Welcome back to the second of our Booker at the Oscars mini-series where we explore Booker Prize novels whose silver screen adaptations went on to experience Academy Award success. This time we're revisiting The English Patient, the joint Booker Prize 1992 winner by Michael Ondaatje (the other winner was Barry Unsworth's Sacred Hunger) and its silver screen counterpart, directed by Anthony Minghella.

In this episode Jo and James:

Share a brief biography of Michael Ondaatje
Summarise the plot of the book, and discuss their thoughts on it
Explore the four main characters we meet in the novel
Delve into Anthony Minghella's film adaptation and the differences between book and film

Reading list:

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-english-patient
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/sacred-hunger
Black Dogs by Ian McEwan: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/black-dogs
Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-butcher-boy
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/warlight
Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
The Histories by Herodotus
In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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The Booker at the Oscars: The English Patient