no idea what I will write or if I will write again. Michael Ondaatje
A writer uses a pen instead of a scalpel or blow torch. Michael Ondaatje
Once I’ve discovered the story, I might restructure it, maybe move things around, set up a clue that something is going to happen later, but that happens much later in an editorial capacity. Michael Ondaatje
In the book the relationship with Katharine and Almasy is sort of only in the patient’s mind. Michael Ondaatje
That’s Anil’s path. She grows up in Sri Lanka, goes and gets educated abroad, and through fate or chance gets brought back by the Human Rights Commission to investigate war crimes. Michael Ondaatje
You’re getting everyone’s point of view at the same time, which, for me, is the perfect state for a novel: a cubist state, the cubist novel. Michael Ondaatje
I see the poem or the novel ending with an open door. Michael Ondaatje
The first sentence of every novel should be: Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human. Meander if you want to get to town. Michael Ondaatje
It’s an odd state to be in, blowing the whistle on your home country. Michael Ondaatje
To write about someone like myself would be very limiting. Michael Ondaatje
It doubles your perception, to write from the point of view of someone you’re not. Michael Ondaatje
It’s why you create characters: so you can argue with yourself. Michael Ondaatje
Truth, at the wrong time, can be dangerous. Michael Ondaatje