The English Patient, an introduction,
Andrew (andrewty@i-manila.com.ph)
Wed, 12 Nov 1997 05:42:38 +0800
I think the book was pretty good; it left me with a disquieting feeling
afterwards. Being completely obsessed with film (and unashamed of it...is
that un-Holden of me??), I liked the film more. It was able to balance the
melodrama (and there was a lot of that!) with the proverbial "poetic
sensibility" of certain movies. I always get more out of the movie whenever
I watch it again. Also, the soundtrack was tops and was evocative of the
questions of identity being posed in the film and the book. Finally, a word
about the Oscars sweep of The English Patient: I truly felt Anthony
Minghella should have won Best Screenplay, even though I've never watched
Sling Blade. Besides, it seems kinda weird for The English Patient to win
for Best Costume Design, since it merely looks like Banana Republic the
Movie, as FilmZone calls it. The costumes are nice, but just that. There
you go...
Andrew
p.s. An introduction, since I'm new to the list: My name is Andrew Albert
J. Ty, and I'm from the Philippines. I am currently a junior working on my
Master's Degree in Communication at the University of Asia and the Pacific
here in Manila--it's unique in that it offers MA's for those fresh out of
high school...subjecting them to a brutal five-year regimen, though! ;-).
I've read Catcher (started with this actually), Franny and Zooey, and Raise
High The Roof Beam, Carpenters/Seymour: An Introduction. I have Nine
Stories here with me, but haven't gotten around to reading beyond "A
Perfect Day for Bananafish."
p.p.s. Did anyone read the cover feature of that months-old Esquire about
JDS? It was pretty well-written, in my opinion--guaranteed to pique the
interest of someone who has not read his work. I just hope they don't start
liking him, because his life is fascinating more than because he's a
brilliant writer.
At 12:08 PM 11/11/97 -0600, you wrote:
>Maybe this doesn't have much to do with anything, but I want to know
>what other people thought about "The English Patient" (the book). Hard
>to read? I think it was just badly written. But I liked the movie a lot.
>I admire anyone who could take a book like that and make that movie.
>Anyone else have ideas about that book?